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June 11th / 13th
"Happy Birthday CNN"
Last week CNN finished its 30th year much as it began its first - with little
fanfare. Instead of birthday cakes and pats on the back, the network offered
up comprehensive coverage of the BP oil spill, news of the Israeli
flotilla attack, and reports on the aftermath of the Sestack bribe.
Cable News Network (it used to be called by its full name) was founded by
Ted Turner, and launched on June 1, 1980. Back then, most Americans were
still watching television with rabbit ears or aerial antennas. Cable had not
yet achieved the penetration it enjoys today, and only a handful of sports
and porn fans had access to one of those nine foot diameter satellite
dishes. At that time, and for three decades prior, we got our national news from
CBS, NBC, and ABC, and then for only thirty minutes in the evening. CNN
changed all that, becoming the nation's first 24/7 news outlet. But despite
its innovative approach to electronic journalism, CNN struggled out of the
gate.
In those days, the new network was short staffed and budget strapped. They
maintained a headquarters in Atlanta, and two small bureaus in Washington,
D.C. and New York City. As such, they depended upon a small, but competent
army of full time correspondents, and a legion of free lance talent like
myself who sent in news and sports packages from cities across the country.
I was one of the cable net's busiest stringers, covering everything from
national politics to national champions, but like Rodney Dangerfield, I got
no respect. Reporters and camera crews from the big three networks made fun
of my CNN microphone flag, and joked about Turner's Folly.
Now, thirty years later, the big three aren't laughing. That's because,
over time, their viewership has declined while Cable News Network has grown
to a world powerhouse, seen in 212 countries. CNN is available to 93 million
households in the United States, and another 890,000 hotel rooms. In
addition, there's the CNN Headline News channel, CNN radio, and a host of closed
circuit carriers, such as those in airports. And their three bureaus have
grown to 36, including 26 overseas.
Today, CNN's reach is without precedent worldwide, but domestically, it is
now trying to keep pace with another cable upstart. FOX News was the
creation of Rupert Murdoch and political hack Roger Ailes, as a response to what
they believed was CNN's left-leaning coverage. And while CNN is largely
impartial today, I can understand FOX's motivation in the beginning. Ailes
was a Reagan man, and in the early days of operation, CNN was none too kind
to the former Governor of California. I experienced this first hand when
covering Mr. Reagan on the campaign trail in 1980. After attending a
fundraising event at John Warner and Elizabeth Taylor's Atoaka plantation in
Northern Virginia, I hurried back to CNN's D.C. bureau with my 3/4" videotape. I
gave the tape to an editor and told him which clips to use, then I left for
home. Later that night I turned on the newscast and instead of seeing
scenes of Reagan speaking from the podium, I saw some of our test focus footage
of the candidate shot from underneath the podium. The editor, a Jimmy
Carter supporter, had deliberately searched through my tape to find a shot that
would accentuate Reagan's neck wrinkles, sending a clear message to viewers
that Ronnie was too old to be President.
After a while, I noticed less of that kind of bias, and CNN found its
footing as the most fair and balanced new organization in the world. Sure,
there are things about CNN I don't like. For one, I hate those constantly
scrolling bits of information which crawl across the bottom of the screen,
distracting me from the news. And I don't care much for the histrionics of
Campbell Brown (good riddance) and Rick Sanchez, who are wannabe commentators
posing as news anchors. I also dislike the fact that in many day parts, the
news teases leading into commercials are actually longer than the news
stories themselves. And then there's Larry King, who was a bad interviewer 50
years ago, and is still a bad interviewer today. His inane discussions with
American Idol contestants have no place on a serious news network.
Having said that, I still rely on CNN for televised coverage of war,
politics, disasters, and even balloon boys. But my endorsement is a bit
hypocritical because I grew up in the radical 1960's when our mantra was "Never
trust anyone over 30". Well, CNN is now officially over 30, and I still trust
them. That's what happens when you grow old together. Happy birthday CNN.
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