DJonNews

Well, it took them long enough, but NewsNation is indeed airing the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II like the other news outlets instead of doing what they always do when it comes to huge breaking news (miss it habitually, which I honestly was expecting them to do since it's been made clear up until now that they couldn't do anything right).

Dan Abrams I can do without, thank you very much. I don't need that "Us vs. The World" narrative on my screens anymore, especially after applying it to, of all things, a somber moment from three days ago that literally everyone but NewsNation was covering. I do feel sorry for Marni Hughes, though. (This, by the way, is coming from someone who's watched the channel exactly three times ever since NewsNation started out; twice in the first two days of its life, and once three days ago.)

NewsNation has problems. Lots of problems. Hiring Cuomo isn't going to fix any of them, now that I think about it. Sure, it may increase ratings, but the bottom line is this: They are heavily unreliable when it comes to breaking the news outside of their news schedules. "The Queen passed away at 96?" Too bad, no news for you! "July 4th shooting in Chicago right near WGN station headquarters?" Ha! Tough luck! "King Charles III gives speech?" Better luck next time, television viewers! It's going to take a lot more than just a ratings increase and "star-studded" talent for NewsNation to finally get to the promised land, and having an "Us vs. The World" narrative as perfectly demonstrated on "Dan Abrams Live" two nights ago when the Queen died is absolutely, positively not one of them. It's okay if a news organization doesn't have the resources that other more established organizations have, but to habitually miss out on big news like this? Perhaps the people who hoped NewsNation would improve as time wore on have given false hope to some extent. No wonder NewsNation has become the laughingstock of the news industry, not just from a ratings standpoint, but from a trust standpoint, too.

(deadpan) Oh, yeah. I knew that was coming. Let me guess: "Blue Bloods" over live coverage on the main channel?

Oh, my goodness, NewsNation actually acted quick on big news for once... Color me surprised!

And we have problems already. Muslim groups are sounding alarm bells over CNN hiring John Miller as its chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst. https://nypost.com/2022/09/08/muslim-groups-slam-cnn-for-hiring-ex-nypd-official-john-miller/ Miller, a former NYPD official, "told the City Council earlier this year that the department never engaged in illegal surveillance of Muslim Americans after 9/11." Contrary to what he said, the department acknowledged that they did engage in said illegal surveillance (which was the subject of a Pulitzer Prize-winning report from the Associated Press in 2011) following the events of 9/11, with New York City Mayor and retired NYPD captain Eric Adams saying, "What we did was wrong." It also admitted that the program did not produce any leads to a terrorist plot. Yet, even after those, he continually refused to admit that there was any wrongdoing by the NYPD. Thus, Muslim Advocates have called CNN's hiring of Miller "a cruel joke" and are convinced Miller will pick up from where he left off and continue to "propagandize on behalf of law enforcement and dismiss clear discrimination against Muslims and other marginalized communities."

Oh, but it will be a full-fledged news network. It's just going to take longer for NewsNation to be so, as they won't be going to an all-news schedule until 2024 at the earliest. https://thedesk.net/2022/09/newsnation-nexstar-24-hour-news-channel-plans/ Speaking of, Matthew Keys posted a tweet yesterday that I feel should be worth paying attention to, since it validates what I said earlier about NewsNation being far behind when it comes to news being broken outside of their news hours:

You are very correct. Dan Abrams said on his show that he doesn't understand why cable news loves to harp on the British royal family and how we Americans are "obsessed" with it. One, I beg to differ on the "obsession" part. Two, they're just doing their job! Nobody's harping on anything! They're just telling it like it is and reporting on what they're seeing. Often, they'll also do this while they're on the scene, by which I mean "on location" at the site of, say, London, for example. Gross negligence of highly important news that is being broken literally everywhere else but NewsNation can't be played off as cable news "obsessing" over something trivial, much like how the July 4th shooting in Chicago just a few miles away from the WGN building (where NewsNation is housed) can't be played off as us being "obsessed" about something that we could've very well yawned at, even though this is July 4th we're talking about, you know, America's birthday! The news cycle runs a lot faster than those at NewsNation think, and their choosing to air reruns of "Blue Bloods" over wall-to-wall breaking news coverage isn't befitting of a channel like NewsNation. They wanted to be a news channel. So far, they're still not being it, even when we completely disregard the fact that NewsNation is still airing completely unrelated syndication programming that can be found basically everywhere else, including streaming services! Not having an international bureau is fine, as long as you can still break the news of something that may have importance on us Americans, like, oh, I don't know... Britain's longest-serving monarch in history passing away at 96! It doesn't take a genius to figure this out. When news like this breaks, you need to come on the air as soon as possible. Same for important tornado warnings, flood warnings, whatever! Otherwise, expect to lose a lot more viewers and trust than you've already lost simply because you think we're "obsessing" over news that is being covered practically everywhere else but here! NewsNation should know that by now, and yet, they still don't!

