By CCN.com: The fake news spun by the mainstream media regarding President Donald Trump’s alleged collusion with Russia has seen viewers abandon left-leaning news outlets in staggering numbers, with CNN and MSNBC suffering more than their conservative counterpart Fox News over the past year.

CNN’s primetime viewership crashed by 47%, while MSNBC’s primetime numbers slid 28%. The prized 25-54 age demographic departed CNN in even greater numbers, with 58% of primetime viewers switching off, and 52% of total day viewers no longer tuning in since last year.

On Wednesday, the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post appeared to offer an olive branch to conservatives in the wake of the fake Trump-Russia scandal. Contributing columnist Gary Abernathy published an article titled “Admit it: Fox News has been right all along,” where he urged the liberal media to put aside their partisanship and reflect on what may have been the worst abuse of rogue government powers since the Watergate affair.

IS CNN’s Obsession with Trump Gotcha Game Killing the Media Outlet?

According to data collated by Adweek, mainstream media channels have seen a sharp decline across the board since 2018. The data strongly suggests that left-wing outlets have suffered the worst – with CNN’s primetime and total day losses of 47% and 41% way above Fox News’ losses of 8% and 12% respectively.

In the favored 25-54 advertising demographic we see the biggest point of departure. Fox News lost 27% of total day viewers; CNN lost 52%, and MSNBC lost 43%. While these numbers suggest a stronger dissatisfaction with left-wing media, the losses incurred by Fox News suggest a lack of faith in mainstream media in general.

The handling of the Donald Trump-Russia scandal is just one of many possible factors causing people to switch off. The rise of independent media on YouTube, coupled with the constant outpouring of scandal after scandal coming from mainstream outlets has also created a perfect storm – one which threatens to swallow up mainstream media for good.

WaPo Shock: Liberal Outlet Offers Olive Branch to Trump & Fox News

On Wednesday, the Washington Post released an uncharacteristic article wherein the author called for peace between political partisans. Columnist Gary Abernathy urged his liberal readership to lay aside biases, and consider the true implications of the fake Russian collusion allegations that have swarmed Donald Trump’s presidency.

Abernathy wrote:

“It would behoove serious journalists to put aside their political biases and delve into a story that might actually be worthy of Watergate comparisons — even if it includes the painful admission that Fox News has been right all along.”

By summoning the specter of Watergate, Abernathy perhaps seeks to rekindle the memory of better times, not just for the Washington Post, but for the industry of journalism in general.

Anyone with a YouTube account knew years ago that the Donald Trump – Russian collusion story was illegitimate. Independent media groups like Project Veritas showed this to be the case in 2017 when CNN staff were filmed admitting that the Trump-Russia story was a “nothing burger.”

The question now is whether or not the existing media paradigm can be saved, or even if it should be.

Is it too much to hope that CNN and MSNBC will drop their biased coverage before Trump leaves the White House? With viewers turning away in droves, and independent media cementing a place for itself online, will it even matter?