Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy sat down with Mercedes Schlapp on Thursday to discuss the network, its recent troubles with satellite provider DirecTV, and the ominous trend of media silencing alternate viewpoints.
At the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Prince George's County, Maryland, Ruddy cited Nielsen ratings showing that Newsmax, a popular conservative news organization, is the fourth highest-rated news channel, a top 20 channel overall, watched by 25 million Americans on cable alone.
"It's really not our brilliance. It's the fact the American people want more choices in news," the network's founder declared, later noting that "the liberals and the left basically own everything in the media world."
DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is returned! Oppose censorship!
"Why should the left have so many news choices, but conservatives only have one?" he continued. "Fox, let's admit it, is changing. It's good to have more voices, and I think Newsmax plays a very critical role in offering those."
Ruddy has recently been challenging last month's deplatforming of Newsmax by DirecTV. The provider called it a business decision, while Ruddy and many top lawmakers have dubbed it a clear instance of silencing a conservative outlet. (DirecTV took down another right-leaning news channel, OAN, last April.)
On Thursday, he said he was cautiously optimistic about efforts to restore Newsmax to the AT&T-owned carrier.
When asked by Schlapp about the status of negotiations, Ruddy said he was "hopeful" that Newsmax can come to an agreement with DirecTV after the cable distributor stated it was willing to negotiate further.
"It was a little bit of a shock to us because we've been around for over five years now. We're on every major cable system. Last year, we renewed with hundreds of cable systems including Dish and Verizon."
Ruddy added, "I think both parties would like" to bring Newsmax back, "and I think it would be a great testament to them and the diversity of voices that they're having."
Ruddy called out left-leaning rating groups like the Global Disinformation Index and NewsGuard for exerting influence over recent decisions to silence conservative voices. They present themselves as independent fact checkers and have even received federal funding.
"All the liberal sites like CNN and New York Times get great scores no matter what they do," he explained. "Think about what CNN did — all the problems, the scandals, the Cuomos, the Russian collusion — and they're among the highest-rated by NewsGuard."
Despite the clear biases, Ruddy said, big advertising agencies use data from those groups to "block conservatives from getting advertising revenue."
"What they're trying to do is demonetize conservative media, and it's a threat to our constitutional freedoms."
Actions to Take Now
1. DirecTV customers call toll free at 877-763-9762 to complain, demand Newsmax is back on air!
2. Call your congressman or senator at 202-224-3121 and demand they stop AT&T/DirecTV's censorship of NEWSMAX — ask them to give you a date on the hearings!
3. Go to our online petition and get more info: iWantNewsmax.com.
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