In the interest of fair and balanced ...

Whenever one of these articles goes up about Keith Olbermann, I can always count on hearing from a small but relentless group of people across the country who are just driven crazy by any positive ink that MSNBC might get. Since the tone of these comments/emails/flaming bags of poop tends to be, shall we say, more noise than signal, I usually don't print them. But every now and then I hear from a local reader named Mike Landreth, who reads TV Barn and our newspaper. He once told me he has "never" watched "Countdown," which has not apparently cooled his white-hot hatred for it. Well, it takes all kinds, right? Anyway, I'll take all the local readers I can get.

I pass along two recent emails he sent to me (he pasted them together, not me) because there is an interesting statistic in there about the ad revenues for the three cable news networks ... wedged between a representative sample of O'Reilly talking points and 9th-grade trash talk that I often get from Keith-haters. I don't doubt that MSNBC is trailing badly in revenues, by the way. Fox News had to fight a battle for respect with advertisers and cable operators, even after it had become obvious that it was going to be No. 1 for a long time.

Jump if you dare ...

---

Hi Mr. Barnhart,

I thought I would provide you with some more information about the cable news networks. Advertisers project spending 1.4 billion dollars on the cable news networks. Of the 1.4 billion 47% will be spent at Fox News. Forty percent will be spent at CNN, and get this, a measly 13% will be spent at your favorite MSNBC. Apparently the lucrative advertisers have not received the memo.

I look forward to reading all about Fox News and their total domination in ratings and revenue in an upcoming column. If you need any more information on how the cable news networks operate please let me know.

Sincerely,

Mike Landreth

-----Original Message----- From: Landreth, Michael [OMP]
Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2008 7:47 PM To: 'aaron@tvbarn.com' Subject: What's working for me.... FOX NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mr. Barnhart,

Since the KC Star has not reported it, I thought you would like to know the latest ratings for cable news:

For the 77th consecutive month Fox News is the #1 cable news network.

FNC is 6th highest cable station, well ahead of CNN (19), and your favorite MSNBC (27).

FNC had 11 of the top 13 rated programs.

The O'Reilly Factor was #1 for the 90th consecutive month, that is over 7 years! Total viewer ship is up 26% year to date.

These are such impressive accomplishments that I am stunned that the KC Star has not even mentioned this. Why is that?

I hope this information was helpful, and helps you do your job properly in reporting accurate information.

Sincerely,

Mike Landreth

P.S. Bill Moyers pummels a punk? HA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HAHA, HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA,HA.

Clearly you have a warped definition of pummels. The radical liberal stumbled all over himself when faced with a challenge. I guess working on the PBS dole for a career and nervier being forced to provide a balanced report did not equip him to handle the questions.

Comments

[Dewey]

Even though I disagree with Olbermann quite a bit, he's much better than Bill Orally. I don't her Olbermann injecting the word "I" into nearly every other sentence on any topic as Orally does at Fixed News. Olbermann is also far funnier than Orally, but then my 9 year old is funnier than Orally.

I used to flip channels between the two, to see how (and if) they were covering the same story for comparison. And occassionly I actually found myself agreeing with him. Orally has become such a bitter old man I rarely do that anymore.

I love Worst "Person in the World" even when he gores my ox, so to speak. Even if I'm not watching Olbermann at the time, I turn channels about the time it's on so I can see it. Mr. Landreth apparently worships at the Altar of the Falafel and doesn't like to see the truth about it's High Priest.

[T Dog]

Here in Chicago, there is a media personality who's just as big a jerk as O'Reilly is and that's Sun-Times sports "columnist" and "Around the Horn" contributor Jay Mariotti, who constantly rips Chicago's teams for no apparent reason. And quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing about both. Are these two men really that desperate for attention? But as long as indifferent Big Media is paying the freight...

As for Olbermann, I liked him a whole lot better when he was doing sports...

(I will confess that until fairly recently Around the Horn was a guilty pleasure. And then I made the mistake of reading some of the columns by the regulars. Hoo boy, did that take the fun out it. Mariotti calling for Ozzie Guillen's replacement, which earned him rebukes from his fellow S-T staff writers, was a particularly shameful case.--AB)

[Mark Bunker]

What I've discovered to be true is that the program that draws the most viewers is just the bestest all around.

"The Waterboy" made more money than "Annie Hall," ergo, it is a superior film.

Further, why watch "Battlestar Galactica" when it can't even break into the Top 20 shows? It must stink on ice.

O'Reilly has to have the superior show. Why would sponsors show their two-minute long commercials for the greatest cd collection of church hymns if the Factor didn't supply an overwhelming audience of the elderly?

Go, Bill-O!

(Really? Direct-response ads during the "Factor"? First run, at 8 p.m.? That's embarrassing.--AB)

[Dave]

Isn't the "real story" here the total demise of CNN?
You have to wonder if - Ted Turner had bought CBS - or CBS had bought CNN - where we'd be today...

And in a total "shift" - has anyone watched
The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric" lately?
Yeah, she'll be fired after the election , but - this is without a doubt a the BEST Evening News show out there.
Bob Schiefer and Jeff Greenfield commentary and analysis. and... very little
"It sounded like a locomotive" (unidentified woman) or "It sounded like an Airplane" (unidentified man) reports.