Ratings, an indicator of what?

It appears from May's Nielsen report that FOX beat out MSNBC and CNN.

And O'Reilly has an excellent showing with Olbermann's numbers slipping.

Is this the indicator of what Americans want to see?

Are there other factors involved other than the Nielsen to determine viewer interest?

And in entertainment categories, NCIS seems to be beating the pack with as many as 12.5m viewers.

The commentators combined do not reach half that number, less than 3m.

It does make me think!