The Smallest Slice of a Shrinking Pie

Click here for larger image. (OC Register graphic)

How much of the CBS Evening News' viewership slide was attributable to Rather, and how much to the networks' falling market share? As this chart makes clear, it was more than Rather, but Rather had a lot to do with it.

He started with the biggest slice of the shrinking pie and ended with the thinnest. There's probably a Texas homily to be made there.

The sad thing is that they all, and all their sidekicks like Chris Matthews and Carl Berstein, continue to deny bias, and thereby continue to be blind to the one thing that could help turn around the fate of network news. Add more chairs. Have a strong panel with divergent views. Re-invent your story selection process. Run fewer, deeper stories.