Viewers Tune Out, Voters Lose Out as DNC Buries Democratic Debate
Published on
Monday, November 16, 2015
by
Common Dreams
Viewers Tune Out, Voters Lose Out as DNC Buries Democratic Debate
Democratic party heads face renewed criticism as Republican candidates, with
millions more tuning in, are dominating the conversation
by
Lauren McCauley, staff writer
The second Democratic debate was buried in a Saturday evening television
slot. (Photo: Jim Young/ Reuters)
The record low viewership of Saturday's Democratic debate has voters,
particularly Bernie Sanders supporters, once again castigating the
Democratic National Committee (DNC) for what many believe is a blatant
attempt to shield establishment candidate Hillary Clinton and, in turn,
relinquish important political ground to the Republican candidates.
Saturday night's CBS debate drew an audience of just 8.5 million viewers, 7
million less than the first Democratic debate last month, making it the
lowest-rated primary debate this campaign season from either party,
according to Nielsen ratings.
Given that Saturday's are known for having the lowest weekly TV
ratings-particularly among people 18-35 years old, a key Democratic voting
bloc-the DNC is facing renewed criticism for its debate schedule, which
critics say is a clear attempt to protect the Democratic frontrunner.
"Look, there was a clear intent to bury these debates to the benefit of
Clinton," a Democratic campaign official told Politico on Sunday. "And it is
doing a disservice to the Democratic Party. The GOP is blowing out
numbers-and we are protecting Hillary Clinton."
In comparison, the last two Republican debates, which were held on smaller
networks than CBS, saw over 13 million viewers. Meanwhile, the first two,
hosted by CNN and Fox News respectively, each broke 20 million.
What's more, the next two debates are also scheduled for potentially
low-viewership weekends: the Saturday night before Christmas, and the Sunday
night of the Martin Luther King Day weekend, during the National Football
League playoffs.
"It's not rocket science to schedule debates on incredibly inconvenient
dates," writes Vox's Alvin Chang, whose analysis of television viewership
and debate schedules of past elections found that the DNC's weekend-heavy
debate agenda seems particularly tailored to minimize viewership.
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been under fire since the primary
schedule, which consists of just six debates, was first unveiled.
And now that millions more are tuning in to hear the Republican candidates'
biased take on everything from foreign policy to immigration to reproductive
rights, voters and those interested in an alternative point of view are
declaring "WTF?"
"It is, frankly, bullshit that this debate [...] was on a Saturday night and
is likely to have enjoyed an audience in the high dozens," writes New York
Magazine's Rebecca Traister. "These are politicians who are speaking nimbly
about minimum-wage hikes, systemic racism, and financial reforms (finally,
after years of these topics going unaddressed). Yet, they're being hidden
under every kind of bushel."
Huffington Post contributor Miles Mogulesco agreed, saying, "There's no
rational explanation except that the DNC wants as few people as possible to
tune in to the Democratic debates, despite the fact that Presidential
debates are one of the best ways to get a party's message out to large
numbers of voters at once."
He continues: "Anything that allows Democratic primary voters to get to know
Bernie Sanders (or Martin O'Malley) better makes it more likely that more
voters will decide they like them, and maybe even prefer them to Hillary.
It's amply clear that the DNC and the Clinton campaign have decided to avoid
this at all costs, even if it means harming the Democrats' chance in the
general election."
According to social media engagement metrics, Sen. Bernie Sanders was
declared the winner of Saturday's debate.
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Viewers Tune Out, Voters Lose Out as DNC Buries Democratic Debate
Published on
Monday, November 16, 2015
by
Common Dreams
Viewers Tune Out, Voters Lose Out as DNC Buries Democratic Debate
Democratic party heads face renewed criticism as Republican candidates, with
millions more tuning in, are dominating the conversation
by
Lauren McCauley, staff writer
. 22 Comments
.
. The second Democratic debate was buried in a Saturday evening
television slot. (Photo: Jim Young/ Reuters)
. The record low viewership of Saturday's Democratic debate has
voters, particularly Bernie Sanders supporters, once again castigating the
Democratic National Committee (DNC) for what many believe is a blatant
attempt to shield establishment candidate Hillary Clinton and, in turn,
relinquish important political ground to the Republican candidates.
. Saturday night's CBS debate drew an audience of just 8.5 million
viewers, 7 million less than the first Democratic debate last month, making
it the lowest-rated primary debate this campaign season from either party,
according to Nielsen ratings.
. Given that Saturday's are known for having the lowest weekly TV
ratings-particularly among people 18-35 years old, a key Democratic voting
bloc-the DNC is facing renewed criticism for its debate schedule, which
critics say is a clear attempt to protect the Democratic frontrunner.
. "Look, there was a clear intent to bury these debates to the benefit
of Clinton," a Democratic campaign official told Politico on Sunday. "And it
is doing a disservice to the Democratic Party. The GOP is blowing out
numbers-and we are protecting Hillary Clinton."
In comparison, the last two Republican debates, which were held on smaller
networks than CBS, saw over 13 million viewers. Meanwhile, the first two,
hosted by CNN and Fox News respectively, each broke 20 million.
What's more, the next two debates are also scheduled for potentially
low-viewership weekends: the Saturday night before Christmas, and the Sunday
night of the Martin Luther King Day weekend, during the National Football
League playoffs.
"It's not rocket science to schedule debates on incredibly inconvenient
dates," writes Vox's Alvin Chang, whose analysis of television viewership
and debate schedules of past elections found that the DNC's weekend-heavy
debate agenda seems particularly tailored to minimize viewership.
DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz has been under fire since the primary
schedule, which consists of just six debates, was first unveiled.
And now that millions more are tuning in to hear the Republican candidates'
biased take on everything from foreign policy to immigration to reproductive
rights, voters and those interested in an alternative point of view are
declaring "WTF?"
"It is, frankly, bullshit that this debate [...] was on a Saturday night and
is likely to have enjoyed an audience in the high dozens," writes New York
Magazine's Rebecca Traister. "These are politicians who are speaking nimbly
about minimum-wage hikes, systemic racism, and financial reforms (finally,
after years of these topics going unaddressed). Yet, they're being hidden
under every kind of bushel."
Huffington Post contributor Miles Mogulesco agreed, saying, "There's no
rational explanation except that the DNC wants as few people as possible to
tune in to the Democratic debates, despite the fact that Presidential
debates are one of the best ways to get a party's message out to large
numbers of voters at once."
He continues: "Anything that allows Democratic primary voters to get to know
Bernie Sanders (or Martin O'Malley) better makes it more likely that more
voters will decide they like them, and maybe even prefer them to Hillary.
It's amply clear that the DNC and the Clinton campaign have decided to avoid
this at all costs, even if it means harming the Democrats' chance in the
general election."
According to social media engagement metrics, Sen. Bernie Sanders was
declared the winner of Saturday's debate.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0
License
