CNN ratings at a 20 year low (Atlanta: best, atheist, quality)

[Mgyeldell]

Originally Posted by cittic10

People shouldn't be agreeing (Or disagreeing) with the news anchors.


News should be completely unbiased and not favor any side. The government really should step in here and regulate these channels. At least at the level that they used to. They could even call it a matter of national security.

Government intervention may be a little extreme but I do think that there should be a legal definition for the word "news".

accurate and unbiased facts that can be checked and sourced as legitimate

MSNBC and Fox News should not be allowed to call them selves news channels because they are too opinionated.

I do watch CNN daily but I do not watch a whole show, I watch the daily events then go on back to my day.

[po-boy]

Originally Posted by cittic10

People shouldn't be agreeing (Or disagreeing) with the news anchors.


News should be completely unbiased and not favor any side. The government really should step in here and regulate these channels. At least at the level that they used to. They could even call it a matter of national security.

Whoa there! Fox, CNN, and MSNBC all have their faults, but I would much rather have several private companies competing than have news stations controlled by the government. Hello North Korea...

[cwkimbro]

Originally Posted by po-boy

Whoa there! Fox, CNN, and MSNBC all have their faults, but I would much rather have several private companies competing than have news stations controlled by the government. Hello North Korea...

well... his idea isn't that crazy, but it is also more heavily involved.

Would it be silencing speech (which is the real 1st amendment concern) by forcing a 'news' company from separating what they concern news and opinion (mandate a self-labeling) and then have shows labelled 'news' adhere to industry ethics standards, which includes balance and allowing the parties involved in a story be contacted for opinion on the story subject?

Take MSNBC.. during the afternoon they have real news, then they have mini-unbranded opinion roundtable segments in between. The bias in those opinions aren't that biased either. In fact Republicans are often well-represented. The former head of the republican party is a regular figure in those roundtables as well.

But then you have the evening segments...: Lawrence O'donnell, Rachel Maddow, The Ed Show, Chris Matthews, Al Sharpton. These shows are opinion (not news) and heavily biased in one direction.

The issue isn't necessarily to create and 1st amendment issue or create any silencing of ideas, but it is more of a truth in advertising issue.

Don't say you have a news and opinion show... somewhere along the line you have to have a "news" show and an "opinion" show or a "balanced opinion" show. We can't stop these differences (and shouldn't!) at all via 1st amendment, but there is an issue about truth in advertising/labeling within these shows and networks.

[FlyiMetro]

Originally Posted by arjay57

I was starting to worry a little about our hometown international news channel. What a great source of civic pride CNN has been for the last 32 years, in literally every corner of the globe.

However, despite the ratings it appears that CNN is still extremely profitable. According to Politico, the network is expected to make nearly $600 million in operating profit this year, which, like every year for the past 10 years, is a record high.

So come on, home team. Get your mojo back!

What?s wrong at CNN - Dylan Byers - POLITICO.com

CNN is not a bad news network. I remember my dad making me and my brothers watch it with him when we were younger, I think what it is, is because everyone has smart phone now we can easily pull up various information instantly. CNN and local news cant really give customizes look ups. Where as your smart phone can. I dont think anything is wrong with CNN though. They have brought a lot to the news game. Just my thoughts on them.

[FlyiMetro]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

That's why most of the people I know don't use TV as a primary news source any longer. Some of us never did, anyway.

CNN was a very good news channel once. I used to watch it all the time. Now? I'll bet it's been six months or more.

I agree with this. I only see the news on Marta or at my girls crib. I read AJC, Bizness Journal and City Data for news, all on my droid. Hell im on it now posting. If CNN is still making money, what is the big deal?

[arjay57]

Originally Posted by FlyiMetro

CNN is not a bad news network. I remember my dad making me and my brothers watch it with him when we were younger, I think what it is, is because everyone has smart phone now we can easily pull up various information instantly. CNN and local news cant really give customizes look ups. Where as your smart phone can. I dont think anything is wrong with CNN though. They have brought a lot to the news game. Just my thoughts on them.

Good points. It didn't help CNN that the left branded them as suck ups to the right and the right claimed they were biased the other way.

It goes back to the basic fact that most people are going to prefer getting their news from sources that fit with their political views. If you try to take a middle ground you're going to wind up pleasing no one.

[Esteban5]

I miss Larry King. I mean.....really.... Soledad O'Brien as the hard-hitting, unbiased news journalist? Talk about the epitome of a weak interview!

[Newsboy]

CWKIMBRO hit the nail on the head with his page one summary of what CNN is -- much, much more than just a single cable news channel! Not only do they provide multiple news channels in multiple languages across multiple platforms, they are the No. 1 provider of web-based news content in the world! More people around the world get their news from CNN.com than any other news site anywhere, primarily because the app is native to just about every device sold on the market today. In some respects, this isn't unlike the enormous brand recognition that another homegrown Atlanta product has worldwide, Coca-Cola. Unlike Fox News or MSNBC or the big three US networks, CNN is fully global and can be found in every corner of the world. Check into a hotel anywhere, turn on the TV and there's CNN! The only thing that comes close is the BBC -- but it's a public broadcasting network, and not privately owned / for profit. CNN makes money!

So believe me when I say this: Reports of CNN's "low ratings" are greatly "over rated" and just wishful thinking on the part of those on each end of the political fringe. Could their domestic ratings be higher? Yea. But so could newspaper circulation, and that's NEVER going to happen. In the continually emerging digital age, CNN remains ahead of the game.

[erick295]

CNN is wretched. Watch Al Jazeera or BBC World News and you'll learn more about the world in five minutes than CNN gives you in an hour. They treat it like education, not entertainment.

[bry456]

I only watch/listen to CBS News, NPR and Newshour on PBS for US news.

Especially CBS. That's the best out of the "big 3" and all cable news channels combined.

CBS This Morning (no goofy NYC tourist gawking through a window, the fantastic Charlie Rose, and an emphasis on hard news, though they do still cover the entertainment stuff with in house interviews),

CBS Sunday Morning (what needs to be said here. An early morning 60 minutes-esqe program with a long history),

Face the Nation with Bob Schieffer (an actual journalist asks a presidential candidate a question and pressed for it be answered, what a concept.)

60 Minutes (see CBS Sunday Morning)

CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley (when CBS broke with the ruling Pelley went line by line to announce the provisions upheld in the ruling AND he did the same thing again on his show later in the day.)

CBS's news division is a winner for me. After the fiasco yesterday, CNN (exceptions for Candy Crowley and Fareed Zakaria) is into the trash can for me.