The January 6 Hearings Are The Best Television Series Of The Summer

Media The January 6 Hearings Are The Best Television Series Of The Summer Brad Adgate Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Brad Adgate is an Independent Media Consultant New! Follow this author to improve your content experience. Got it! Jul 9, 2022, 08:57am EDT | Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, pauses as she .

. . [+] testifies as the House select committee investigating the Jan.

6 attack on the U. S. Capitol holds a hearing at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 28, 2022.

(AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool) Associated Press After a two-week hiatus, the January 6 th Congressional hearings will return live on July 12 th at 10 a. m. (ET).

The previous six hearings had aired live with the first one on June 8 in primetime and the remaining five in weekday daytime when TV usage is lower. Each hearing highlighted a specific component on the attack on the Capitol on January 6, it has been an unfolding storyline comparable to a television series. Also, similar to an entertainment program, at the end of each hearing was a preview (a.

k. a. “coming attractions”) of what to expect on the next installment.

James Goldston, a former ABC News president, has been working with the Congressional committee as an advisor. The hearings have been a combination of live testimony, video clips, pre-recorded depositions and scripted commentary. The New York Times NYT reported the third hearing had been rescheduled because more time was needed by the production crew.

Andrew Heyward, research professor at ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication and former President of CBS News says, “I have no problem with the comparison to a TV series, as long as we remember that the hearings are a serious inquiry into a cataclysmic historic event, not an entertainment show. That said, the planners did a good job tailoring the hearings to the audience rather than the politicians’ egos. ” The first hearing with its primetime exposure, generated the greatest interest with viewers, reporting an average audience of about 20 million viewers.

The sixth and final hearing in June was headlined by the surprise testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson, a close aide to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. That hearing (on June 28) was announced at the last minute and averaged 13. 2 million viewers, the second most watched to date and a 23% increase from the average of the four previous daytime hearings.

MORE FOR YOU How To Become A Translator CNN’s John Berman: Arizona ‘Sham Audit’ Proves Donald Trump ‘Even Bigger Loser Than The First Time’ ‘Cut Him Off, Cut Him Off Now!’ Newsmax Anchor Ends Interview When Guest Criticizes Donald Trump In today’s fractionalized video landscape, the audience delivery for all six hearings averaged 12. 3 million viewers. (The ratings are additive across several broadcast and cable news networks.

) This was comparable to the average audience of the 2022 NBA Finals on ABC, the highest rated program in June. In addition, only the NFL averaged more primetime viewers on broadcast television in 2021-22. Among entertainment shows only NCIS at 10.

9 million and the FBI at 10. 3 million averaged over ten million viewers for the season. Nielsen reported about 55 million viewers tuned in to watch some part of the hearings.

Similar to virtually every linear TV program (especially news) these days, the audience profile of the hearings skewed toward older adults, roughly three-quarters of the audience have been older than 55. In mid-June Quinnipiac University conducted a poll on the January 6 hearings, finding over half of Americans have been following the hearings; with 26% saying they were following “very closely” and 32% were following them “somewhat closely”. As expected, interest in the hearings varied on political viewpoints.

With most January 6 hearings lasting at least two hours, nowadays, in this era of information overload there are a number of options available to get information on the hearings instead of live television. These include streaming video, social media, podcasts, blogs and talk radio. Oftentimes these media platforms come with a particular political slant.

In addition, these recaps are similar to watching the highlights of a long-form sporting event shown on local news or cable sports networks. Hence, the live television audience of the hearings, which have been more straightforward, have not been as robust despite the bombshell testimony. Interest in the hearings and the current political climate can best be exemplified by Fox News.

During the hearings the ratings of Fox News, the top-rated cable news network, has lagged behind CNN and MSNBC. The network chose not televise the first hearing in primetime, opting to remain with their regularly scheduled lineup of Tucker Carlson Tonight and Hannity with no commercials. For the remaining five Fox News televised the hearings aired live.

During Cassidy Hutchinson’s testimony which ran past 5 p. m. (ET), Fox News chose to cut away from the live testimony and air its top-rated show The Five instead.

The result more than tripled the audience from the previous two hours. In addition, a survey from National Research found that 37% of registered voters have heard little/nothing about the hearings. With the January 6 hearings resuming, Committee member Rep.

Jamie Raskin (D-MD), says the next hearing will concentrate on the roles and actions of domestic violent extremist groups, conspirators and far right organizations. They will investigate how the mob that stormed the Capitol was organized, assembled and financed. The January 6 hearings coincided with the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in and subsequent Senate hearings televised the following Summer.

Andrew Heyward adds, “The obvious comparison [to January 6] is the Watergate hearings which also married history to high drama in ways we still remember almost 50 years later. It will be interesting to see whether the organizers of more mundane hearings going forward borrow from this ‘new’ playbook. ” Follow me on Twitter or LinkedIn .

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