March 4, received similar ratings with 1,384,000 viewers. Publications gave the show's initial two episodes historically poor reviews. The Chicago Tribune said, "The humor is so predictable and so stale that it fails to produce any laughs", while The Philadelphia Inquirer commented that "The 1/2 Hour News Hour is slow torture all by itself." Metacritic's television division, which produces composite scores based on prominent reviewers' opinions of television pilots, other episodes, and/or DVD releases, gave The Half Hour News Hour pilots a score of 12 out of 100, making it the lowest-rated television production ever reviewed on the site. Despite the pilots' poor reviews, the show continued to lead its time slot in the ratings among cable news networks. The show's lead over its competition shrank considerably, however, with its August 5, 2007, airing. Cancellation The show's cancellation was announced on August 14, 2007, and its last episode aired on September 23, 2007. At the time, Bill Shine, the Senior Vice President of programming at Fox News, stated that "we are considering ways to retool the show for future scheduling needs." See alsoRed EyeThe Greg Gutfeld ShowThis Hour Has 22 MinutesThe Daily ShowThe Colbert Report'' References External links Reviews at MetaCritic Fox launches rightwing satire show Dan Glaister in Los Angeles for The Guardian, February 16, 2007 2000s American satirical television series 2000s American sketch comedy television series 2000s American television news shows 2007 American television series debuts 2007 American television series endings American news parodies Conservative media in the United States English-language television shows Fox News original programming Television series about television Television series by 20th Century Fox Television