Fox News Ratings Free Fall Is a ‘Self-Inflicted Wound,’ Insiders Say
Lloyd Grove, Lachlan Cartwright, Diana Falzone, Justin Baragona

Tue, February 2, 2021, 5:19 PM
Signaling a seismic shift in the media landscape as defeated former president Donald Trump hibernates in strangely silent exile at Mar-a-Lago, Fox News’ two-decade-long winning streak came to an abrupt end Tuesday while rivals CNN and MSNBC claimed the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings, respectively, in all of cable television.
Fox News’ embarrassing third-place showing is the
continuation of a downward trend in which the right-leaning outlet lost 2020’s fourth quarter to CNN and
alienated Trump-supporting loyal viewers by
calling Arizona early for Joe Biden during its Election Night coverage.
This unwelcome development is predictably prompting internal panic among staffers, who fear it will result in additional job losses
after recent layoffs—and gloating among detractors.
“Fox has seen ratings dips before and has always come back. But there’s no denying this is disastrous for them,” said a former on-air Fox News personality, asking not to be further identified.
“They were out-crazied on the right,” said television entrepreneur Jonathan Klein, the former president of CNN, noting that two of Fox News’ further-right competitors benefited from viewers’ post-election anger. “One America News and Newsmax were more willing to provide the heroin that conspiracy addicts were looking for.”
Fox News Ratings Free Fall Is a ‘Self-Inflicted Wound,’ Insiders Say