This week on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace threw himself an on-air pity party, bemoaning the absence of key Obama administration officials from his show [emphasis added]:

We wanted to get the White House's view on Libya. However, they chose to offer Sec. of State Clinton and Defense Sec. Gates to ABC, CBS, and NBC, but not to Fox. Despite the fact we routinely have more viewers than two of those Sunday shows, the Obama team felt no need to explain to the millions of you who watch this program and Fox News, why they have sent US servicemen and women into combat. We thought you'd like to know.

Fact: Wallace hosts, and has hosted for years, the perennial Sunday morning news show loser. Every week, Fox News Sunday gets lapped by the rest of network competition: ABC's This Week, CBS's Face The Nation, and NBC's Meet The Press. It's not even close.

Lately, Wallace's show averages around 1.4 million viewers, while the Sunday morning competition on ABC, CBS and NBC attracts between 2.5 - 3.5 million viewers, approximately. Ever since he took over as host of Fox News Sunday during Bush's first term, Wallace has been fourth out of four, and the ratings haven't really budged.

So what's this brazen claim that Fox News Sunday routinely has “more viewers” than is network competitors? In order to make that math work Wallace has to count not only the show's original airing on Fox TV each Sunday morning, but also the two additional times the show gets re-broadcast on Fox News later that day. Meaning, in order for Fox News Sunday to beat the competition, Wallace counts the three airings the show receives each week.

Kinda sad, right?

I have no idea why Clinton and Gates declined to appear on Fox News Sunday this week. But I do know that if the show could lift itself out of the ratings basement, if only for one quarter, it would have a better chance landing key guests.

(h/t News Hounds)