Shafer thinks cable news is in decline:
As currently programmed, the networks best resemble political talk radio, in which people chat about the news instead of report it. That political talk radio has already reached its own "saturation point" has occurred to the industry, talk-radio consultant Randall Bloomquist of Bloomquist Media told me.
"The audience for personality-driven political talk radio has flattened and aged in recent years. Still, radio companies have been reluctant to pull their hand from that still-lucrative jar and experiment with new forms of spoken word programming," said Bloomquist. "Political talk radio has always viewed the performance of cable news as a key indicator. Peak cable might provide another impetus for radio to start taking some chances with non-political formats, especially shows with an appeal to younger men, something that political talk sorely lacks."
The Dish 