# CNN is no longer journalism **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 7, 2021, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366 "2021-03-07T00:27:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/21 "2021-03-07T02:31:52Z")
> [@EastUmpqua](#): > > You have your own opinions, just like everyone else. Horse apples. Your opinion is not “just like everyone else”. I’ve posted more than a few times the following: > While you have a right to your opinion, your opinion has no right to be considered of value if it is not a well-formed opinion. By “well-formed”, of course I mean based on and a reasonable interpretation of facts. Ponder that for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/22 "2021-03-07T02:41:12Z")
> [@EastUmpqua](#): > > I usually look at BBC, Reuters, Fox, and CNN every morning. So I know Wolf Blitzer is still there. Sad. About that “Sad” crap? This isn’t Twitter, and you aren’t Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/23 "2021-03-07T04:03:10Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > CNN definitely outperforms Fox News in terms of both fairness and factual reliability. That is a very, VERY low bar. CNN, like all the 24-hour “news” channels, has far too much commentary and opinion and lousy interviews, compared to actual news, because they have too much time to fill and too little interest in reporting any news that doesn’t get high ratings. Maybe I shouldn’t say too much about it because I just don’t watch any of them any more, except for the very occasional big breaking story (I mean a real story). I would rather read my news than watch it anyway, I tend to get a lot more detail and understanding that way. eta: CNN was the first, if my memory serves, 24-hour news channel. Another trend that has wrecked so many lives, and they all have a lot to answer for. Ted Turner, come on down. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/24 "2021-03-07T04:11:47Z")
This is not quite the thread I expected. I watch CNN for decades, and then about two years ago ditched cable for many reasons, with CNN among them. My issue wasn’t bias…it was that CNN would have any shithead on who they thought might generate viewers. Corey Lewandowski? Rick Santorum? Kelly Ann Conway? Why not, bring 'em all in, and while you’re at it only challenge them once in a while, and then publish a self-congratulatory clip of that magical moment. Just a waste of time. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/25 "2021-03-07T04:19:05Z")
It is unfortunate that CNN has the most honest and unbiased reporting out of the big 3 cable news channels because it’s just not that good. They do spend way too much time on opinion. The fluff pieces they do would be typical of such a channel if they actually had other news. You will find scant coverage of any news on CNN except the big story of the day. They clearly want to influence the news as much as report it. ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/26 "2021-03-07T13:29:15Z")
> [@EastUmpqua](#): > > So I wanted to point out that CNN is as biased as FOX (depending on your personal ideology). Should read, “depending on your own personal reality”. > [@EastUmpqua](#): > > Here in the US I think most people are moving on from Trump and looking forward. At least I hope so. They don’t seem to be, at least not those people who supported him previously (which admittedly has never been most people). > **[Trump’s CPAC Speech Gives Fox News Its Highest-Rated Sunday Ever](https://www.forbes.com/sites/markjoyella/2021/03/03/trumps-cpac-speech-gives-fox-news-its-highest-rated-sunday-ever/?sh=21cf2c871c80)** > > With 5.7 million viewers tuning in to watch Trump's speech, Fox News outdelivered the Golden Globes on NBC. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/27 "2021-03-07T14:21:38Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > And how about fist-pumping insurrectionist Josh “the talking horse” Hawley? Thanks for the laugh this morning. I won’t go into details, but I needed a laugh. Could have really benefitted from a laugh, and there it was! ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/28 "2021-03-07T14:48:21Z")
I’m surprised how many people here still watch news on TV, period. I remember turning on CNN on January 6 because I assumed it would have the most comprehensive real-time coverage of the unusual events of the day, but first I actually had to find where my cable company kept all the news channels - turns out, somewhere in the early 200s - because I hadn’t watched any of them in years. Why watch video when you can read text? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/29 "2021-03-07T15:10:36Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Why watch video when you can read text? And how do people have time for televised news? I can get 10x as much content from fifteen minutes of reading than from an hour of TV news on in the background… Wow, I just remembered going to church camp as a kid, and one pastor got up and asked “How many of your families rely on TV for their news?” Then he tore the front page of the New York Times in half. “THIS is how much news you get from a television newscast.” ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/30 "2021-03-07T15:19:58Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Why watch video when you can read text? Personally radio is where I get most my news, and I supplement with reading. Radio, like video, can be done more passively. It’s been about two decades since I’ve watched CNN (and BBC World News when I was living abroad) with any regularity. When Biden did his victory speech on Nov 7, I tuned into C-SPAN specifically because I did not want talking heads interrupting the hell out of what was going on, or filling every second of coverage with their inane chatter. I wanted just the speeches and that’s what I thankfully got. I refused to watch any coverage of the elections themselves and participate in popcorn journalism. I understand why they do what they do and why they have to do it, but I don’t like the constant chatter, the constant recaps of what happened just two minutes ago, the obvious “analysyis” (most of the time.) It’s like watching sports-style commentary of the news. Not for me. Not Fox, not CNN, not MSNBC. I can still stand BBC World News. ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/31 "2021-03-07T15:21:51Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Not even close, going by [this recent Ad Fontes Media Bias Chart](https://www.adfontesmedia.com/static-mbc/). Taking AP and Reuters as the center of that bias scale, Fox News is significantly farther to the right of it than CNN is to the left of it. CNN is also noticeably higher than Fox News on the factual reliability scale. Here’s another media bias chart: > **[AllSides Media Bias Chart](https://www.allsides.com/media-bias/media-bias-chart)** > > The AllSides Media Bias Chart is an easy way for you to identify political bias in the news so you can be better equipped to navigate our increasingly polarized media landscape. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/32 "2021-03-07T15:30:39Z")
