CNN's Reputation

[Ksyrup]

CNN has certainly received some attention recently, in terms of the perceived slantedness of their war coverage. Now, my point with this thread is not to debate whether they are or are not too slanted in their coverage, but to simply suggest that if the perception among too many people is that CNN's coverage should be called into question, that could cause serious problems for a once-revolutionary network.

For example, this is a real exchange from yesterday, from another board I frequent:


Me: He [Dr. Atkins] died today. CNN has it on their "breaking news" header.

Poster #1: Wow, you mean they put other info on that channel than Operation Iraqi Freedom. No Way!

Poster #2: Yeah, but they reported it as another civilian casualty.


For a news network, being the butt of jokes about your credibility is not good. I don't watch the late shows, have Letterman/Leno, etc., made some of these jokes? Just wondering...

[CamEdwards]

Among the talk radio crowd, CNN didn't have a good rep to begin with, but this and the premature obit fiasco will have an effect, IMO.

[KWhit]

What premature obit? I hadn't heard about this.

[Superman=#54]

Don't you mean the Clinton News Network. During the Clinton administration CNN was a 24/7 praise Clinton channel. It still is very one sided and I no longer watch that channel. I have switched to MSNBC.

[Easy Mac]

I'm pretty sure I could come up with a million similar jokes about Fox News. there is no such thing as news anymore, its about getting people to watch your show.

[Fritz]

Originally posted by Easy Mac
I'm pretty sure I could come up with a million similar jokes about Fox News. there is no such thing as news anymore, its about getting people to watch your show.

News has always been biased. Don't kid yourself by thinking otherwise.

[Ksyrup]

My point wasn't so much to ridicule CNN as it was to wonder whether its very existence is in doubt, given the recent issues that have been brought to light. You can make fun of Fox all you want, but I haven't really heard it's credibility called into question - it's more of a "Fox is for conservatives" rant. This goes beyond that.

[Easy Mac]

Well, the above exchange is more or less a "CNN is liberal" rant, its not much different.

[Draft Dodger]

if ratings are there, credibilty doesn't matter at all.

for related info see News, FOX.

[CamEdwards]

the premature obit story can be found here .

Basically a portion of their website featuring pre-written obituaries of Pope John Paul II, Dick Cheney, Ronald Reagan, Bob Hope and others.

I think you can also find the mockups at The Smoking Gun .

[ACStrider]

CNN isn't going anywhere. Its credibility and attraction have certainly slipped to FOXNEWS and other stations over the years. CNN has a more global attraction (in part for its occasional un-American slant, I'm sure), and as long as thcy continue to spin things into an un-American slant, there will be an un-American following.

[CamEdwards]

I just read that "Fox and Friends" beat the CBS morning show for the second week in a row. That's pretty darn amazing.

[Daimyo]

I think its funny because during the war you had war protestors saying CNN was too pro-war and you had pro-war folks saying CNN was too pro-war-protest...

[JPhillips]

CNN recently was picked as the "most credible" news network in some poll. I think the Fox is conservative, CNN is liberal debate really doesn't come to play for the majority of Americans. Neither Fox or CNN is in any danger of closing shop.

[CamEdwards]

Originally posted by JPhillips
CNN recently was picked as the "most credible" news network in some poll. I think the Fox is conservative, CNN is liberal debate really doesn't come to play for the majority of Americans. Neither Fox or CNN is in any danger of closing shop.

Was this before or after the Eason Jordan op/ed piece?

I don't know what the polls say, but I know what the ratings say, and it's quickly becoming a bloodbath.

[mckerney]

The mock-ups had been on a development site meant for internal review. But the public briefly had access to them after the password protection got disabled.

So pretty much people were searching CNN as we were Digital River prior ro the FOF release?

Was it a good 30-45 seconds after a mock order form for FOF2 (I believe) was up before members here started downloading.

[JPhillips]

Cam: That was before the Eason Jordan piece, but I still don't think that CNN is going to go under. They'll take a hit for a while, but I'm betting that my local cable will still have CNN on 28 five years from now.

