CNN Shrugs Off Free Advice
Heard any good advice on how to fix your network lately?
CNN executives today alluded to the recent spate of stories about its ratings plunges. The New York Times ran a big one on March 30 and then ran an April 4 Op-Ed piece headlined “Can CNN Be Saved?” The Op-Ed author, Ross Douthat (a good name for someone giving free advice), advised bringing “real debate” back to the network that canceled Crossfire in 2005.
Leading off a “News Makers” cavalcade of CNN talent at the Time Warner Center this morning, ad-sales chief Greg D’Alba told assembled media buyers and reporters: “So much has been written about us lately, so much. However, is the complete story being told? There’s no way it is — not when media consumption is changing and moving faster than ever before.”
He focused on CNN’s global, mobile and Web platforms — the reach argument.
Jim Walton, head of CNN Worldwide, came out and thanked buyers and advertisers for their business. “I’d also like to thank some of the members of the media out there in the room as well for all the great coverage we’ve had over the last few months, we’re appreciative of that so thank you, as well.”
It was a bit like Pee Wee Herman coming onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1991: “Heard any good jokes lately?”
Walton stressed CNN’s longtime investments in journalism and technology. He said CNN Domestic reaches “millions more viewers” per month than its cable news competitors, a stat CNN derives from the number of unique viewers tuning in for at least several minutes at some time in the month. And, he added: “We stand apart. We’re the only, credible non-partisan-voiced platform. And that matters.”
Take that Fox News Channel and MSNBC.
CNN U.S. president Jon Klein kept it up: “Our mission, our mandate is to deliver the best journalism in the world. First hand reporting, incisive analysis. No bias, no agenda. That puts us, in the world of cable news, in a category of one. Our traditional competitors have abandoned the field.”
He added, not too modestly: “Our journalism is the currency of national conversation.”
In a news release, CNN listed numerous new documentaries it has planned for the year, on schools, Haiti, toxic dumping, race issues and more.
Crossfire II did not make the cut, apparently.
So much for free advice.
Jake K. commented:
CNN needs to go back to its mission when it was the Chicken Noodle News network. Turn around the day's--and night's--news fast in order to fill 24 hours a day with news. Its International package is much better at that than its domestic package. Enough of the ludicrous "Situation Room" where the sky is always falling.
charlie d commented:
its a joke how cnn has gone from th emost respected news org to laughing stock of all cable channels. even msnbc has made changes after being rockbottom for many years though i personally would never watch them.