5 ms·

Scoop: CNN to dull its liberal edge

12 points by cwwc 5y ago

mrfusion 5y ago
I doubt “dulling” will win back any viewers. I’d like an apology and some kind of honesty pledge.
rayiner 5y ago
We have been watching CNN for as long as I can remember, because it’s the US network that has the largest international presence. (We’re immigrants and my dad works in international development.) Going back to CNN clips from 1990 and comparing them to today is eye opening. It’s gotten to the point where even my dad, a Carter-loving yellow dog Democrat, calls it “DNC Propaganda.” By the way, the rejoinder that “Fox isn’t any better” may be true but also misses the point. For one thing, being no better than Fox is hardly something to be proud of. For another, Fox, and conservative media in general, is self-consciously a rebuttal to the generally liberal-leaning narrative from traditional media. It puts a conservative spin on what used to be a generally shared universe of facts. When CNN became just like Fox, it caused the left and right to completely cleave into parallel factual universes.
- wrp 5y ago
  There is something different in the audiences of CNN and Fox. I think it's in level of cynicism. When you criticize CNN, it brings out defenders, people seemingly desperate to establish that CNN is a source of Truth. When you criticize Fox, even the people who hate CNN rarely muster the enthusiasm to disagree.
  - rayiner 5y ago
    People who watch Fox News know they’re getting a right wing spin on the facts. I’m one of the many democrats who tunes into Fox now and then (online more so than television): https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/02/democrats-fox-news-entertainment-conservative-liberal-00004843 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/02/democrats-.... CNN is really unwatchable these days if you don’t want to only hear about Trump and how everything and everyone is racist and homophobic. But I’m just watching to get the gist of what happened—I’m fully aware that I’m getting a spin, and I check liberal sources too if I think the facts are disputed.
- sneak 5y ago
  The text-ads-that-look-like headlines on the homepage don't do much to help the credibility situation, either.
- WalterGR 5y ago
  When CNN became just like Fox, it caused the left and right to completely cleave into parallel factual universes. The left-right factual chasm is to be blamed on CNN? That’s a bit much.
  - rayiner 5y ago
    I’m not blaming it in CNN. I’m observing that for a long time CNN striving to be better kept that disconnect somewhat in check. When CNN became Fox it grew into a chasm.
    - jacquesm 5y ago
      > When CNN became Fox it grew into a chasm. That never happened.
      - rayiner 5y ago
        Do they have domestic US CNN in your country? The international version is very different.
        jacquesm 5y ago
        Yes, if you want.
slibhb 5y ago
The problem with CNN isn't just unbalanced reporting. The site has turned into a tabloid over the years, full of advertisements and "my wife left me for bigfoot" stories.
- loudtieblahblah 5y ago
  Doesn't help when half the staff at CNN are the subject of the tabloids themselves.
- WalterGR 5y ago
  CNN is one source of news for me. turned into a tabloid over the years, full of advertisements The “native ads” (ads styled the same way as content) on the front page of the website are indeed quite annoying - but that’s where it stops. It’s not like I (nor anyone, I hope) see one of those ads and the consequence is that I believe CNN has some position on mesothelioma lawsuits or how to moisturize my elbows. and "my wife left me for bigfoot" stories. I haven’t seen that. Can you think of any examples?
  - ianceicys 5y ago
    and "my wife left me for bigfoot" stories. Have you watched the Don Lemon show or the Anderson Cooper Day time show?...you'll see these types of stories. Also, go to cnn.com and refresh through out the day...constant click bait titles.
    - WalterGR 5y ago
      Have you watched No. I only read news. Also, go to cnn.com and refresh through out the day...constant click bait titles. Not constant, though sometimes. But: so?
- markoman 5y ago
