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Lachlan Murdoch attributes Fox News ratings decline to viewer fatigue

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 5 outlets, mostly left-leaning (80%).

5 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

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Fox Corp. chief executive Lachlan Murdoch acknowledged a steep fall in Fox News viewership ahead of the US midterm elections and attributed it to “viewer fatigue.” Speaking on an earnings call, Murdoch told investors that viewers were “fatigued and watching slightly less television.” Raw Story reports, citing Nielsen, that Fox News’ primetime audience fell 28 percent in October from a year earlier, to fewer than 1.7 million viewers from 2.3 million. The same report says CNN’s and MS NOW’s primetime audiences rose 19 and 13 percent. Murdoch said last year’s figures had been boosted by Donald Trump’s inauguration and the killing of Charlie Kirk, and compared the current cycle with the 2006 midterms.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. Editors read every story. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Fox Corp. chief executive Lachlan Murdoch acknowledged a steep decline in Fox News viewership ahead of the midterm elections.

    Reported byFar Left1Left2Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Raw Story
    Left
    Bloomberg, CNN
    Center
    Financial Times

  2. Murdoch attributed the decline to “viewer fatigue,” saying on an earnings call that viewers were “fatigued and watching slightly less television.”

    Reported byFar Left1Left2Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Raw Story
    Left
    Bloomberg, CNN
    Center
    Financial Times

  3. According to Nielsen, Fox News’ primetime audience fell 28 percent in October compared with a year earlier, to fewer than 1.7 million viewers from 2.3 million.

    One outletRaw Story· Far Left

  4. Rival networks CNN and MS NOW reportedly gained primetime viewers in October, up 19 and 13 percent.

    One outletRaw Story· Far Left

  5. Murdoch said last year’s Fox News figures had been boosted by Donald Trump’s inauguration and the killing of Charlie Kirk.

    One outletRaw Story· Far Left

How each side tells it

Compare views

Every side reports that Fox News ratings fell and that Lachlan Murdoch attributed the drop to viewer fatigue. Center coverage leads with the ratings drop itself, while left coverage puts Murdoch’s explanation in the headline, and the far-left outlet stresses the scale of the decline.

  • the left

    4 outlets

    Left headlines put Murdoch’s “viewer fatigue” explanation first, presenting it as his admission or blame; the far-left Raw Story adds “massive ratings collapse,” the strongest wording in the coverage.

    Lachlan Murdoch Blames Fox News Ratings Dip on ‘Viewer Fatigue’
    BloombergLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    The one center outlet, the Financial Times, leads with the ratings drop itself as a sharp fall tied to the approaching US elections, with Murdoch’s explanation placed in the description.

    Fox News suffers sharp drop in ratings as US elections approach
    Financial TimesCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    No coverage yet

    No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left3

    prompting speculationadmittedmassive ratings collapse

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right

    Has not covered this story.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Vague attribution

    prompting speculationMore neutral: with no source named for the explanation

    The explanation offered for the ratings drop is attributed to unnamed speculation rather than to a named source.

    …cable channel overall, but its ratings have fallen sharply in recent weeks, prompting speculation that Fox’s Republican-heavy audience is feeling deflated by the midterms.

    Used byCNN (Left)

  • Loaded verb

    admittedMore neutral: said

    “Admitted” implies a confession of fault, while the statement was a routine account of audience trends given on an earnings call.

    Fox chief executive Lachlan Murdoch admitted Monday that the network is losing viewers heading into the midterm elections,…

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    massive ratings collapseMore neutral: sharp drop in ratings

    “Massive” and “collapse” dramatize a 28 percent primetime decline that the coverage describes as a steep drop.

    Fox News boss blames ‘viewer fatigue’ for massive ratings collapse

    Used byRaw Story (Far Left)

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

4 outlets

Leads with

  • Murdoch’s viewer fatigue explanation
  • steep ratings decline
  • timing before the midterms
See the 4 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • Los Angeles TimesLeft

    Lachlan Murdoch says 'viewer fatigue' is cutting into Fox News ratings

    Fox News' October audience fell 28% from a year earlier, with its 25-to-54 audience at a 25-year low, as executive Lachlan Murdoch cited "viewer fatigue."

    Read at Los Angeles Times (opens in a new tab)
  • Raw StoryFar Left

    Fox News boss blames ‘viewer fatigue’ for Sensational language“massive ratings collapse”“Massive” and “collapse” dramatize a 28 percent primetime decline that the coverage describes as a steep drop.More neutral: sharp drop in ratingsDisagree with this highlight?

    Fox chief executive Lachlan Murdoch Loaded verb“admitted”“Admitted” implies a confession of fault, while the statement was a routine account of audience trends given on an earnings call.More neutral: saidDisagree with this highlight? Monday that the network is losing viewers heading into the midterm elections, according to the Financial Times . “We are seeing viewer fatigue,” Murdoch told investors on an earnings call. …

    Read at Raw Story (opens in a new tab)
  • CNNLeft

    Fox News ratings drop is due to 'viewer fatigue,' Murdoch says on eve of midterms

    A highly contentious midterm election is contributing to higher ratings for many news brands. But not at the Fox News Channel. Fox News remains the most-watched cable channel overall, but its ratings have fallen sharply in recent weeks, Vague attribution“prompting speculation”The explanation offered for the ratings drop is attributed to unnamed speculation rather than to a named source.More neutral: with no source named for the explanationDisagree with this highlight? that Fox’s …

    Read at CNN (opens in a new tab)
  • BloombergLeft

    Lachlan Murdoch Blames Fox News Ratings Dip on ‘Viewer Fatigue’

    Fox Corp. Chief Executive Officer Lachlan Murdoch acknowledged a steep decline in viewership on Fox News ahead of midterm elections and attributed it to “viewer fatigue.”

    Read at Bloomberg (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • sharp ratings drop
  • approaching US elections
  • rival networks’ growth
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines

From the right

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The stories you read build My Mix, a private picture of which sides cover the stories you choose, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    59 min later

    Its first report, Nov 2, 10:54 AM EST

  • Center

    First to report

    Financial Times, Nov 2, 9:55 AM EST

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Financial TimesCenterNov 2, 9:55 AM EST
  2. BloombergLeftNov 2, 10:54 AM EST
  3. CNNLeftNov 2, 12:41 PM EST
  4. Raw StoryFar LeftNov 2, 2:37 PM EST
  5. Los Angeles TimesLeftNov 2, 2:55 PM EST

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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