The scandal wave plaguing the Obama Administration has not been kind to its foremost media supporter. Deadline.com reports that left-leaning MSNBC is testing the lows as viewers become fixated on the latest developments concerning Benghazi, the IRS and the AP records:

With 350,000 viewers on average and 94,000 among the adults 25-54 demo, MSNBC had its least-watched and lowest-rated total-day results of the year last week. That was also the lowest total-day demo result the network has had since the week of June 26-July 2, 2006, when MSNBC pulled in just 83,000 viewers among adults 25-54, according to Nielsen data.

MSNBC is fighting a two front war. Very liberal viewers are tuning out as Team Obama flails, a classic manifestation of avoidance. Less ideologically motivated viewers are going where the actual news coverage is, which means Fox. Even troubled CNN, liberal but not so over-the top as MSNBC and profiting from its legacy brand image, is making up some ground it has lost to MSNBC.

Ideology notwithstanding, the ratings contest drives broadcast journalism, and viewers want information about what is affecting their lives in troubled times. The numbers come out every day, and Zap2it.com reports some fascinating stats for May 16:

Network         Viewers (000)             Demo 35-64

FNC                              2,468                            866
CNN                                 522                            235
MSNBC                            587                            251

In good times, spin can go a long way. In bad, people want to know what is going on, which is the core mission of the news industry. Despite its often annoying attributes – the populism, the blonds, the sensationalism- Fox News continues to dominate, pulling in more viewers than its two liberal competitors combined.

For the left, coverage of the Obama scandals is like regicide. But will intensify for competitive reasons, if nothing else. Pass the popcorn.