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CNN: The Continuing Soap Opera


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Who wants an L3 that fits more words in it?!?! Who? 

 

That seems to be the big change out of this; more wordy L3s, which this seems to be designed for (they were bad in the old package...and this now looks even worse). I know cable news is trending older and these graphics seem to now be designed as a mobile-first experience, along with being designed to be stripped down for FAST experiences, but the only people that like these graphics are political spokespeople who can have CNN crunch even more inaneness onto the screen.

Glad the ticker is gone though; remember they did have a really nice flipper back in 2013, but Zucker had it removed on his day one for the ticker because he was that much of an egomaniac.

13 hours ago, jase said:

The flashing 'live' is unnecessary.

It has to flash to prevent screen burn-in, which I can predict will be now really obvious for the old package on public TVs that never switch off CNN.

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Here's a collection of most of the new "This is CNN" promos. I think there might be some CNNI-specific ones that aren't on here.

 

https://www.cnncreativemarketing.com/cnn-uncut/#open-overlay

 

These are fantastic – CNN at its best. With this ad campaign, I can look past the pretty bland and underwhelming update of their chyrons.

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A few more snaps...

 

I believe last night at 11 was the first time the words "Breaking News" were used on CNN with the new look, and there was nothing special about the graphics. Perhaps the different look will be used for more urgent/less expected breaking stories. (The Breaking News open remains unchanged.)

image.thumb.png.7f24092b2a001e42c0ea9f1cfdb60adf.png

 

When CNN International's CNN Newsroom airs overnight, there is no flipper in the U.S., so it's just the ET/PT time box.

image.thumb.png.a9a5c53e88d03867d176d23d8d13f6ef.png

 

I was wondering where their "promo box" would go and I... was not expecting this.

image.thumb.png.4e137a82a3a12893c42783dcac530671.png

Edited by Geoffrey
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2 hours ago, TheRob said:

For Atlantic subscribers, there's a long article on Chris Licht today.

 

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/06/cnn-ratings-chris-licht-trump/674255/

If you're an Apple News+ subscriber, you can read it there too.

 

And yeah, I agree - this article is pretty damning for Licht. Not a good look at all.

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Bye bye Chris Licht

https://twitter.com/mikesington/status/1664785123517120513?s=46&t=_YbLEk6Ma0gGn2S1zm6XSA

 

”The captain of the Titanic steps aside. CNN CEO Chris Licht has ceded control of business operations to David Leavy, chief corporate officer for CNN’s parent company. In Licht’s year as CEO, CNN’s ratings, revenue, and reputation have plummeted.”

Edited by Briella
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I obviously have no experience running a cable network, but as a viewer what I think Licht needed to do was:

 

-bring back the CNN Newsroom look for dayside

-stop mega focusing on one subject

-keep Trump coverage brief and non-partisan

-diversify network coverage outside of politics, climate change, and the usual stuff

-Allow some CNN International material to air domestically (during the daytime and night)

-get rid of problematic commentators and keep opinionated content (if any) in primetime to compete with MSNBC and FOX.

-have that primetime opinionated block me a mix of conservative, liberal and independent/libertarian voices

- poach *good* ex-jornalists (I'm talking like Ann Curry or Elizabeth Veargas *both too good for CNN* not Chris Cuomo)

 

Edited by MediaZone4K
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31 minutes ago, MediaZone4K said:

I obviously have no experience running a cable network, but as a viewer what I think Licht needed to do was:

 

-bring back the CNN Newsroom look for dayside

-stop mega focusing on one subject

-keep Trump coverage brief and non-partisan

-diversify network coverage outside of politics, climate change, and the usual stuff

-Allow some CNN International material to air domestically (during the daytime and night)

-get rid of problematic commentators and keep opinionated content (if any) in primetime to compete with MSNBC and FOX.

-have that primetime opinionated block me a mix of conservative, liberal and independent/libertarian voices

- poach *good* ex-jornalists (I'm talking like Ann Curry or Elizabeth Veargas *both too good for CNN* not Chris Cuomo)


In regard to that last part, I’m really surprised he didn’t poach anyone away from CBS, he knows all the anchors and they’d probably get paid more at CNN, I had my money on Jeff Glor or Norah O’Donnell but I was wrong. 
 

