After more than two years of presidential campaign coverage, Americans say they’re “mentally exhausted” and that political news is “the last thing” they want to watch. They want a break, and based on the cable ratings, they’re following through.
A new Associated Press poll out Thursday, Dec. 26, found that 65% of Americans say they need to limit their media consumption of politics, that includes 72% of Democrats, 63% of Independents and 59% of Republicans.
That’s higher than the number of people who want less of other topics, including overseas conflicts (51%), the economy (45%) and climate change (42%).
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The ratings reflect the desire for less. Since the election, prime-time viewership is down 54% on MSNBC and 45% on CNN. Fox is up 13%.
In an interview with the AP, 45-year-old Ziad Aunalla from San Diego, California, summed up why he’s no longer watching.
“I felt they spent all this time talking about the election,” Aunalla said. “They made it so much of their focus that when the main event ends, why would people want to keep watching?”
Viewers are also tuning out because they don’t like the product, which they describe as shallow and one-sided and makes them feel like they’re being yelled at.
Here’s what people say would get them to tune back in:
- Start talking about the issues and stop talking about President-elect Donald Trump.
- Get both sides of a story and more research.
However, getting a better product may be difficult because all three cable news outlets have cut staff and budgets in recent years. The remaining employees are trying to figure out how to fill the same 24-hour news cycle with fewer resources.
