Good News, Bad News

First, the bad news: Per Nielsen, Fox News posted big-time ratings in 2010, beating the ratings of CNN and MSNBC combined. Now, the good news: Fox viewership declined roughly 8 percent compared to 2009. CNN viewership is down a whopping 34 percent. I say, good. The less cable news is viewed, the less ruinous it is on the body politic. And if viewership continues to wither, it might even spur Fox-CNN-MSNBC into producing something worthwhile. (Yeah, I know -- I must be high.) I’m also happy to report that WWE and Spongebob Squarepants still rack up more viewers than O’Reilly, Hannity and Beck. Cable news is also routinely left in dust, ratings-wise, by ABC, NBC and CBS network news. This, too, is comforting. It means that the bulk of America still knows the difference between an oasis and a mirage.