It's manipulative both in the narrative sense (they're preaching to the choir) but also in a sense the commenter made - 'like they do in Vegas'. The big focus

It's manipulative both in the narrative sense (they're preaching to the choir) but also in a sense the commenter made - 'like they do in Vegas'. The big focus on the 'head only' now on CNN, because that's more engaging - personalities who are almost always 7.5/10 - i.e. nice to look at but not ultra-attractive, the ability to appear 'just credible enough in tone and disposition and yet also empathetic' - that posture is important. And then background, the overlays - it's designed like the environment in Vegas. Go to CNN.com right now and let the ad for Cuomo's show run - listen to the words he is using, listen to the music, the specific text that they overlay. They are communicating "It's panic time in America, is your heart racing? Because this is so important, and we have the 'Truth' for you here, tune in at 8pm". These are all generally intelligent, well intentioned people, but the ultra focus on eyeballs and attention really hurts credibility. During an election cycle it gets much worse, it's almost impossible to watch any cable news outlet right now.