“It’s no secret that CNN’s ratings have suffered the most, even though all three are down,” Howard Kurtz said as he discussed falling cable news ratings on “Reliable Sources” Sunday.

“I respect CNN for trying to be a straight news channel at a time when it is certainly easier or cheaper to go the partisan or opinionated route that MSNBC has done following the lead of Fox News,” said Kurtz.

The Washington Post’s Paul Farhi says it’s a good strategy for CNN, only because if the network turned an ideological corner now, that street of viewers would already be taken.

“The cable networks have figured out that you can’t rely on the news cycle, you’ve got to get appointment television. Partisanship by MSNBC and Fox has been the strategy. CNN’s strategy has been to play it down the middle. If it went more partisan, it would be dividing a market that is already occupied.”