Katie Bar the Door: CBS Evening News' Ratings Plummet

Image via WikipediaDespite live reports from Afghanistan by anchor Katie Couric, the CBS Evening News scored its lowest ratings in 20 years, since the Nielsen Co.'s modern ratings system began, according to a New York Times story.

The CBS Evening News averaged 4.89 million viewers last week, compared to NBC Nightly News' 7.42 million and ABC World News' 6.51 million viewers, the Times story reported. Viewership has eroded for all three network news programs in recent years, but because CBS is mired in third place, it is more of a lightning rod for low ratings  stories.Doubtless, talking heads on cable news shows and media critics may point to the paltry ratings as evidence that American tv watchers have lost interest in the protracted Afghanistan conflict, which may have some validity, but is an over-simplistic conclusion ( a specialty of cable tv talking heads).