CNN Is Lost Without An Identity

Television networks so often rely on identity, storylines, and star power to draw audiences. Under President Joe Biden, CNN lacks all three.

From 2016 to 2020, CNN personalities were interchangeable. They sounded alike and had the same mission: damage Donald Trump. By the end of Trump's days in the White House, Tucker Carlson and Rachel Maddow had distanced themselves as the biggest draws in cable news. CNN, of course, does not employ either Carlson or Maddow, so the network had to develop a counter strategy.

CNN decided to target the afternoon time slots, and at the start of the new year, it bet big that Tapper could usher the company into a post-Trump era. It expanded The Lead with Jake Tapper to two hours -- from 4-6 p.m. -- to compete head-to-head with The Five on Fox News and Deadline on MSNBC. CNN even changed his title to "lead anchor for all major Washington events" and slashed an hour from company stalwart Wolf Blitzer to elevate Tapper further. 

Though he isn't a primetime host, Tapper has come to be viewed as the face of CNN.

Tapper is CNN's most talented broadcaster, but he still hasn't been a needle-mover in the ratings, as The Lead is down 75% in viewership since January. No one expected Tapper to sustain 2.8 million viewers, his January average, but a fall to 706,000 by June 23 is an unmitigated ratings disaster. 

Tapper and the rest of CNN's anchors and personalities need a new direction. The substance and energy are gone. They're sports-talk a week after the Super Bowl. 

Trump made Fox News and MSNBC more of what they already were, but CNN reinvented itself during Trump's presidency. Trump changed who CNN is. Just 100 days into Biden's reign, CNN has lost more than two-thirds of its audience. CNN needs to reinvent itself once again.

Many people like to compare CNN's coverage of Trump to MSNBC's. However, there are key differences between the two networks.

MSNBC's viewers are older and loyal, tuning in daily to hear the liberal side of a controversial topic. Not so at CNN. CNN's viewers are more casual, less committed to the network, which is why they tuned in during the election and Jan. 6 but have since gone elsewhere. CNN has a smaller base than Fox and MSNBC but draws most of the viewers who turn to cable news during major news periods. Trump gave CNN a major news period seven days a week for four years.

Tapper, Anderson Cooper, Don Lemon, and Chris Cuomo are all reactionary. Tucker Carlson and Rachel Maddow lead cable news because they create news cycles. In fact, both are better when there isn't a pressing news story with which they must lead their programs. When news is slow, they become the news. CNN doesn't have such a person.

I analogize CNN's coverage of Trump to right-wing talk radio's coverage of Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Americans love heroes and villains. CNN successfully painted Trump as the great threat to democracy, but now, the Left doesn't have a definitive villain. Joe Biden isn't much of a hero either.

At first, CNN tried to replace Trump with Tucker Carlson, villainizing the host in an attempt to reinvigorate the ire of the anti-Trump audience. That's great for viral social media clips, but the competing cable news host didn't receive 74 million votes in November. Gov. Ron DeSantis could be that guy come 2024, should he stand in the way of Kamala Harris' quest for the White House. But for now, he's just a governor.

Jake Tapper, Don Lemon, Jeff Zucker, and AT&T executives breathed a loud sigh of relief on Inauguration Day. Finally, they told themselves, their hard work had paid off. Then, the following day, they woke up in their Northeastern mansions and realized they had nothing.

Follow Bobby Burack on Twitter.