 

Edited by jrogo
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Certainly the best thing at this point would be for executives to stay 100% behind the scenes. If I never have to know a TV station/network's executive or general manager outside the context of image campaigns or editorials, that is a very good thing. This is 100% junk news about people we'll never see on-screen yelling at the people on-screen (except with payroll screws to turn rather than just pointless yelling).

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6 hours ago, MediaZone4K said:

-diversify network coverage outside of politics, climate change, and the usual stuff

When’s the last time CNN has even mentioned climate change? If anything that’s a story they need to cover more of.
 

Otherwise I agree with your suggestions; they’re still politics-heavy under Licht, and that should change. I’d add that we really don’t need the endless parade of political pundits during dayside programming.
 

However, can we honestly say that people would watch the network even if they followed through with all of that? People looking for impartial news coverage and thorough explainers aren’t going to cable news; if they were, BBC News and France 24 would be in demand. I get the impression that the average cable news viewer is just looking to be pandered to. Perhaps it didn’t have to be that way, but you can blame the cable networks, including CNN, for making it that way.

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44 minutes ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

When’s the last time CNN has even mentioned climate change? If anything that’s a story they need to cover more of.

 

It's basically Bill Weir's beat. He fronts his reports live from some pretty interesting locations.

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56 minutes ago, PTVNews said:

It's basically Bill Weir's beat. He fronts his reports live from some pretty interesting locations.

Gotcha. I don’t think that kind of reporting is bad at all; it’s the other BS that bothers me.

13 minutes ago, Daybreak said:

What exactly did he say to get staffers so upset? 

Pretty much the fact that he gave exclusive access to Tim Alberta at The Atlantic, and effectively made himself the center of attention. If you’re able to read the full Atlantic piece on Licht, that provides full context.

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14 hours ago, nycnewsjunkie said:

When’s the last time CNN has even mentioned climate change? If anything that’s a story they need to cover more of.
 

Otherwise I agree with your suggestions; they’re still politics-heavy under Licht, and that should change. I’d add that we really don’t need the endless parade of political pundits during dayside programming.
 

However, can we honestly say that people would watch the network even if they followed through with all of that? People looking for impartial news coverage and thorough explainers aren’t going to cable news; if they were, BBC News and France 24 would be in demand. I get the impression that the average cable news viewer is just looking to be pandered to. Perhaps it didn’t have to be that way, but you can blame the cable networks, including CNN, for making it that way.

I say that because most times you turn on the news you hear the same subjects: immigration, healthcare, climate change, and politics. While those issues are important, there's certainly more to fill up a newscast. Years ago I saw a story about kidnapped children in Africa (not the bring back our girls story) on PBS' BBC World News America. In contrast, all the other nightly newscasts were glued to Trump. 

 

Unfortunately it would take an industry wide moving away from politics in order to force audiences into different news consumption habits.

 

If CNN continues with panel discussions have it be thoughtful conversation and not argumentative scream television. (...And I don't mean put together an MSNBC panel where like minded people parrott each other)

 

The CNN documentaries are pretty good. I suppose I'm dreaming of pre late 2000s CNN when you got actual serious news coverage.

 

*edited because of voice to speech errors

Edited by MediaZone4K
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Personally I really miss good investigations of consumer issues like pricing and grocery store issues, but Food Lion and Pink Slime pretty much scared ABC and NBC into full time crime on their newsmagazines, and you don't see CBS even cover many of those stories any longer.

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4 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

Personally I really miss good investigations of consumer issues like pricing and grocery store issues, but Food Lion and Pink Slime pretty much scared ABC and NBC into full time crime on their newsmagazines, and you don't see CBS even cover many of those stories any longer.

Is that what it was?! I was wondering why Dateline, 20/20 and 48 Hours became all true crime and scandals. 

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After reading that article, the biggest red flag for me is that I don't understand Licht's vision for CNN.

