War and Television
It is often said during the war that the media and especially television are agents of war. For almost twenty years, media historians have argued that war is the father of all media and that the history of modern media is the history of modern war. During World War II, stories were told in the same way as moving photographs in a theater. The film crews remained mostly in non-combat areas and focused only on coverage of the war in a positive context. Reporters even reported the bad news to the public in a cheerful mood.
In a radically different way covered televisions the Vietnam War (1955-1975), the First Television War, than in World War II. Operators were almost constantly in the battle zone, covering daily, writing stories on the field.
In general, the television era began live on April 30, 1939, four months before World War II, before the German invasion of Poland, on April 30, 1939, at the New York World's Fair. There were only a few hundred devices (TVs) at the time, and only one, the RCA Experimental Station W2XBS in New York. President Roosevelt's speech and other activities related to this day were covered live. The next morning, TVs were sold in New York stores, and the TV era began.
Looking back at history, broadcasters have always been at the epicenter of events in times of crisis, which has had a positive effect on their ratings. For example, during the Iraq war, news coverage increased by 300%, increasing FOX NEWS' audience from just over a million to 5 million. CNN reached 3.3 million viewers, while MSNBC doubled its audience.
The tendency to ride on news programs or increase their ratings is also observed in the modern era, for example, the invasion of Russia in Ukraine. The Russia-Ukrainian War drew public attention to new television news and political talk shows, and the number of viewers increased compared to the pre-war period. FOX NEWS became the leader of the channels, and CNN viewing increased significantly.
From February 23 to February 27, 2022, FOX NEWS had an average of 2.32 million viewers for the entire day, which is 64% more than the January news. CNN's January audience grew from 633,000 to 1.75 million, an increase of 178%, while MSNBC had 980,000 for the period, up 51% from January.
The above figures show a tendency for CNN to increase its rating during periods of special events - such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine - while its rivals are more stable and have a better rating during peacetime.
The rating of political talk shows has also increased compared to the pre-war period. The Rachel Maddow Show (1.7 million viewers) and The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell (1.6 million viewers) on MSNBC overtook the pre-war rating trends. ABC's World News Tonight with David Muir was the highest-grossing show in the entire television space as of February 28, with 8.778 million viewers.
The growth of news coverage in America continued in March, For example: in March, new cable news coverage increased by 14% compared to February, with a share of 21% due to coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war. Live broadcasts also showed the highest share of full TV consumption in March, accounting for 30% of the time spent watching.
A similar trend was observed in the Georgian television space. Part of the Georgian channels offered the audience continuous airing of news programs and political talk shows, which had a positive effect on their rating. Coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war has shown that, like CNN, the ratings of Mtavari Arkhi, TV Pirveli and Formula rise during periods of special events, while other TV channels, such as Imedi are characterized by greater stability and a better rating in peacetime.
Compared to the pre-war period (30.01.2022-23.02.2022), the duration of daily news programs and political talk shows in the entire television space has increased by 20% since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war (24.02.22-20.03.22) and the number of viewers watching TV shows of this genre increased by 109%. A different behavior was also observed from the pre-war period by young audiences, who began to spend more time watching news and political talk shows on TV screens. For example: the viewing rate of men aged 18 to 44 increased by 95%, while the viewing rate of women of the same age increased by 100%. Viewing programs of this genre has increased both in Tbilisi and in the region. In Tbilisi, from February 24 to March 20, the viewing of this genre increased by 77%, and in the region by 75% compared to the pre-war period (30.01.2022-23.02.2022).
The televisions worked in emergency mode, devoting much more time to the daily news and political genre talk shows. For example: the duration of the mentioned genre programs on Rustavi 2 increased by 76%, and the number of viewers increased by 103%. The viewing rate of news programs and political genre talk shows has increased by 150% on Formula and 112% on TV Pirveli. The duration of news genre programs on Mtavari Arkhi increased by 64%, while the viewing rate of news programs was increased by 94%. As for Imedi TV, the duration of news programs increased by 51% from February 24 to March 20 compared to the pre-war period (30.01.2022-23.02.2022), and the number of viewers of this genre increased by 63%. The duration of news genre and talk shows also increased on the Public Broadcaster (67%), which led to a 51% increase in the number of viewers of the same genre.
By Sophio Makharadze
The data is based on a panel of Tbilisi and 6 cities of Georgia (Rustavi, Gori, Batumi, Kutaisi, Zugdidi, Poti), where the company Tri Media Intelligences measures the viewing. Data are taken from Instar Analytics, which covers the population over the age of 18, taking into account guests and time-shifted viewing, from January 30, 2022 to March 20, 2022.
References:
- A Documentary Examines Cable News War Coverage, მოძიებულია 19 მაისი, 2022
https://niemanreports.org/articles/a-documentary-examines-cable-news-war-coverage/
- Boredom and War: Television and the End of the Fun Society, მოძიებულია 18 მაისი, 2022
https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9789048525621-008/pdf
- Cable News Viewing Up 14% In March Driven By Ukraine War; Streaming Takes 30% Share But Less Time Spent As Total TV Usage Falls, მოძიებულია 20 მაისი, 2022
- Russia's invasion of Ukraine sends news network ratings up, მოძიებულია 19 მაისი, 2022
- Television During World War II: Homefront Service, Military Success, მოძიებულია 18 მაისი, 2022
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08821127.1995.10731744?journalCode=uamj20
- Ukraine Coverage Drives Ratings Gains For Cable News, But Broadcast Networks Draw Largest Audience, მოძიებულია 19 მაისი, 2022
- Vietnam: The First Television War, მოძიებულია 18 მაისი, 2022
https://prologue.blogs.archives.gov/2018/01/25/vietnam-the-first-television-war/
By Sofo LezhavaOn 25 May, 2022