MediaWeek has a great recap of the second quarter ratings: "Fox News Channel tallied its 18th consecutive quarterly ratings win over rival CNN, averaging 1.38 million viewers in prime time in the second quarter of 2006 versus CNN's 700,000."

Anthony Crupi notes that "the demo declines at FNC and CNN may be chalked up to what many observers have characterized as a particularly slow news cycle. By way of comparison, the second quarter of 2005 was marked by the passing of Pope John Paul II and the appointment of his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, which helped boost news ratings across the board."