 

What is the mission and purpose of the news organization? A clear mission statement is often a rallying point for culture change. After spending time with that lengthy profile, you don't walk away with a crystal-clear picture of where he wants to take the channel. I understand what he's against, like boxes...he hates boxes to the point that the control room can say it in unison. He seemingly spends a lot of time trashing anything that was built in Zucker's vision. Fine. You don't like how he managed the channel. But what is your vision? Staff and ultimately viewers need more than a generic "under new management" type message. 

 

Here's the unfortunate reality for CNN; the competition has defined identities, and they don't. MSNBC captured the liberal lane. FOX, from its inception, laid claim to the conservative lane. So that leaves CNN to claim the middle. While the center of the ideological spectrum is a huge potential audience, it isn't exactly an audience that shows up night after night for cable news. The other two channels have built in audiences looking to see what mud their favorite host is going sling in the opposite direction. To me, the middle isn't a long-term solution. You are just Fox lite to one group and you are MSNBC lite to the other. Stand for something different!

 

In my opinion, CNN should transform its primetime into storytelling and original reporting. Two of the most watched shows on television (broadcast or cable) are 60 Minutes and CBS Sunday Morning. Each do in-depth original reporting and that old-school style reporting gets people talking. And given CNN doesn't have the same time constraints as 60 minutes, you could air the report and then bring the reporter (and other appropriate guests) in for a debrief. Plus, it gets you out of covering politics every night. This is a huge country, there are plenty of stories to tell beyond the political ones. 

 

That is just one of a dozen different directions CNN could go. It is a costly and time-intensive idea, so it might not feasible. But at least it is a clear vision, something in 15,000 words I didn't get from the head of CNN.

Edited by carolinanews4
typo
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2 hours ago, carolinanews4 said:

After reading that article, the biggest red flag for me is that I don't understand Licht's vision for CNN.

 

What is the mission and purpose of the news organization? A clear mission statement is often a rallying point for culture change. After spending time with that lengthy profile, you don't walk away with a crystal-clear picture of where he wants to take the channel. I understand what he's against, like boxes...he hates boxes to the point that the control room can say it in unison. He seemingly spends a lot of time trashing anything that was built in Zucker's vision. Fine. You don't like how he managed the channel. But what is your vision? Staff and ultimately viewers need more than a generic "under new management" type message. 

 

Here's the unfortunate reality for CNN; the competition has defined identities, and they don't. MSNBC captured the liberal lane. FOX, from its inception, laid claim to the conservative lane. So that leaves CNN to claim the middle. While the center of the ideological spectrum is a huge potential audience, it isn't exactly an audience that shows up night after night for cable news. The other two channels have built in audiences looking to see what mud their favorite host is going sling in the opposite direction. To me, the middle isn't a long-term solution. You are just Fox lite to one group and you are MSNBC lite to the other. Stand for something different!

 

In my opinion, CNN should transform its primetime into storytelling and original reporting. Two of the most watched shows on television (broadcast or cable) are 60 Minutes and CBS Sunday Morning. Each do in-depth original reporting and that old-school style reporting gets people talking. And given CNN doesn't have the same time constraints as 60 minutes, you could air the report and then bring the reporter (and other appropriate guests) in for a debrief. Plus, it gets you out of covering politics every night. This is a huge country, there are plenty of stories to tell beyond the political ones. 

 

That is just one of a dozen different directions CNN could go. It is a costly and time-intensive idea, so it might not feasible. But at least it is a clear vision, something in 15,000 words I didn't get from the head of CNN.

 

I just feel the days of reporting the news on cable are over in the age of the internet. That's why NN is now more-opinion based and why Shep's show on CNBC ended. CNN's trying hard to appeal to everyone but conservatives won't watch CNN. Heck, some of them don't like FNC anymore, and most liberals are now just watching MSNBC. People have preferred opinion over actual news for quite a few years now on the cable side. They should've have brought some of the cancelled CNN+ shows over to the liner feed like Wolf's newscast and Go There, which emphasized on the ground reporting. I was hoping Licht's CNN would be better, but some of the decisions were bad like getting rid of Morning Express instead of carrying over to CNN. 

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