(First diary, please excuse any faux pas)
I'm preaching to the choir here, and many others around here feel that CNN stands for Continuously Needless News. What I would like to know is why they feel they must intentionally dumb down their U.S. news, and why.
My experience comes primarily from the websites, since I stopped watching CNN a while ago. In particular, I've noticed very different CNN's depending on whether you have the U.S. version or the International version. Looking at the two websites side by side is downright
comical.
Today was particularly telling:
CNN International Edition Top stories:
- U.S., Iraqis launch border offensive
- Iranian vote ends after extension
- Convictions in Tyco case
- U.S. shuts Lagos post for security
- 4th quake in week shakes Calif.
- Zimbabwe razes rural homes
- UK spurns EU budget deal offer
- U.N.: Truck bomb killed Hariri
- Airbus wins in $50m Paris showdown
CNN U.S. Edition Top Stories:
- Tyco two face jail time
- Father guilty of killing 9 of his children
- Security alert on 40 million credit cards
- New arrest in Aruba missing teen case
- Sergeant accused of killing his commanders in Iraq
- Mom protests treatment of alleged drug boss
- Gov. Bush wants probe of why Terri Schiavo collapsed
- SI.com: Record round shot at U.S. Open
- McDonald's show off digital fast-food restaurant
Not only is Iraq NOT the top story in the U.S. edition, but the U.S. stories are by and large "personal interest" stories (or more accurately, stories dealing mostly with individual dramas rather than global or national ones).
Why is that? Has CNN basically thrown in the towel when it comes to reporting real news at home? And is it intentional (i.e. they don't want to report at home), is it market-driven (i.e. that's what the people want), or is it forced from the top (either by a Murdoch-like character or the gov't.)?
I found a great diary from last November from a CNN insider lamenting much the same thing. But this is getting ridiculous. What's it going to take for CNN to cover relevant issues? And what will it take for us to get heard there?
One possible strategy is to put a "face" to every story, as the Republicans did with Schiavo (albeit very badly)? Maybe we need to make some of our spokespeople go missing and have CNN try to go find them. As CNN transitions to being the 24/7 "Where the White Women At?" Network, we need to make sure our spokespeople are white missing women.
I don't even know anymore. Aside from Democracy Now, Google News, and occasionally the NYT, is there any good place to get news?