[MylesKnight]

What has Boortz had to say about CNN? I know he's filled in from time to time on Talkback Live, but is the Radio Station he works for, WSB-750 AM in Atlanta, owned by CNN or one of its subsidaries?

Personally I watch Fox News Channel more than CNN or MSNBC except for when Geraldo Rivera aka Jerry Rivers happens to be on the air.. What a joke he is, but that's a whole other subject..

[TroyF]

Originally posted by Fritz
News has always been biased. Don't kid yourself by thinking otherwise.

And the winner is. . . Fritz.

I remember a masters journalism class I attended. There were about 10 of us in the class. The prof asked us a question: What is the main job of a newspaper reporter? The first person raised their hand and said something to the effect of "To give a fair, unbiased account of a news story" Most everyone else agreed with him.

I raised my hand and said "To make your newspaper money, period." The prof responded with And the winner is. . .

I'm returning the favor to Fritz.

TroyF

[cartman]

Remember that statistics don't lie, but liars use statistics.

On the ratings front, Fox is indeed ahead of CNN.

But revenue is what keeps the lights on. Where does revenue on TV come from? That's right, advertisements, and how much a company is willing to pay to put an ad on your network.

So the surprising statistic is that while Fox is ahead of CNN in the ratings, CNN still receives more advertising revenue than Fox does.

Which, to me (please wait while I don my flamesuit) draws a comparison to a WalMart store and a Neiman-Marcus store. The WalMart store will draw more customers, but the Neiman-Marcus (wait, got an arm stuck putting on the suit) will get more revenue with more customers.

(Flame suit on and burn-proof) Now ask yourself, where would you rather be seen shopping?

[CamEdwards]

cartman,

it also take a little while for advertisers to switch over. I'm not saying that CNN isn't going to be here five years from now, but I wouldn't be surprised if they put even more emphasis on their broadcasts outside of America.

And I think if Fox's ratings continue to trend upward once the war ends, then you'll see more companies advertise on Fox.

[Ksyrup]

I'd rather shop at the one at which I can buy shit I need and use.

At first I thought the comparison was outrageous, but on a certain level, it fits. Who the hell needs to buy matching his and hers solid gold dildo holders for $18K apiece? Similarly, who the hell wants to listen to people bitch about crap only 1% of the country believes or is interested in?

[CamEdwards]

you lost me at dildo holders.

the hell wants to listen to people bitch about crap only 1% of the country believes or is interested in?

Who are you referring to here?

[Ksyrup]

Cartman made a comparison between Wal Mart and Neiman Marcus to make a point about CNN/Fox.

My analogy was, Neiman Marcus has shit no one wants or needs, just like CNN allows people to spout off on issues no one cares about or believes, and Wal Mart has things I need/use, similar to Fox's news (this was a tortured analogy to begin with - blame Cartman!).

[MylesKnight]

.."Who the hell needs to buy matching his and hers solid gold dildo holders for $18K apiece?..

They make those? Great comment K-Su!!

[JPhillips]

KSyrup: How about some peolpe prefer WalMart and some prefer Neiman Marcus? Of course I already know that those who prefer Neiman Marcus are pampered elitist snobs, not at all like O'Reilly or Hannity ect.

[Ksyrup]

Of course they do. I was just taking Cartman's premise and having some fun with it.

[AgPete]

Originally posted by CamEdwards
Among the talk radio crowd, CNN didn't have a good rep to begin with, but this and the premature obit fiasco will have an effect, IMO.

C'mon guys! Through two states and four major cities, I haven't been able to hear anyone other than Rush Limbaugh and all the Dittohead Wanna-be's for ten years now on my radio. Let's not try and saturate the TV market with sensationalist conservatives now. Leave CNN alone. Whenever the next Democrat comes back to the Oval Office, you'll have plenty of things to bitch about.

[Taur]

Originally posted by cartman

Which, to me draws a comparison to a WalMart store and a Neiman-Marcus store.

Now ask yourself, where would you rather be seen shopping?

But, Ask yourself what Stock would you rather own?