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Drastic change in viewer habits for conventions

WATCHING political conventions from gavel to gavel is like shoveling down platefuls of peas for many Americans. Eat them, you're told, they're good for you.

WATCHING political conventions from gavel to gavel is like shoveling down platefuls of peas for many Americans. Eat them, you're told, they're good for you.

Television today is like an all-you-can-eat casino buffet, though, with the peas just a click away from the chicken wings.

Tens of millions of Americans are still dutifully watching democracy in action, of course, but Americans are also getting smaller portions at Comedy Central, and millions more are skipping right to dessert with "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" or Wednesday's NFL opener.

The seven networks that carried the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night drew approximately 25.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen, while NBC had 24 million tune in for the Cowboys' 24-17 win over the Giants.

"If the NFL wants to govern the country, it looks like they have a good opportunity to do so," said Leonard Steinhorn, a professor in American University's School of Communication who focuses on politics in the media.

The Nielsen ratings for conventions since 1960 resemble a jagged mountain range, slowly sloping down over the decades with a few peaks (1976 RNC, both parties in 2008) and valleys (2000 RNC). Though cable television had a lot to do with that, the purpose of the convention has evolved too, experts say.

"Most of the drama from conventions is gone. It's become a foregone conclusion," said Richard Harris, chairman of the political-science department at Rutgers University in Camden. "They're about issues, polls, messaging and mobilization."

But television ratings alone can't measure a convention's reach in 2012 and if @InvisibleObama registers with you, you'll know why.

The mock Twitter account sprang up moments after Clint Eastwood's conversation with an empty chair at the RNC.

"If Clint Eastwood was seen by 30 million people on the television, the phenomenon it created has been seen and talked about in many different forms, long after it was over," Steinhorn said.

Comedy Central has boasted about getting more viewers in the 18-34 demo than Fox News Channel during the RNC, but Steinhorn said that younger generations aren't beholden to television at all for convention coverage, even if it's got snark and satire.

"I'm teaching a class on the election right now and my students are insatiable," Steinhorn said. "They're reading links in their Twitter or Facebook, or scanning their news aggregator all day."