Why I hope KO is going to CNN

[Taverner]

CNN used to be a legend. First Gulf War, they're reporting on the bombing while being bombed. They had Journalist rock stars like Christine Amanapour, Bernard Shaw, John Holliman, and Peter Arnett. Ted Turner was behind it - and although he may not be everyone's cup of tea, the man is a visionary.

Then they tried to be FOX news. People stopped watching. I mean, if you want to watch Fox news (and I can't see why you would) just fucking watch Fox News.

Their rock stars left, Ted Turner divested himself of the channel, they hired Glenn Beck and Nancy Grace. In short: they sucked.

But I think they get it now (or at least I hope they do) and rebuilding CNN with Keith Olbermann is a step in the right direction.

[Dogmudgeon]

1. Perhaps broadcast TV -- CBS, maybe?

He has an excellent relationship with David Letterman, one of CBS' "rainmakers".

--d!

[Cleita]

2. Hmm. No. Unless it's under new ownership, they

won't change their underlying corporate culture. It would probably be an out of the frying pan and into the fire situation for him. I think he will emerge in another venue and we, his loyal fans, will follow him wherever he goes.

[Taverner]

3. They're hemorrhaging money

They need a change or they might just go under

[Cleita]

4. I don't really care if CNN goes under.

They gave up being a reliable news source once Ted Turner left.

[barbiegeek]

5. Please Ted Turner make a New News station with KO

I swear we should all write Ted begging him to do another News station

[WhaTHellsgoingonhere]

6. Hopefully he'll go up against O'Donnell or Matthews

and not Rachel. That would suck.

[jillan]

7. He can't - not for a while anyway - something in his contract.

[Overseas]

8. Lovely idea. I remember the old CNN.

It would be great to have more real reporting on the air. More depth and reflection of a broader understanding than the 24/7 right wing dogma channel.

But so many aspects of life in our country, even the most critical issues, have become profit centers. Medical care. Warfare. Quick and dirty energy sources.

I hope we really will be talking about cost/benefit ratios soon. Those ratios don't work out well for giant multinational corporations.

I'd love to have Keith there with us, shaping the dialogue of discussing solutions, to balance out the right wing frenzy being stirred up further by professional PR on so many fronts these days.

And laying out those cost benefit ratios. How much of an increased cancer rate in the community is considered an acceptable cost for the convenience of a particular chemical? How about the jobs? If there were a safer alternative, how would that factor into these life and death calculations? Where would we factor in the cost of combating the cancers?

Cost benefit ratios were a losing proposition for big business back in the late 70's, once the ecologists said, "Yes please, let's do it!" and rolled out some serious numbers. And in subsequent decades we have discussed the costs and benefits separately-- as isolated factors. "We need the jobs!" "People are getting sick." "Regulations are bad for business."

[deacon]

9. CNN is too busy being pure garbage. He may end up on HBO. n/t

[gauguin57]

10. Remember Shaw, Arnett & Holliman, holed up in a hotel during the '91 bombing of Baghdad?

Now we have silly people, joshing each other and goofing around while they're delivering the news.

http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/O-W/Television-The-persian-gulf-war.html

" On 16–17 January 1991, viewers around the world watched the beginning of a war for the first time ever on live television. As allied bombs and cruise missiles hit targets in Iraq, CNN reporters described what they saw from their hotel in Baghdad during the first hours of the Persian Gulf War.
"The explosions had severed communications with other U.S. network reporters in the Iraqi capital. Using the telephone, CNN correspondents Peter Arnett, John Holliman, and Bernard Shaw acted much like radio reporters, since they were unable to transmit pictures of what they saw. "Now there's a huge fire that we've just seen," Holliman exclaimed. "And we just heard—whoa. Holy cow. That was a large air burst that we saw. It was filling the sky." "Go for it, guys," a CNN producer told the reporters. "The whole world's watching."