1 of 1- RadioActive
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Former News Producer Delivers Blistering Attack On How CNN Operates
No, this isn't a Trump supporter. In fact, I suspect she leans the opposite way. But she used to work behind the scenes at one of the major news networks and the secrets she spills in the linked article from the Columbia Journalism Review about CNN are pretty startling. Here's a sample:
"The largest obstacle to reliable news and information is this: hardly any programming decision is made without considering how it will “rate” (i.e., how it will appeal to the largest audience possible). No one is immune, not US Senators, not presidential candidates. Election coverage. Will it rate? Pandemic. Will it rate? Civil rights crisis. Will it rate? It’s the only metric that matters.
"...Predictions about what may “rate” are often based on rudimentary factors, such as what has rated well in the past or what personal bias leads producers or anchors to think will rate well in the future...
"MSNBC calculates that the ideas of the far left will rate. Fox News calculates that the ideas of the far right will rate. And CNN calculates that those two teams arguing with each other will rate.
"What the viewer tuning in to coverage of Black Lives Matter protests sees is more violent clashes rather than peaceful rallies. Audiences are more likely to sit and watch a burning car than a classical music vigil, the thinking goes, more likely to respond to a violent cop than a decent one, more likely to send a clip of two people arguing from polar positions of hate viral than a reasonable discussion.
"A former boss said to me, “We are a cancer and there is no cure.” But he added, “If you could find a cure, it would save the world.”
Harsh but, if true, a pretty astounding look into how the place operates.
CNN: the only question in news is ‘will it rate’
- splunge
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Re: Former News Producer Delivers Blistering Attack On How CNN Operates
sadly, why is this surprising? how long ago did the american news - from local to national - learn the term "if it bleeds it leads". conflict "trumps" harmony. and ratings leading to sales value trumps everything. pathetic, but a US reality.
- RadioActive
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Re: Former News Producer Delivers Blistering Attack On How CNN Operates
Hmm, maybe WGN America is on the right track with their "unbiased" newscast, after all.
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Thread Starter- paterson1
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Re: Former News Producer Delivers Blistering Attack On How CNN Operates
There is nothing really that surprising here. Blistering attack? Not really. CNN, Fox, MSNBC etc are all ratings based, as are over the air networks. All go where the fires and bodies are.
These cable news organizations also talk about each other all the time. Almost everyday on Fox's website they have something prominent and negative about CNN or MSNBC and how poor they are doing in the ratings or how one of their anchors screwed up, on air or in their personal lives. American cable news networks have turned into sports teams in a way.
And CNN is constantly talking about Fox. Brian Stelter's Reliable Sources on Sunday morning often seems to be dedicated to all of the wrongs and misinformation that Fox News committed over the past week.
Post/Sun Media does something similar here with their decades long campaign of misinformation and exaggerations against CBC. Too bad, since The National Post is a decent paper, but they blow it with exaggeration and big generalizations and get a little loose with some of the "facts." Problem is they keep repeating the same things over and over. You would think after all this time they would clue in that this approach isn't working and just a small minority are interested.
Same with Quebecor and CEO Pierre Paledeau. They have had it in for Radio Canada for years. He felt they weren't fair to him when he was in politics and his flirting with separatism. Quebecor has been giving RC a rough ride ever since. Radio Canada usually does OK in the ratings (TV and radio) and sells a sizable chunk of TV advertising in Quebec and this makes things more of a challenge for Paledeau's TVA network.
So all this stuff is very self serving, and kind of making news coverage and networks more like sports teams with almost team tribal allegiance. What team are you on? Maybe soon some will paint Fox or MSNBC logos on their face to show their loyalty..."Gotta support the team Elaine..."
- Prod Guy
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Re: Former News Producer Delivers Blistering Attack On How CNN Operates
They aren't very good judges of what will get them ratings. They're often in last place.
Also, I find nearly all of their people unlikable. I'm glad our news channels stick to news and mostly avoid personality based opinion shows.
- ckg927
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Re: Former News Producer Delivers Blistering Attack On How CNN Operates
RadioActive wrote:
Hmm, maybe WGN America is on the right track with their "unbiased" newscast, after all.
Possibly. That said, however, there is no need for them to beat us over the head with it. Let the work speak for itself. (And, BTW, doing "both sides" is not journalism. Journalism is reporting facts.)
- Johnny B
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Re: Former News Producer Delivers Blistering Attack On How CNN Operates
the fact you used 'delivers blistering attack' as the title of your post is a microcosm of the the very story you posted...you wanted it to 'rate' so you slapped on some hyperbole looking for clicks...there is nothing surprising here at all...every news organization does this to some degree and most of it depends on the talent, exec producers, ownership and advertising dollars running the machine