Largely dominated in ratings by its competitors Fox News and MSNBC, the American channel CNN is trying to save its reputation by banking on the first presidential debate of the 2024 American campaign, between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. The opportunity to restore a tarnished image.
The first network in history to be awarded sole coverage of a presidential debate, CNN has offered its competitors the opportunity to carry the program on their channels Thursday night, but under certain conditions. The CNN logo must appear on the screen and any promotion of the event by the competitor must mention the “CNN presidential debate,” according to the Los Angeles Times. Asked by AFP to confirm this information, CNN did not comment. For Jeffrey McCall, professor of communications at DePauw University, “this is an incredible opportunity” for the CNN channel, which has the opportunity to “reestablishing itself as a source of information in the minds of many Americans”.
73 million viewers, all channels combined. This was the audience rating for the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump in September 2020. Outpaced by its rival Fox News in the audiences continuously over the last 22 years, CNN has even systematically ceded second place to MSNBC since 2017. If the three stations have struggled since the departure of Donald Trump from the White House, CNN is, by far, the most weakened, and only attracts around 400,000 viewers per day on average, or a third of its 2020 performance.
Focus on neutrality?
“Trump is likely to attack CNN and its moderators on air. It still works well with its base », nevertheless warns Mark Feldstein, of the journalism school at the University of Maryland. The former president of the United States has publicly criticized the network dozens of times since his first presidential campaign, accusing it of bias. “We never know what game Donald Trump is playing and if it’s not an ambush set for CNN to talk about the left-wing media who are attacking him”, continues the academic. Indeed, the channel’s editorial line has experienced several upheavals since the election of Donald Trump. Under the reign of boss Jeff Zucker, CNN had adopted a pugnacious style, readily critical of the former Republican president. His replacement, Mark Thompson, introduced last summer, stabilized the ship, which nevertheless continues to sail on sight, in a very polarized media universe, which follows the trend of the political landscape.
Second major change for this remake of 2020, a candidate’s microphone will be muted when it is not their turn to speak. It will therefore be ” more difficult “ pour Donald Trump “to attack” Joe Biden, to cut him off or exceed his speaking time, said Mark Lukasiewicz, a journalism professor at Hofstra University. “If CNN does a great job”développe Jeffrey McCall, “it can demonstrate to the country that it is a professional and balanced media, and perhaps, rally some viewers. » “There is always a demand for objectivity”argues Mark Lukasiewicz, who cites the audiences, always significant, for the television news of the major national channels. “But on cable, I’m not sure people will migrate after the debate. »
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