WhatsappCNN is a network who’s ratings have gone from a meteoric rise in the late 80’s to a consistently downward trend in the last 10-20 years. What is the cause? Their credibility.
Ted Turner must be given credit for his vision in realizing that a 24 hour news network would revolutionize the way people received their news. The main news networks truly suffered at the hands of CNN. ABC, NBC and CBS saw their numbers drop in rapid fire manner as viewers shifted to the 24 hour news option instead of the occasional news options that the leading netwoks offered. But once CNN lost their credibility, their slide from dominance could not be stopped.
One of the high points for CNN was the Persian Gulf War in 1991 when the CNN coverage of the War in the Gulf dominated the airwaves. The other networks also had solid coverage with embedded journalists serving alongside the armed forces. The United States had not participated in a massive war since Vietnam, and Americans were both excited and nervous by the prospect of the US Army revitalizing it’s reputation with a massive victory over the outgunned Saddam Hussein.
It was a classic good vs. evil conflict, and it captivated the public. When major US figures running the war said things like, “We’re just watching the events on CNN too,” that solidified CNN in the minds of masses as the best source of updated information about the war.
But the ideological bias of CNN on various major issues in the following years chipped away at the reputation of CNN. CNN reporting took a more and more liberal bias as the years went on, opening up a wide open lane for a major competitor. When Fox News emerged on the scene, they were able to claim that they were fair and balanced and be trusted, even though they were clearly not a middle-of-the-road network. They were the right wing response to CNN’s left-wing network.
As far as reporting on Israel, CNN has been consistently slanted against Israel, especially via some of it’s most famous anchors. Despite some excellent reporting by the occasional anchor, such as Jake Tapper, the norm on CNN has been to bash Israel and bash it more – even after Arab terrorists commit atrocities against Israel.
It is no surprise at all that some of CNN’s “sources” are actually Hamas terrorists on the side. From the tenor of CNN’s reporting, it has been totally natural for them to find anti-Israel reporters who feed them one-sided footage of attacks on Israel’s image. The lies that have become the norm in their reporting are now accepted by the masses of Americans due to Donald Trump’s unrelenting attacks on CNN’s image. ”Fake news” and CNN have become synonyms in the minds of many.
This is not totally justified. There have been instances when CNN has shown that they are indeed a fair and balanced news network. The recent Presidential debate was an excellent example. CNN anchors, Jake Tapper and Dana Bash allowed Donald Trump and Joe Biden to attack each other and respond fairly. Trump clearly beat Biden and the anchors were not the reason. It was a CNN debate that has led to Biden’s demise. Biden’s mental state was the main factor.
CNN has been rumored to be making changes. They ought to start by cleaning out the representatives who are reporters by day and terrorists by night.