  CNN does have adverts semi-disguised as news stories but they are labeled as either 'Paid Content' or 'Paid Partner Content' and put in their own sections. And, of course, the Fox News site does something very similar. What one does, the other often has to do, just to remain revenue competitive. Still, I think a number of things can be said in CNN's favor (relative to Fox News) regarding its neutrality, or lack thereof. I simply don't see the same emphasis and extremism that occurs in the few opinion shows that they have. While on Fox, the steady drumbeat heard from the cavalcade of Carlson, Hannity, Watters, Pirro, Ingraham, appear with near-coordination in messaging so that no opportunities are missed to blast Democrats from every angle. Carlson's messaging is particularly extreme and opportunistic, arguing both that Biden should be doing more and yet asking why we should be involved in the Ukraine conflict at all since he finds that Russia's grievances have merit. The rare respectable Fox news hosts have been driven away in the past couple of years, such as Sheppard Smith and Chris Wallace. The latter is now employed at CNN, notably. I don't see this type of brain drain happening at CNN. For a while, Fox News would hide behind a 'fair and balanced' tagline which they eventually had to abandon because it was obviously false. For example, recently I've seen Fox inviting guests on who waste no opportunity to attack Biden with either outright lies or misleading statements, such as how gas prices are suffering due to a ban on fracking on public land by the administration. In fact, the ban is only on new permits for fracking -- and the extent to which it would affect gas prices is being great exaggerated. Biden also comes under criticism for failing to provide all the arms that Zelenskyy wants to fight off the Russian invaders, as an indication of so-called 'weakness', yet in fact Biden has provided $700 million worth of arms including javelin missiles. CNN (and Wash Post, etc.) was criticized over the Nick Sandmann affair when they played the video of the face-to-face confrontation at the Lincoln Memorial (1/18/2019) between the 16 year old Sandmann and Nathan Phillips, a Native American activist. While the video made it look like the boy (with a MAGA hat and perceived smirk) and his schoolmates were blocking Phillips and his fellow activists, it turns out that other videos available later described a different story that muddied the issues and that a third group of demonstrators were involved as well at an earlier point. Sandmann never apologized after Phillips said that he thought he was owed one in an interview. Public opinion was starting to come down on Sandmann's side especially considering that he was a minor. CNN ended up settling the lawsuit with Sandmann as did two other news outlets. Surely, CNN saw that a jury would have similar sympathy for such a young litigant and wisely settled. However, the Right then painted it as an example of a bias. CNN is more guilty of sloppy reporting perhaps, since the initial video spoke volumes owing to the similarly boorish behavior of those who wear the MAGA hat. Yet, CNN should have sought to secure more videos at the scene to get a fuller story. CNN deserves credit for having policies and pushing out (or directly firing) those hosts who violate said policies. Chris Cuomo, while nonetheless stating that he would never be impartial when it came to his brother Andrew, was found by management to be in violation when he helped his brother navigate his sexual harassment and public relations crisis. Jeff Zucker and then Allison Gollust were fired when it was discovered that they were carrying on with a secret relationship. While Fox News was the subject of a wave of sexual harassment lawsuits years ago, it only fired CEO Roger Ailes after nearly 20 women including Gretchen Carlson accused him of such. Bill O'Reilly was another firing but only after lawsuits were filed. Where are the internal investigations over there and why did it take a lawsuit? Hannity and Carlson have also been the target of lawsuits against Fox in 2020.
spacemanmatt 5y ago
Liberal, my left eye.
ukraineally 5y ago
CNN was great, superb reputation, back in the day. They changed and not for the better. CNN is fake news because they became political activists instead of journalists. Their goal was just non-stop attack on Trump. In the short term, your reputation take a hit every time you post ridiculous self-contradictory stuff. CNN April 4, 2017: Everyone should have paid family leave: https://archive.fo/95N8h https://archive.fo/95N8h Trump May 22, 2017: Trump's budget to include paid family leave: https://archive.fo/3w6ZL https://archive.fo/3w6ZL CNN political activist May 30, 2017: How paid family leave hurts women: https://archive.fo/uH6yn https://archive.fo/uH6yn Political activists don't care. CNN's reputation takes a hit every time they do this. Eventually CNN would take critical damage. Which has happened, their ratings are down 70-90%. In 3 minutes this video shows the problem of CNN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hXdjYwcgYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hXdjYwcgYU What CNN must do now is rebuild their reputation. They need to toss aside all the toxic political activism. Will they do it?

