Bradley Fitzgerald

Staff Writer

It may have been hard to see, but I have noticed some familiar faces seem to be missing from my TV.

Joy Reid, Jim Acosta and Chuck Todd are just some of the few that are no longer sitting at news desks, reporting on the recent occurrences in the world. After each host decided to leave their respective networks, many have called out to question if it was a wise decision for networks to let their hosts go?

These recent changes of news anchors are just the most recent effects of podcasts and new media outshining the traditional staying power of the big news networks. Large networks are simply not capable of gathering in the viewers they once did, requiring them to remove once popular hosts or let go of members of production crews.

Joy Reid, who had been with NBC since 2020, is the most recent host to decide to leave instead of accepting a time slot at a lesser-viewed time. You may also  remember that Jim Acosta announced in late January he was leaving CNN and heading for Substack.

Each host had spent much of their time focusing on the effect Trump has had on the United States, and why he should have not been elected president. While I have no doubt Trump’s re-election had to do with this trend emerging, I believe it was a more indirect result.

The loss of these hosts will leave a crater in networks ability to draw in viewers. It is much harder to draw viewers with new hosts that an audience may not recognize. Such endeavors take time, and most importantly money. It’s no doubt the years of CNN’s 24-Hour News Coverage being impressive have passed, and host shows now are what take up the most space on these
networks.

Many people today have their favorite host personalities, and watch them on the platform they desire. I can’t imagine there are many people willing to pay the prices for cable tv just to watch the news networks. With this new ability to create variety, these networks will suffer if they are unable to maintain viewers.

We are entering a time when the segmentation of a national audience is occurring. No longer do families sit around a television to listen to the news from a handful of networks. Instead, we all hear the news from individuals on podcasts, whether on Spotify or YouTube.

I am stuck pondering in my mind: Does this leave us better off?

Unfortunately, I believe that this will only lead to more division. Americans
will pick their favorite hosts, become loyal listeners and each host’s day-to-day stories will transform the listener to align more with the hosts’ opinions. It’s only natural we find ourselves drawn to people we agree with, but to do so with such ignorance to the powers of persuasion is foolish.

I will admit, I have never watched a second of the news on cable outside of an election, national tragedy, or if it’s the local weather. Every piece of news I have seen from Fox News, CNN or NBC has been due to a clip being posted on YouTube.

Perhaps this will be an opportunity for networks to try to appeal to younger viewers to watch the news. If not, I believe they may be doomed to be second place behind podcasting and Youtubers. And as for all the hosts no longer
on the news, I am sure they will do fine on whatever new space they try to stake up their new shows on.