Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of Fox News, has scheduled a company-wide meeting for Wednesday to address his network's shrinking audience in the wake of Bill O'Reilly's departure and the resignation of co-president (and Sean Hannity ally) Bill Shine. Murdoch will hold two meetings in order to discuss the network's editorial direction and future, as Fox News attempts to thwart MSNBC's sudden ratings surge. The meeting will be scheduled in a manner so that all staff members can attend, reports Breitbart News.
Viewers displeased by revamped Fox News lineup
The chairman will undoubtedly address the recent shakeup that saw Tucker Carlson taking over O'Reilly's time slot, a revamping of "The Five," and the creation of a new Eric Bolling vehicle, "Fox News Specialists." The lineup shakeup has produced less than stellar results thus far, according to the latest ratings data by Adweek.
MSNBC trumped Fox News last week in the all-important 25-54 demographic for the first time in seven years. Although Murdoch's network led the cable news pack in overall viewership, shows hosted by Rachel Maddow, Lawrence O'Donnell and Brian Williams finished at the top of their respective time slots.
Latest ratings will really give Anderson Cooper something to roll his eyes at
And now it appears that even Fox News' once-firm hold on the total viewership title is at risk. While the network garnered an average of 2.6 million viewers, MSNBC averaged 2.4 million viewers. Finishing a distant third was CNN, with a mere 1.3 million average viewers.
Although Fox News was quick to send out a press release on Wednesday reaffirming that the network was the most-watched in overall viewership for the 19th consecutive week, some experts who predicted doom and gloom after the controversial firing of top-rated conservative commentator Bill O'Reilly can't help but feel vindicated.
Breitbart News reports that Murdoch's key task will be to "rally the troops," thereby suggesting that morale at the network is at an all-time low. Throwing further gasoline on the fire is the recent rumor that Kimberly Guilfoyle, a co-host on "The Five," may be replacing Sean Spicer as the White House press secretary.
As for Bill O'Reilly, he's moved on to smaller and lesser things. O'Reilly announced on Monday that he will be hosting a weekly program on Glenn Beck's struggling conservative network, TheBlaze.
