Bigoted Erick Erickson Killing CNN's Show Ratings

Image via Wikipedia

CNN's ratings, especially for Rick Sanchez' Rick's List, are already low. So why have Consevative Blogger Erick Erickson, who Firedoglake calls a "Bigot," on a show that's already performing poorly? 

Does this mean that CNN harbors bigots? Logic would indicate that CNN would want to avoid having on a personality so awful people turn the channel, right?

According to TV By The Numbers, Rich Sanchez, who this space views as a good guy, is having a massive ratings problem.

CNN's lost viewers in the Rick's List time slot, where The Situation Room was before it. The viewership has dropped 50 percent in volume in the 25-54 demographic in just one year, from 276,000 viewers to 134,000 viewers for July 2009 vs. July 2010.

With that, why would CNN add the ultimate ratings killer, Erick Erickson? Erickson's mere presence helped foster the ratings failure of CNN's John King USA Show. Many blogs, both liberal and middle of the road, and even The Daily Show, have blasted CNN for having Erickson on. CNN must think such criticism translates into ratings; the logical mind would see that's not the case.

Using CNN as a platform, Erick Erickson has done everything from pretend racial slurs against Democratic Congresspeople never happened, to recently defending Franklin Graham for saying that President Obama was born Muslim.

CNN, which smartly dispatched its under-appreciated CNN iReport Team to Comic Con 2010 to draw a growing group of mainstream Americans who care more about diversity and entertainment, turns around and for some strange and stupid reason feels it has to be a home for angry conservative white guys who cost them ratings: Glenn Beck, Lou Dobbs, and now but in a lesser role, Erick Erickson.

If it's interested in helping to advance the business of parent company Time Warner, CNN needs to give Erick Erickson the boot and emphasize the CNN iReport initiative ASAP.