CNN has struggled with its financial obligations since the departure of former President Donald Trump from the White House. This is due to consistently low post-Trump ratings, and too many scandals to keep tabs on. The legacy cable news network faces an internal enemy — it’s once loyal and now-spicy viewers and the collective power and influence of their Twitter accounts.
The hashtag #BoycottCNN made it to Twitter’s top trending list on Monday night. This means that a lot of people are seeing it. It was almost a normal conservative-led boycott of the network, which I nearly ignored.
I was wrong. It was so much better.
The backlash to the shift in editorial direction under Chris Licht, the new chairman of CNN, has clearly hit a nerve among its shrinking progressive audience. They are absolutely insane.
You don’t need to believe me.
#BoycottCNN
The few viewers that the news network was able to retain are running away faster than a prairie fire in a tailwind.
Kristen Browde is a former staffer of the network. She claims that she pleaded with her colleagues to “express their serious concern” about recent changes in the network. These changes were presumably related to editorial direction, and a shift to the middle, from the far right. In just a matter of hours, her plea was retweeted thousands upon thousands.
As an original staffer at CNN, I’m asking all of my former colleagues to express their serious concern with the new editorial direction the network is taking. It’s horrifying to thing the #BoycottCNN folks have a point. Remember when Ted and Reese said “The News is the star”?
— Kristen Browde 🏳️⚧️ (@ChrissieSeeB) August 29, 2022
These former viewers are not only leaving, but they’re using their Twitter accounts as a way to call out other liberal viewers who once supported the network to trash it for good. Many claim MSNBC is the only reliable source of news.
I decided to #BoycottCNN as soon as the network began its shift to the right. It was a tough decision, since I’ve been a devout @CNN viewer since I was in my 20s.
If I wanted to watch right-wing propaganda, I’d watch Fox. So for now, it’s ONLY @MSNBC for me.
— Jon Cooper (@joncoopertweets) August 29, 2022
Liberals would be the first to start a social media campaign against CNN in 2022.
Many CNN viewers highlighted recent events in their rants that were included in the trending hashtag. This confirmed the rumors that CNN would move to the center or to the right to capitalize on Fox News’ lucrative demographics.
One of those events was Brian Stelter’s sudden and shocking firing as host of Reliable Sources. On social media, CNN viewers expressed their dissatisfaction with this particular move. Viewers have also expressed anger at the network, which is usually friendly to the White House. Don Lemon asked Karine Jean-Pierre, White House Press Secretary, about President Joe Biden’s mental health.
A few other instances where CNN hosts were taking it easy with Republican guests have also triggered the network’s steadfast viewers. This culminated on Monday night in an appeal to boycott that is continuing to gain steam.
CNN was already in trouble in the rating department and is constantly swallowed up by Fox and MSNBC in weekly rankings.
My colleague reported that CNN could also lose large amounts of money.
Licht was shocked to discover that the network was heavily dependent on Donald Trump for its ratings. CNN was without Trump as its news anchor. No one cared about the left-wing bias and slant that made CNN’s news coverage so popular.
For the first time in many decades, CNN’s profits will fall below $ 1 billion. Its prime-time coverage draws less than 700,000. viewers per night. Licht knew that he had to do something.
Licht seems to be trying to make a correction to his course. This is not surprising as Licht is a businessman and wants to run a profitable business. He won’t be able to get there with garbage radical progressive propaganda.
This is definitely a situation where things are going to get worse before they get better for the network if it survives the metamorphosis.
