New York Times journalist stuns panel with brutal takedown of identity politics and cable news

A New York Times columnist began a devastating takedown of cable news networks this weekend — over what he described as “over-politicized” content.

The comments came during a panel discussion with PBS NewsHour, where Times columnist David Brooks welcomed progressive networks’ weak ratings as a sign of a necessary shift in the mindset of most Americans.

The 63-year-old Canadian-born journalist first noted that he was “excited” about the phenomenon and offered an explanation. He claimed that people are probably avoiding their television en masse simply because they are tired of over-politicization.

The claim aired after host Lisa Desjardins pointed out that the program had discovered “exhaustion” as the political word of the year – after asking viewers and readers for a specific term.

The rest of Brooks’ story seemed to focus on identity politics — something that has become increasingly common in recent decades on networks like CNN and MSNBC.

This continued after the election, paving the way for an even more pronounced post-election dip that alarmed the ratings.

The cable news crisis is exacerbated by streaming, which more and more Americans are turning to every year.

The trend has hit former juggernauts CNN and MSNBC the most, with both facing double-digit declines since November 6. When tasked with explaining why this became even more apparent in the aftermath of the election, Brooks didn’t mince words.

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“I must say that I am happy with the decline in viewership of political news,” began the expert, who describes himself as a moderate.

‘We are over-politicized in this country. People enter politics because of a sense of belonging, because of a sense of justice. For such things you have to go to your friends.

“You’re asking more of politics than politics can bear,” he added — after figures like Rachel Maddow and Joy Reid spent weeks waxing poetic about the state of their party in repeated attempts to recover from Kamala Harris’s resounding loss. indicate.

“My word for this year has been chastened,” he continued, claiming the humble pie that these progressives and their supporters should eat.

“For those of us who oppose Donald Trump, we must be chastised for the plurality of the American people who thought we were wrong,” he continued, in what amounted to a surprising critique of the mainstream media by a longtime member.

“If you are a worshiper of the European welfare model, you need to be chastised because it is falling apart.”

He then praised Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu for “bringing down Hamas, Hezbollah and Assad,” telling viewers, “If you hated Bibi Netanyahu, you should be chastened a little.”

Brooks concluded by saying, “So there is a lot of reason for humility as this year ends.”

Jonathan Capehart, editor-in-chief of the Washington Post, was asked the same question during a lecture on the tensions rising within Donald Trump’s camp over immigration policy and Joe Biden’s recent series of pardons and commutations.

The journalist at the Jeff Bezos-owned newspaper seemed still reeling from Brooks’ downfall and simply said, “I don’t have a word because there are too many… So I’ll leave it at that.”

Meanwhile, viewership for cable news networks in general has declined.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that CNN’s viewership had fallen 46 percent since the election, when it had 5.1 million viewers — a number that dropped to 419,000 the following Thursday.

Furthermore, from the day after the election through last week, MSNBC averaged only 603,000 total viewers in primetime.

That’s less than half of this year’s average — with total primetime audiences down 55 percent between Nov. 4 and Dec. 15, according to Nielsen figures released this month.

The reasons for the decline are much debated, but many blame it on viewers being turned off by the outcome of the election.

Making matters worse, stars like Reid are failing to read the writing on the wall, with the ReidOut star shaming Latino men for voting for the broadcast president last month.

‘While 91 percent of black women voted in favor [Harris]Overall, 53 percent of white women voted for Trump,” she said, identifying racism as the driving force behind Trump’s victory

‘[This is] despite the open disrespect and demonization of JD Vance and the Supreme Court stripping women’s bodily autonomy, courtesy of Donald Trump.

“Also, Latino men, who – despite the total disrespect Trump has shown and his promise to deport some of your mixed-status mixed-race families – most of them have voted by a 55 percent majority to allow the deportations to take place,” she continued. , indicating planned policy.

She then spoke to Latino men who voted directly for Trump and said, “You [better] own everything that happens from now on to your mixed-status families and to your wives, sisters, and abuelas.”

MSNBC is now reportedly cutting his pay, having already cut Maddow’s pay by about $5 million after she agreed to stay with the network for another five years. Status and The Ankler reported.

The new boss of the media company that oversees MSNBC, SpinCo CEO Mark Lazarus, has also reportedly expressed a desire for Republican votes on the left-leaning network.

Additionally, CNN is reportedly on the brink of mass layoffs, following a slew of high-profile exits.

As it stands, prime time currently consists of mostly progressive opinion programming from both networks

Right-wing hosts like Laura Ingraham, Jesse Watters, Sean Hannity and Greg Gutfeld, meanwhile, average 2.8 million in the same time slots.