CNN Moving Towards Tabloid News?

[TromboneAl]

CNN seems to be going more and more with fluff news. Of these 21 stories



I count only seven that are real news. The others include "Fire breathing dragon races psychodelic hippo," "Mom killed son, buried him in sand," and "Larry King: Jessica Hahn came on to me."

 

[FUEGO]

You sure that's not The Onion? I think cnn is competing with fox news to see who can have the most worthless ridiculous news articles on their front page. Obviously they are getting serious click through with those articles versus real news.

They did have an article on the front page earlier in the week discussing the end of the multi-decade Sri Lankan civil war. Surprised it was of enough significance for the typical cnn.com visitor. It ain't no bbc after all.

 

[dex]

I'm surprised that anyone doesn't think TV and internet news isn't mostly fluff. It will get worse with the demise of newspapers - which are not that great in the news department either - because their staff is usually composed of generalists - except sport, weather and horoscopes.

TV and internet news works like this - they read newspapers, wire services (which rely on newspapers heavily) and magazines for their basic research (finding a story and facts) - this is the majority of their product - 90%+-ish.
After that the might
- have a researcher (almost an entry level job) do some research
- producer calls for more info
- have a reporter do a story on it

TV news networks I've worked at do not have basic research departments that come up with ideas of important new, research it and provide analysis.

On the internet; they track click throughs to help see what stories people read.

Face it - we are on the slipperly downslope of the dumbing down of America. Abandon all hope of insightful news coverage. The US news media only have eyes in the back of their heads.

This is the future:

 

[Dawg52]

I think a lot of it is due to 24 hour coverage. Back in the old days all you had was 30 minutes of evening news on CBS, NBC and ABC. They only had time to give the basic news. Now tons of air time to fill and it is filled with crap.

 

[bank5]

Fluff is right. I used to go to cnn.com a decent amount but now it reads more like the National Enquirer. People must be reading it though, or else they wouldn't be posting it.

I tried looking up some real news today about my state's budget deficit and couldn't find anything recent about it. Kind of frustrating.

 

[ziggy29]

Yeah, mainstream "news" is pretty much a joke. I prefer to get my online news from places like the BBC and the Christian Science Monitor.

 

[PX4sc40sw]

It definitely seems to have lost that "breaking news" feeling. Yesterday.

"Mom flees authorities seeking to take custody of her 550 pound 14 year old"

"Idol winner is shocking to dedicated fans:

Pure piffle and naval lint.

 

[Trek]

Set your homepage to CNN International and you'll get less fluff as there is more going on globally to report about.

Same with the TV, CNN International is better to watch than the vanilla version.

 

[jambo101]

Set your homepage to CNN International and you'll get less fluff as there is more going on globally to report about.

Same with the TV, CNN International is better to watch than the vanilla version.

If you want a less bias news dial in BBC world news.

 

[mews]

I like -

TV -BBC / Canadian news when close to the border
Magazine - Economist
Newspaper - Financial Times

I read many other things, but find the x-US perspectives to be valuable.

Did you know that in much of the world they seem to play football with a round ball ?!?

ta,
mews

 

[PX4sc40sw]

AND, in their version of football, they use the foot to control the ball. Pfffftt, they should be calling it handball.

I like -

TV -BBC / Canadian news when close to the border
Magazine - Economist
Newspaper - Financial Times

I read many other things, but find the x-US perspectives to be valuable.

Did you know that in much of the world they seem to play football with a round ball ?!?

ta,
mews

 

[mickeyd]

Hasn't CNN Headline news been pretty-much tabloid news forever?

 

[ziggy29]

Hasn't CNN Headline news been pretty-much tabloid news forever?

Saying CNN is "moving toward" tabloid news is a bit like saying manufacturing jobs are moving toward China.