12 points by cwwc 5y ago

I doubt “dulling” will win back any viewers. I’d like an apology and some kind of honesty pledge.

We have been watching CNN for as long as I can remember, because it’s the US network that has the largest international presence. (We’re immigrants and my dad works in international development.) Going back to CNN clips from 1990 and comparing them to today is eye opening. It’s gotten to the point where even my dad, a Carter-loving yellow dog Democrat, calls it “DNC Propaganda.” By the way, the rejoinder that “Fox isn’t any better” may be true but also misses the point. For one thing, being no better than Fox is hardly something to be proud of. For another, Fox, and conservative media in general, is self-consciously a rebuttal to the generally liberal-leaning narrative from traditional media. It puts a conservative spin on what used to be a generally shared universe of facts. When CNN became just like Fox, it caused the left and right to completely cleave into parallel factual universes.

wrp 5y ago
There is something different in the audiences of CNN and Fox. I think it's in level of cynicism. When you criticize CNN, it brings out defenders, people seemingly desperate to establish that CNN is a source of Truth. When you criticize Fox, even the people who hate CNN rarely muster the enthusiasm to disagree.
- rayiner 5y ago
  People who watch Fox News know they’re getting a right wing spin on the facts. I’m one of the many democrats who tunes into Fox now and then (online more so than television): https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/02/democrats-fox-news-entertainment-conservative-liberal-00004843 https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/02/democrats-.... CNN is really unwatchable these days if you don’t want to only hear about Trump and how everything and everyone is racist and homophobic. But I’m just watching to get the gist of what happened—I’m fully aware that I’m getting a spin, and I check liberal sources too if I think the facts are disputed.
sneak 5y ago
The text-ads-that-look-like headlines on the homepage don't do much to help the credibility situation, either.
WalterGR 5y ago
When CNN became just like Fox, it caused the left and right to completely cleave into parallel factual universes. The left-right factual chasm is to be blamed on CNN? That’s a bit much.
- rayiner 5y ago
  I’m not blaming it in CNN. I’m observing that for a long time CNN striving to be better kept that disconnect somewhat in check. When CNN became Fox it grew into a chasm.
  - jacquesm 5y ago
    > When CNN became Fox it grew into a chasm. That never happened.
    - rayiner 5y ago
      Do they have domestic US CNN in your country? The international version is very different.
      - jacquesm 5y ago
        Yes, if you want.

slibhb 5y ago

The problem with CNN isn't just unbalanced reporting. The site has turned into a tabloid over the years, full of advertisements and "my wife left me for bigfoot" stories.

