Morning report
* “CNN seems committed to a business model that doesn’t work.” (New York Times)
* Toronto mayor calls police on Toronto Star reporter for taking pictures. (Globe and Mail)
* News orgs push back after Romney camp decides to exclude BuzzFeed from rotating press pool. (Huffington Post)
* Romney holds off-the-record meeting with conservative media. (Huffington Post)
* Gannett shareholder: Forget the big dividends and put money back into the company. (Gannett Blog)
* “Ebertfest, now 14 years old, is a love-in.” (Capital New York)
* An important stop for Republicans in the Big Apple: the offices of Fox News chief Roger Ailes. (Politico)
* “Fox Mole” Joe Muto shops his book, tentatively titled “An Atheist in the Foxhole.” (New York Observer)
CNN would better served going back to what made it great — news, instead of shows packed with talking heads who blather on ad nauseam.
The music before and after news segments make it seem amateur at best. And there’s too much laughing by anchor types who seem to be having so much fun but offer little substance.
CNN is at its best when news breaks.
I remember when CNN started.
The station ran 20-24 stories an hour, and the top 6 stories rotated into the next hour. Stories didn’t play more than a day, and lots of affiliate feeds from stations throughout the US.
As a young, freelance writer I loved it. Magazine editors didn’t watch CNN during the day, so CNN endless fresh fodder for query letters with interesting stories and unique angles. It also informed the public about news and issues throughout the country, with resources that easily rivaled the networks and a 24-hour view of what’s going on around the world.
CNN is losing its way because it doesn’t stay in its sweet spot after breaking news events end. It goes back to the anchor-pundit continuum/conundrum of the other “news” channels because it’s generally cheaper to produce.
CNN should go back to its old formula to find its old success. Covering the news ain’t cheap, but it would be unique programming in today’s talking-head world and would be rewarded handsomely. Being yet another cable channel with pundits and panderers isn’t going to cut it.