The Watchdog with David Bozell

ABC News has a bigger problem than ratings.

ABCNews.com drew 21.5 million visits in April.

Breitbart.com drew 25.1 million.

Let that sink in for a moment.

One of the most powerful brands in the history of television news, backed by Disney’s money, Disney’s promotion, Disney’s infrastructure, and decades of institutional prestige, got beaten online by a conservative outlet the corporate press spent years treating like a temporary nuisance.

Ten years ago, media executives would have laughed at the possibility.

Now it is reality.

Americans are exhausted by media institutions that increasingly behave like political actors wearing press badges.

Under the ABC banner alone, viewers watched George Stephanopoulos and the network settle with President Trump after repeated false claims on-air. They watched The View turn into a daily ritual of anti-conservative outrage and conspiracy theorizing. They watched Jimmy Kimmel transform late-night television into a therapy session for liberal activists while audiences steadily disappeared.

Then came another revealing moment.

MRC exposed ABC News for refusing to cover the arrests of Disney employees on child pornography charges after disembarking from a Disney cruise. A major scandal involving ABC’s own corporate parent received virtually no attention from the network’s news division.

Imagine the feeding frenzy if the same story involved a conservative company.

Americans notice hypocrisy like that.

Public trust in the media collapsed because millions of Americans no longer believe these institutions apply the same standards to themselves that they apply to everyone else. Increasingly, the press looks less like an independent watchdog and more like a protected political and corporate class covering for its own interests.

The April traffic numbers suggest the public is responding accordingly.

Even more remarkable, ABC’s struggles are unfolding while the digital gatekeepers still heavily favor legacy brands. Apple News, Google News, MSN, and Yahoo News continue to steer enormous traffic toward corporate media outlets through curated placement and repetition systems that most Americans never see.

MRC 2.0 was built to expose that machinery.

The old media monopoly is weakening organically. The remaining question is how long digital distribution systems can artificially prop it up.

The audience has already delivered its verdict. The traffic numbers are finally reflecting it.

​​​​​​​Take it easy, 

David Bozell
President