This morning, both the media criticism shows, FNC’s “Media Buzz” and CNN’s “Reliable Sources” covered the coverage of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Fox News contributor Lauren Ashburn, was critical of CNN’s saturation coverage, but admitted to watching the network when news breaks. “CNN is taking it to the next level and it is becoming dominant,” said Ashburn, adding, “We’re missing all other stories like the CIA spying scandal, Ukraine has been knocked off the front page. But if I do want to know about news I turn to CNN because it is 24/7.”
Host Howard Kurtz added, “CNN’s ratings [are] up nearly 67% in prime time, at least in the first few days” of the coverage.
Meanwhile, over on CNN, instead of beginning at 11amET as usual, “Reliable Sources” was pushed back a few minutes (at 11:30 as well), for the latest on the search for the flight, and other news, including the vote in Crimea. Among his segments, host Brian Stelter talked with psychologist Dr. Gail Saltz about why TV viewers are tuning in: “They want someone to hold accountable and right now we can’t figure out who’s to blame,” said Saltz. “This nebulousness keeps us riveted until we have someone to old accountable.”