I just tuned in to "Dan Abrams Live." Hopefully what I'm about to say answers questions as to why NewsNation, as always, was asleep at the wheel when it came to breaking the news as soon as possible, especially during their sweet spot of off-net reruns. Okay, here it goes... the show just ran a story that basically went like this: "Don't get me wrong: We all loved and respected the Queen, but cable news seems to be obsessed with the British royal family, as they covered no other stories except the Queen's death for hours on end! They even ran nonstop coverage relating to the Queen before news of her death was announced, simply because her doctors were 'concerned' that she was in poor health!" Far be it from me to go into full context on the topic at hand, but the Queen's death was far from the only story covered, as news outlets (like Fox News, as mrschimpf said) were covering other news stories to balance out the time. These were all earlier in the day before her death was announced. It wasn't until the saddening news came that the news cycle came to a screeching halt. Even international news outlets far beyond America and the UK were covering the death endlessly after initially focusing on a wide breadth of news stories earlier in the day, like Seven Network in Australia, Newshub in New Zealand, and CBC News in Canada. Believe it or not, the PBS NewsHour was also business as usual at first, as it too covered a wide variety of stories (one of them including the Queen's death) before finally devoting an entire special report on the Queen's legacy at 8pm Eastern after the NewsHour was over. It was the Queen's death that led to a ton of last-minute scheduling changes being made on very short notice, both globally and domestically (even though this was expected to happen sometime). Too bad no one at NewsNation got the memo, and it was planned all along this time around. Why? Because they just had to prepare a segment on Dan Abrams Live questioning why cable news felt the need to cover nothing but the Queen's death and how we Americans are so "obsessed" with the British royal family. I mean, this is just sad.

Then again, even when taking seriously the fact that NewsNation doesn't exactly have a large international bureau, they've missed their chance to go to live breaking news coverage outside of their regular news hours more than a few times throughout their history, including a breaking news story that they missed which happened near their own backyard on July 4th earlier this year! (WGN even beat NewsNation to it, and NewsNation has the station right at their fingertips!) That being said, missing out on a big chance for live breaking news coverage is nothing new for NewsNation, including on the domestic front.

You don't need to be shocked about this, though. Practically, none of us should, if their history is anything to go by. Virtually every single major news outlet (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, etc.), including Fox News and even Newsmax, is providing as-it-happens breaking news coverage of Queen Elizabeth II's passing at the age of 96 (she'll be dearly missed). NewsNation, on the other hand? Would you believe it, they're showing "Blue Bloods" in lieu of any live coverage! The death of Britain's longest-reigning monarch in history (seven decades at the throne) is taking precedence over basically everything else in the news cycle, and still, NewsNation doesn't want to let go of "that beautiful syndie rerun footage..." Way to go, NewsNation. Way to go. Your one big chance, and you blew that, as well...

And I know this is from four days ago, but this bears mentioning. CNN tried an extended reality segment on "New Day" as part of their ongoing "Climate Crisis" series. It didn't go so well, if the execution is to be believed. https://www.The Other Site.com/2022/08/30/cnn-climate-floor-map-ar/

And they're about to blow their chance. Their ratings could indeed improve... for one day. The staffers have every reason to complain and more. Remember how Cuomo was fired by CNN in December 2021 for everything he did (favoritism, sexual misconduct allegations, etc.)? No one wanted to touch that man with a ten-foot pole after this. No one but NewsNation execs, of course. Apparently, they've forgotten what "sexual misconduct" means, which is why they've been allowing Bill O'Reilly, who was fired by Fox News in 2017 for allegations of his own, to enter talks to join NewsNation as well. Yes, they're trying to get more viewers and more money, but the staffers believe Cuomo is the wrong person for that kind of job. Imagine the volume of complaints when Bill O'Reilly gets picked up! Every line in the sand has to be drawn at some point, and hiring someone who was accused of sexual misconduct to work for a news channel crosses it.

(deadpan) Oh, wow. How surprising. I bet this has to be the talk of the town too... https://radaronline.com/p/newsnation-staff-angry-chris-cuomo-boycott/ Deadpan time over... I think this speaks for itself when even NewsNation's own staffers basically tell the higher-ups at the failing network they flubbed big time in hiring Cuomo.

Or, because they're Fox News Lite, NewsNation may want to check in on Fox Weather. Oh, NewsNation... Why, oh, why did you give up on covering weather? Why, oh, why have you done so this soon?

My suggestion exactly! If NewsNation wants to ditch their "balanced, not biased" identity (in case they haven't already done so just months into their existence), they could probably spring for Matt Lauer and Charlie Rose! Bill O'Reilly's in talks with joining, so they might as well reach out to the other two! Justice, fairness, and above all, the #MeToo movement (you thought we forgot about that, huh?) be darned! Good news for NewsNation, though: If they do all of that and overcome the unflattering reputation of the "home for the disgraced," it could move the ratings needle! By about 10,000, that is.

Caution: Viewers of NewsNation could be entering the "no spin zone..." https://www.thedailybeast.com/disgraced-bill-oreilly-eyes-job-at-newsnation-chris-cuomos-new-little-watched-network

But on the bright side, regarding Chris Cuomo's announcement of joining NewsNation at the 9pm hour, the channel finally beat an opponent for the first time in what seems to be forever... Newsmax. Who also posted pathetically low ratings in the demo that hour. By a small margin. https://www.mediaite.com/daily-ratings/cable-news-ratings-tuesday-july-26-lawrence-odonnell-leads-msnbc/

The ratings are in for the Chris Cuomo interview turned announcement that he will be joining NewsNation and... https://www.ftvlive.com/sqsp-test/2022/7/27/the-ratings-for-fredos-return-to-tv I think this may be why NewsNation staff were so frustrated that something as small as Greg Gutfeld and Dean Cain so much as mentioning them got their spirits up?

Hey guys, I'm new here. I joined because due in part to my father, I had developed a growing fascination for TV news and how it works. I wanted to be bringing my thoughts on TV news to here, so here I am. Now with the introduction finished... I can't believe NewsNation would stoop to that level! Is the morale of the staff that low that they have no choice but to pat themselves on the back in a 30-second promo for Fox News' Greg Gutfeld and actor Dean Cain so much as recognizing NewsNation? It's so hilarious! And to think this was once a superstation of WGN!