If history is any guide, impeachment hearings could have a lasting impact on how viewers consume their news.
Like everything else related to President Trump, the impeachment inquiry into his request that the Ukraine government investigate his top Democratic 2020 presidential rival Joe Biden is set to become a major television event.
When the impeachment inquiry into the Watergate scandal that ultimately ended Richard Nixon’s presidency commenced in 1973, the country only had three TV networks — ABC, NBC and CBS. In an unprecedented move,The arrangement aimed to placate viewers who still wanted to see the game shows and soap operas that saturated daytime network schedules at the time.
The 1998 impeachment case against President Clinton came amid the rise of cable news. CNN was entrenched as the go-to place for continuous coverage while Fox News and MSNBC were still in their nascent days.But both newcomers saw gains at the time, especially Fox News, which attracted viewers who wanted a conservative alternative to the established news outlets. Fox News eventually became the most watched cable news outlet by 2002, a status it has held ever since.
Feist added that Trump, who presents his case on Twitter and in daily exchanges with the media, affects the coverage in an unpredictable way, a major departure from previous presidents subjected to such inquiries. If the impeachment story escalates, there is also potential for historic viewing levels. Nixon’s 1974 resignation was watched by 60.3% of all U.S. homes with television according to Nielsen, and had an estimated audience of 110 million viewers, which at the time was only topped by the 125 million viewers who watched the Apollo 11 landing on the moon.
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