What is going on at CNN?

[madfloridian]

Maybe I am way off base here. It seemed for a little while lately that they were letting some good gems of truth out, actual news about real things.

I have noticed the last few days that there is just about nothing there at all. Just Kobe and the bishop. No news about Iraq, no news about the economy.

And where did Soledad O'Brien go? And Hemmer? Did they switch time slots? Everybody on there this morning looked uncomfortable as they kept talking about Kobe.

Maybe I am just turning to it when there is no news.

I know there was about a 3 week period where I felt comfortable watching them again, that I was getting real news. Now I can not watch anymore.

[ugarte]

1. Soledad and Hemmer must be on vacation

Usually August is the month everyone clears out

[Mabus]

14. Soledad just got to CNN

It seems like she just got there. Wish I could find a job like that.

[demnan]

2. Funny, I was awake the other night when the Jakarta bombing took place

They broke away to International coverage just briefly to cover this huge story. I felt like, what is CNN for if not for stories like this? And they were covering it - but they broke back to US coverage after just a brief interruption.

I have a feeling the CNN International is what CNN used to be.

[Avalux]

3. Hemmer and OBrien

are on vacation. I tried to watch a little this morning but turned it off and decided I will not watch ANY cable news today.

It's Kobe Day, and I can't bear to hear one more word about his mini hearing, his appearance on a teen awards show and his oh so adoring wife who will be by his side. That woman needs to dump his ass and take him for as much as she can.

Do people really care about this crap? I guess so, and it's sad.

[Unknown Known]

4. Perhaps junior is in house-arrest at the Waco compound

I've noticed this, too. Not only on CNN but MSNBC as well. Nothing but Kobe - who cares? But this is totally reminding me of the OJ Simpson 24/7.

Something is fishy indeed.

[granolagirl]

5. Ratings tell all

Fox has been covering the Presidential race and Iraq, in addition to Kobe's mess. Guess the numbers tell it all, huh?

CABLE NEWS RACE
NITE OF 8/4/03

FNC O'REILLY 2.0
FNC HANNITY/COLMES 1.4
FNC GRETA 1.4
FNC SHEP SMITH 1.1
FNC BRIT HUME 0.9
CNN LARRY KING/HOWARD DEAN 0.7
CNN PAULA ZAHN 0.6
CNN AARON BROWN 0.4
MSNBC SCARBOROUGH 0.3
MSNBC ABRAMS 0.3
MSNBC HARDBALL 0.3
MSNBC BUCHANAN/PRESS 0.2
MSNBC OLBERMANN 0.2

[samsingh]

8. the much talked about O'Reilly only has a 2.0!!!!!!!

that's what the fuss is about? 2.0 rating. Buffy scores better in reruns. 60 minutes easily hits 8.0 - 14.0 rating points.

MSNBC rounds to 0. They don't exist.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

9. Hey Oreally:

that terrible Dan Rather gets a 9.0 for ratings!!! How's that you reich winger!

[SoulLight]

12. fox and buffy aren't in competetion

It's like compairing hte ratings for a countyr station or a rock station. you're generally only in competetion for a specific niche of the market, and you only look at your competitors for that same group of consumers. Besides, Fox News, Buffy, it doesn't matter, you're still giving money to Rupert Murdoch.

[MattNC]

13. a 2.0 is fine

- especially in the summer. I'm no O'Reilly fan, but I won't deny his TV success either.

[dfitzsim]

6. Since when do we expect real news from T.V.?

T.V. is product designed to sell product. CNN, albeit better than Faux News, is not really any different. They will harp endless on non-stories as long as the public tunes in. Today that means Kobe Bryant.

Television investigative journalism is dead. Don't wait for Soledad O'Brien to ask why Condoleeza Rice doesn't bother to read NIE reports before launching a war, and Hemmer will never ask Cheeney or Shrub why they lied about the links between Osama and Saddam.

They won't risk offending viewers. It's pathetic.

Read for your information. The BBC is pretty balanced, and for a steady diet of good leftist information, http://www.salon.com and http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/.

[madfloridian]

7. And Jack Cafferty was covering the news like nothing happened.

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0803/06cafferty.html

He did look a little piqued when he had to cover the DUI bit about blood alcohol tests.

I will always expect more from CNN than I do of the others. They were the first of their kind. I remember some of their first broadcasts.

It sickens me now.

And why would Soledad be on vacation? She just got there!

[SoCalDem]

10. Greg Jarrett ended up at Faux

I was flipping channels today and saw him there.. It's all the same merry-go-round..they just change horsies from time to time..:)

[spanone]

11. I so tired of this perky uptempo delivery. It's demeaning.