> [@digs](#): > > And how do people have time for televised news? I can get 10x as much content from fifteen minutes of reading than from an hour of TV news on in the background… > > Wow, I just remembered going to church camp as a kid, and one pastor got up and asked “How many of your families rely on TV for their news?” Then he tore the front page of the New York Times in half. “THIS is how much news you get from a television newscast.” While I like newspapers, and read them on the weekend, they’re yesterday’s news. I was referring to the internet. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/33 "2021-03-07T15:43:34Z")
There’s an interesting breakdown at the Poynter Institute website of the two charts and their methodologies. Poynter doesn’t make any statements about one being better than other, but the methodologies for both seem fair. One takes a more generalized approach with an easier-to-understand chart, while the other is more granular and includes a secondary axis for reliability of the news source, which Poynter says is critical, too, in evaluating a news source. > **[Should you trust media bias charts? - Poynter](https://www.poynter.org/fact-checking/media-literacy/2021/should-you-trust-media-bias-charts/)** > > These controversial charts claim to show news outlets' political lean and credibility. Here’s what you need to know. (Originally published Dec. 14, 2020) ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/34 "2021-03-07T16:32:40Z")
> [@EastUmpqua](#): > > OK I added pathetic. I saw a post in the pit about Fox news is fucking… or something like that. So I wanted to point out that CNN is as biased as FOX (depending on your personal ideology). This is the article I read before posting this thread: > [Media bias in the United States - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_bias_in_the_United_States) Your OP alleges “movie-star ideology and hypocrisy.” And then specifically claims the worst example happened on the Cuomo show. Now you’re adding that it is just as bad as Fox News. But still no actual example of what you are talking about. Not even the example on Cuomo’s show that apparently got you mad enough to make this thread. I will also note that, if you think we’ve moved on from Trump, you somehow missed CPAC, where they basically crowned Trump as the head of the Republican party. It seems stupid, since he doesn’t have enough votes to win an election, has lost support since then, and is likely to only lose but never gain support. But that’s where the Republicans are now. Over 95% want him as the head of the party (even if only around 55% want him to run for president again). You can’t move on from the guy who is in charge of one of the two viable US political parties. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/35 "2021-03-07T16:38:54Z")
> [@EastUmpqua](#): > > CNN is pathetically biased and drenched with elitist movie-star ideology and hypocrisy. Anybody who criticizes a news source as “biased” is revealing the childish idea that some news sources are biased and some are unbiased. This is not true and cannot possibly be true. If you want to know of a real bias that’s causing you real problems, video journalism is biased toward idiots. If you think you’ve sussed out the TV news sources that are “unbiased”, there’s a 100% chance you’re consuming the most heavily biased sources on the market. Pick up a magazine or blog. Any text at all. Read it. Lather, rinse, repeat. You may find yourself engaging with real ideas instead of complaining that some source is unfair and biased. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/36 "2021-03-07T16:42:14Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > While I like newspapers, and read them on the weekend, they’re yesterday’s news. I see that as a good thing. It’s always good when hot takes have 24 hours to cool down. Not that I rely on newspapers very much… they’re getting thinner and thinner in both quality and material. But a good 5-paragraph longform piece has usually been through at least one editing cycle. ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/37 "2021-03-07T16:44:08Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > If you think you’ve sussed out the TV news sources that are “unbiased”, there’s a 100% chance you’re consuming the most heavily biased sources on the market. I never watch TV news. I read news online. I also read blogs. > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > video journalism is biased toward idiots. I could not agree more… ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/38 "2021-03-07T16:48:53Z")
> [@EastUmpqua](#): > > I never watch TV news. Wasn’t this you complaining about the “Cuomo brothers show”? (bolding mine) > [@EastUmpqua](#): > > CNN is pathetically biased and drenched with elitist movie-star ideology and hypocrisy. **Especially the Cuomo brothers show.** Either way, I remain convinced that most people who claim “bias” are chiefly upset that their own bias isn’t portrayed thoroughly or flatteringly enough. It’s a childish complaint. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/39 "2021-03-07T16:53:38Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > You can’t move on from the guy who is in charge of one of the two viable US political parties. “How can I miss you if you won’t go away?” ---
**Author:** ![EastUmpqua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eastumpqua/32/6025_2.png) [@EastUmpqua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EastUmpqua)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2021, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366/40 "2021-03-07T16:55:10Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Wasn’t this you complaining about the “Cuomo brothers show”? (bolding mine) I read that Cuomo no longer covers his big brother, and the reason why (now it would be considered biased?). I did watch a couple of clips online. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cnn-is-no-longer-journalism/937366.md?page=3)