Why does CNN obsess on crippled airplanes?

[Flubadubya]

They've been locked onto this Nike corporate jet for well over an hour now without reporting anything else. Why do they obsess on these things so? They indicated that the plane was circling around and around to burn off fuel. That should give them time to move on to other things and then come back... but oh, no, they bead in on it like a hawk after a pigeon. They did this the other day when there was another plane with a damaged landing gear (same problem here).

Are they afraid they will miss the crash landing and get scooped by another station? I guess it's that old "dirty laundry" syndrome that the Eagles described so well when it comes to "THE NEWS! :shrug: :eyes:

[sasquatch]

1. Bush must've REALLY fucked something up for the news to be cancelled

I mean groped the Chinese premiere's daughter or something on that level.

[benburch]

2. I think you nailed it.

Aircraft land with bad gear every few days. Not news unless something awful happens.

[progressoid]

3. It's cheap and easy. The "event" does all the work.

All they have to do is provide a little filler.

[TahitiNut]

6. Exactly. Accessible and almost apolitical.

Eventually, the airplane manufacturers and airline industry will quash this stuff.

[oldtime dfl_er]

25. plus remember, CNN is not news anymore

it's an entertainment channel now.


http://www.cafepress.com/scarebaby/936290

[BJW]

4. because people watch it?

[The_Casual_Observer]

5. I couldn't care less about what happens to a nike corporate jet.

[mattomjoe]

7. They prefer them to covering crippled presidencies?

:shrug:

[SteppingRazor]

8. Painfully obvious reason -- great footage...

I mean, for broadcast journalists, this is a no-brainer. It's tough to get compelling footage of, say, an investigation into the outing of a CIA agent. (just to think of a random example).

But capturing, on live TV, a plane coming in for a crash landing? That's gold, baby!

You have to remember that, especially in broadcast journalism, the image drives the news. Without good footage, the story won't get the same treatment.

[bluethruandthru]

9. It's only "news" if there's video of it.

If there were no video of the crippled plane...it wouldn't even rate a mention on CNN.

[MadisonProgressive]

10. Frikin gawkers

[Rick Myers]

11. But, thank God the CEO of Nike is NOT onboard

Have it on w/o the sound. Closed caption just reported this thing will not attempt a landing for 2 to 3 hours! Will these asshats say on that shot and let Kyra No-Brains babble for that long?

[bluethruandthru]

14. Hey, you never know, maybe it will explode in mid-air!

Wouldn't want to miss that, right?

[AX10]

12. I don't buy anything Nike.

[DainBramaged]

13. MSNBC too, they think news for the stupid is real news

[stevedeshazer]

15. Today's white Ford Bronco happens to be in my town.

This will help the local economy. They'll sell more sweatshop sneakers now. More McMansions for the mid-level execs over in Beaverton.

:sigh:

[toymachines]

16. all the damn news channels are obsessed on it

WHo the fuck cares about a Nike corporate jet?!

[htuttle]

17. "Can we film the operation? Is the head dead yet?"

Crashing planes are GREAT video.

[Norquist Nemesis]

18. Must be the glitter and fireworks

Oooohhhh, pretty!! (ala Daily Show)

[Batgirl]

19. must see tv

If only cable execs could figure out a way to prolong the suspense so this could play out over a longer period, like the much-beloved Sniper mini-series. Maybe arrange for the hobbled jet to be refueled in mid-air over the course of a few weeks. Then whomp together some CGI animations of how the eventual landing "might look" when it happens.

I know this news event hasn't been happening for very long, but have they managed to brand it yet with a logo and theme music?

[parasim]

20. 100% entertainment

[Mutley]

24. HAAHA! Airplane!

:rofl:

What a great movie. :7

[TriMetFan]

21. Hell my spouse works at 911 and had to call me to let me know

what was happening since we only live 1 mile from the airport. Like I told her I didn't even know what was happening. I was watching the Seattle Seahawks game from yesterday. Oh well thats life.

[NanceGreggs]

22. CNN - Catastrophe News Network

When this happened a few weeks ago, and the plane finally came in for a perfectly safe landing, you could actually HEAR the disappointment in their voices.

[Mutley]

23. Because they're dying for a fiery crash...

so they can spend the rest of the week talking about that instead of Murtha, DeLay, Cheney, Fitz, and every damn other thing that is happening.

[TriMetFan]

26. I have to agree with you. But the pilots were able

to bring that stuck wheel down and should be landing at the hillsboro airport in about 10 min.

[triguy46]

27. Its better when people die...

or something to that effect, from and Eagles song.