Between having a notorious tweet last week and having Twitter founder Biz Stone on Monday, it’s no surprise that The Colbert Report had the best engagement during its broadcast of any cable news show yesterday.

Apart from Colbert, the Rachel Maddow Show did surprisingly well compared to the normal levels of engagement it receives.

Michael Smerconish’s debut on CNN didn’t generate huge Twitter engagement, but given how poorly the show is promoted, I guess that’s not surprising.  What I don’t understand is how cable networks, with huge operating budgets, can fail to do the simple things like build a landing page for a show (even if it’s only on for a week) and not promote the show in social media (no hashtags, now show accounts, no thing).  It’s just so sloppy. And CNN wonders why they are lagging in the ratings (absent a missing plane): it’s because they don’t do the foundational work necessary to be successful.  

Sharpen your saws, CNN.

Continue reading →