loudtieblahblah 5y ago
Doesn't help when half the staff at CNN are the subject of the tabloids themselves.
WalterGR 5y ago
CNN is one source of news for me. turned into a tabloid over the years, full of advertisements The “native ads” (ads styled the same way as content) on the front page of the website are indeed quite annoying - but that’s where it stops. It’s not like I (nor anyone, I hope) see one of those ads and the consequence is that I believe CNN has some position on mesothelioma lawsuits or how to moisturize my elbows. and "my wife left me for bigfoot" stories. I haven’t seen that. Can you think of any examples?
- ianceicys 5y ago
  and "my wife left me for bigfoot" stories. Have you watched the Don Lemon show or the Anderson Cooper Day time show?...you'll see these types of stories. Also, go to cnn.com and refresh through out the day...constant click bait titles.
  - WalterGR 5y ago
    Have you watched No. I only read news. Also, go to cnn.com and refresh through out the day...constant click bait titles. Not constant, though sometimes. But: so?
markoman 5y ago
CNN does have adverts semi-disguised as news stories but they are labeled as either 'Paid Content' or 'Paid Partner Content' and put in their own sections. And, of course, the Fox News site does something very similar. What one does, the other often has to do, just to remain revenue competitive. Still, I think a number of things can be said in CNN's favor (relative to Fox News) regarding its neutrality, or lack thereof. I simply don't see the same emphasis and extremism that occurs in the few opinion shows that they have. While on Fox, the steady drumbeat heard from the cavalcade of Carlson, Hannity, Watters, Pirro, Ingraham, appear with near-coordination in messaging so that no opportunities are missed to blast Democrats from every angle. Carlson's messaging is particularly extreme and opportunistic, arguing both that Biden should be doing more and yet asking why we should be involved in the Ukraine conflict at all since he finds that Russia's grievances have merit. The rare respectable Fox news hosts have been driven away in the past couple of years, such as Sheppard Smith and Chris Wallace. The latter is now employed at CNN, notably. I don't see this type of brain drain happening at CNN. For a while, Fox News would hide behind a 'fair and balanced' tagline which they eventually had to abandon because it was obviously false. For example, recently I've seen Fox inviting guests on who waste no opportunity to attack Biden with either outright lies or misleading statements, such as how gas prices are suffering due to a ban on fracking on public land by the administration. In fact, the ban is only on new permits for fracking -- and the extent to which it would affect gas prices is being great exaggerated. Biden also comes under criticism for failing to provide all the arms that Zelenskyy wants to fight off the Russian invaders, as an indication of so-called 'weakness', yet in fact Biden has provided $700 million worth of arms including javelin missiles. CNN (and Wash Post, etc.) was criticized over the Nick Sandmann affair when they played the video of the face-to-face confrontation at the Lincoln Memorial (1/18/2019) between the 16 year old Sandmann and Nathan Phillips, a Native American activist. While the video made it look like the boy (with a MAGA hat and perceived smirk) and his schoolmates were blocking Phillips and his fellow activists, it turns out that other videos available later described a different story that muddied the issues and that a third group of demonstrators were involved as well at an earlier point. Sandmann never apologized after Phillips said that he thought he was owed one in an interview. Public opinion was starting to come down on Sandmann's side especially considering that he was a minor. CNN ended up settling the lawsuit with Sandmann as did two other news outlets. Surely, CNN saw that a jury would have similar sympathy for such a young litigant and wisely settled. However, the Right then painted it as an example of a bias. CNN is more guilty of sloppy reporting perhaps, since the initial video spoke volumes owing to the similarly boorish behavior of those who wear the MAGA hat. Yet, CNN should have sought to secure more videos at the scene to get a fuller story. CNN deserves credit for having policies and pushing out (or directly firing) those hosts who violate said policies. Chris Cuomo, while nonetheless stating that he would never be impartial when it came to his brother Andrew, was found by management to be in violation when he helped his brother navigate his sexual harassment and public relations crisis. Jeff Zucker and then Allison Gollust were fired when it was discovered that they were carrying on with a secret relationship. While Fox News was the subject of a wave of sexual harassment lawsuits years ago, it only fired CEO Roger Ailes after nearly 20 women including Gretchen Carlson accused him of such. Bill O'Reilly was another firing but only after lawsuits were filed. Where are the internal investigations over there and why did it take a lawsuit? Hannity and Carlson have also been the target of lawsuits against Fox in 2020.

spacemanmatt 5y ago

Liberal, my left eye.

ukraineally 5y ago

CNN was great, superb reputation, back in the day. They changed and not for the better. CNN is fake news because they became political activists instead of journalists. Their goal was just non-stop attack on Trump. In the short term, your reputation take a hit every time you post ridiculous self-contradictory stuff. CNN April 4, 2017: Everyone should have paid family leave: https://archive.fo/95N8h https://archive.fo/95N8h Trump May 22, 2017: Trump's budget to include paid family leave: https://archive.fo/3w6ZL https://archive.fo/3w6ZL CNN political activist May 30, 2017: How paid family leave hurts women: https://archive.fo/uH6yn https://archive.fo/uH6yn Political activists don't care. CNN's reputation takes a hit every time they do this. Eventually CNN would take critical damage. Which has happened, their ratings are down 70-90%. In 3 minutes this video shows the problem of CNN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hXdjYwcgYU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hXdjYwcgYU What CNN must do now is rebuild their reputation. They need to toss aside all the toxic political activism. Will they do it?