nypost.com
DAN'S RATINGS IN A FREE FALL
By MICHAEL STARR and VINCENT MORRIS
September 28, 2004 -- Dan Rather's ratings in New York continue to tank in the wake of the fake-documents scandal.
The "CBS Evening News" averaged 160,000 viewers last week on WCBS/Channel 2 — down from 231,000 viewers the week before.
Rather apologized for the National Guard documents debacle on the Sept. 20 newscast, and his numbers actually rose the next two days, reaching a high of 241,000 viewers Wednesday.
In the week before Rather's on-air mea culpa, viewership was off a staggering 49 percent.
The numbers spiraled downward since Wednesday, with Thursday's "Evening News" pulling only 140,000 viewers on Channel 2, and a measly 108,000 viewers Friday, according to Nielsen numbers.
Meanwhile, a fourth of American adults polled for USA Today and CNN by Gallup say Rather should be fired over the story charging President Bush got special treatment during his National Guard service — but 64 percent said the anchor should not be canned.
Also, 38 percent said the CBS report was a hit job aimed at making Bush look bad, while 56 percent said it was an "honest mistake."
The poll of 546 adults conducted Friday through Sunday is the first national effort to gauge damage to CBS over the story.
The poll also asked how many Americans had been following the controversy, with 22 percent saying they were very closely tracking it. Another 43 percent said they were following it "somewhat," while 24 percent said "not at all."
Meanwhile, former New Jersey Republican Senate candidate Doug Forrester is taking out a series of radio and TV ads hitting Rather.
A Forrester aide said the ads begin airing today on CBS stations here, in Philadelphia and in New Jersey, as well as on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC.
"Dan Rather desperately wanted to believe forged documents . . . It wasn't just sloppy journalism. It was political bias," says the ad.
"It's time for Dan Rather to go." |
