Monday, October 26, 2009

Terrific! CNN Can Not Even Beat HLN

To be the trailblazer of a concept, 24-hour television news, and to be at the bottom of the barrel must be humiliating for CNN. But, they are trying to put a good face on it.
After all, CNN started as the only dog on the block. Then they decided to spin off and start a faster pace network, Headline News, now HLN. Then came along NBC, trying mightily to find its news presence on cable television. It had to eventually reinvent itself and it did, becoming MSNBC. But, in 1996, an upstart came along and has now changed the face of cable television news. And that would be the Fox News Channel.
After years of being the unchallenged leader in cable news, the upstart Fox News Channel became the number one cable news network in less than 10 years and on fewer cable and satellite systems. But worse, it is now being beaten by a network that they started, HLN.
The problem is that while CNN touts itself as a news network, it is not any different than what they criticize Fox News Channel as. A partisan network.
After all, it was a CNN "reporter" that was shocked, shocked I tell you, that Chicago did not make it past the first round of voting for the 2016 Summer Olympic games. And who can forget the gal that mocked the Tea Party protesters while "reporting". Those are but two obvious examples of a supposed serious news network pontificating rather than reporting. For the record, Fox News Channel does engage in debate shows, led by Glenn Beck, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Greta Van Sustren. But all their straight news shows are just that. News.
And because Fox News Channel dares to report on stories that CNN just lets languish, it becomes a credible news organization. Maybe not to the Dear Leader, President Obama, but to those that watch it.
One way that CNN can possibly reach beyond it fourth-place is to have a real prime time lineup.
Lets face it, they can not keep Larry King alive forever. So, get in with some hosts and have similar shows as Fox News Channel or MSNBC. After all, it was CNN that gave us the great show Crossfire. And the weekend show The Capital Gang. These are shows that worked. And can work again if CNN would give it a shot.
Sometimes, it takes going back to the future, so to speak, to get back on top. Whatever CNN is not doing is clearly not working.
But I rather enjoy seeing CNN at the bottom of the heap. It shows what happens when arrogance takes a front seat and success is ignored.
At some point, CNN is going to have to wake up and find a better formula if they want to get back in competition with Fox News Channel and MSNBC.
But in the mean time, it is great to see that the spinoff network, HLN, is beating CNN.
Terrific!

2 comments:

Rightwingsnarkle said...

...all (Fox's) straight news shows are just that. News.

Ah, ha ha ha.

You are one seriously deluded little fellow.

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure Larry King is alive now!