# Does CNN think we're stupid? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 26, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243 "2006-06-26T18:45:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Leviosaurus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Leviosaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leviosaurus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/21 "2006-06-26T20:49:13Z")
CNN has been watching its viewership decline against compeitiors like Fox for years. What you’re seeing is CNN’s attempts to capture the Fox audience. These are Fox tactics. Welcome to the new millenium :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![galt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@galt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/22 "2006-06-26T22:03:09Z")
I like the dramatic dog slo-mo clip near the end. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/23 "2006-06-26T22:33:39Z")
> [@TJdude825](#): > > If I may go slightly off-topic, are there any sources that you Dopers consider to be particularly _good_ news sources? None of them are perfect. The best is probably NPR, but there’s a definite left-wing slant to some of the content. That said, it’s simply the only widely-available source of news in the US that provides some straight news and commentary allowing both liberals and conservatives a forum for intelligent debate. That more conservatives don’t tune in and encourage more of such debate is too bad. Maybe the majority of conservative listeners aren’t interested in being challenged, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/24 "2006-06-26T22:39:59Z")
I have noticed that CNN and in fact, most entertainment that comes out of the States (more than other countries), tends to think that the audience is stupid. It doesn’t have to be this way - wonder when it started happening? We all know there are no more stupid people in the US than in any other country, why pander to them? If you watch the differences between the same show made in UK or Aus, and in US - it is very revealing. eg. The Nanny. In the UK version, it flows and lets the progress speak for itself. In the US version, we keep having to hear from all the participants explain what was happening, like we, the audience, are dumbasses who can’t work it out for ourselves. eg. TV bloopers or takeouts. In the UK version, we just watch the clip and work out for ourselves what we find amusing. In the US version, we have an explanation of what we should be looking for and we get additional visual aids such as circled areas or arrows - to make sure the dumbasses watching, aren’t being distracted by other non-funny things. I could go on. Not to say that excellent and clever stuff doesn’t come out of the US entertainment industry, because it does - just seems that there is more pandering to the thick in the states than in other countries (and in NZ, I am qualified to say this as we have UK, US, Australian, Canadian and NZ tv shows). ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/25 "2006-06-26T22:44:12Z")
> [@Random](#): > > The question I asked? How many did you find? > > (For those who haven’t watched the clip, the story claims that there is terrible new & widespread gang gun problem. Community guns! Gangs are hiding guns in public places, so different gang members can easily share them when they commit crimes. They’re in parks and playgrounds! Think of the children! A crime victim’s sister says or implies that he brother might have been killed with a community gun, but the basis for this belief is never revealed. There’s a picture of the dead guy. A bunch of short press-conference clips where law-enforcement types solemnly intone about the problem, and tell us of a new police initiative to combat the problem. Trained sniffer dogs. We see a couple of these. One’s really cute! Then clips of careful searches of playgrounds and vacant lots by the dogs and handlers. Sniff, sniff. It’s a bold new initiative that’s already being implemented. CNN-guy’s tone is very approving – the program is being expanded!) > The answer, of course, is zero. No community guns found, which isn’t acknowledged until near the end of the story. There’s not one hard fact in the entire piece showing that even one such gun ever existed, let alone that this is a major problem sweeping the nation. > > But the dogs were cute! And the idea of such a threat is scary! Kids might find the evil Community Guns! But we can all feel good about this bold new initiative to solve the problem. > > Shit. > > (Clearly, both gangs and guns are real problems. I have no doubt that at least one gang member somewhere, at some point in time, has stashed a gun in a playground. I wouldn’t be shocked if someone pointed me to a story where a community gun was actually found by a child, who hurt himself with it. You won’t find it in the CNN story, though. The one victim in that story isn’t clearly tied to a community gun, and it certainly isn’t explained how he would have been fine but for this scary new gang technique.) Kinda sounds like the original rationale for invading Iraq … ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/26 "2006-06-26T22:46:08Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > 😕 > > Clorox is now making guns to kill germs? No no, you fool! They’re making germs that kill guns! ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/27 "2006-06-26T23:23:41Z")
> [@Subterraneanus](#): > > Kinda sounds like the original rationale for invading Iraq … That’s the third (essentially identical) Iraq/WMD one-liner so far. Did you miss the first two? ---
**Author:** ![ZebraShaSha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/eada6e/32.png) [@ZebraShaSha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZebraShaSha)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/28 "2006-06-26T23:41:01Z")
> [@Random](#): > > That’s the third (essentially identical) Iraq/WMD one-liner so far. Did you miss the first two? He found them the same way we found WMDs: not at all. And yea, I don’t watch news anymore. These days I mostly read the BBC or Guardian from time to time, since they seem to be slightly less sensationalist than CNN, MSNBC, or the utter tripe that is Fox and friends. Why can’t we have an entire station of people like Anderson Cooper? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/29 "2006-06-26T23:41:05Z")
They’re doing the same thing with the “crystal meth epidemic sweeping our nation.” The real numbers don’t show any such thing. ---
**Author:** ![Subterraneanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Subterraneanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subterraneanus)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2006, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/30 "2006-06-26T23:44:24Z")
> [@Random](#): > > That’s the third (essentially identical) Iraq/WMD one-liner so far. Did you miss the first two? Yes. I’m a fucking idiot. Don’t forget to mark your scorecard. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/31 "2006-06-27T00:16:35Z")
> [@TJdude825](#): > > If I may go slightly off-topic, are there any sources that you Dopers consider to be particularly _good_ news sources? I like NPR and the BBC radio service. Other than that, there’s a whole lotta nothin. What’s really depressing is that just about all tv news is now pure garbage. It’s not as if you can switch the station to the good news channel and support it. All you can attempt to do is find the lesser of the evils. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/32 "2006-06-27T00:22:26Z")
> [@MelCthefirst](#): > > I have noticed that CNN and in fact, most entertainment that comes out of the States (more than other countries), tends to think that the audience is stupid. > It doesn’t have to be this way - wonder when it started happening? We all know there are no more stupid people in the US than in any other country, why pander to them? As mentioned, because those who don’t fail in a mass market. They succeed if they represent a niche who doesn’t need advertising, like NPR. I get most of my information from the New York Times - not perfect, but pretty close. I listen to the BBC World Service on my NPR station every so often, and the difference is amazing. BBC correspondents know their stuff, and they both ask hard questions of the world leaders they interview and don’t let them get away with the evasive answers so common from US politicians. As the familiar misquote of Mencken goes “No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/33 "2006-06-27T00:36:21Z")
Yeah, I try to read what I can at the BBC and New York Times. It’s interesting that even in **Ravenman’s** experience on a jury, the gun was always in someone’s hands. _That_ makes sense. Of course a crackhouse will have arms, and sometimes a gang member will take it out for some job. The stupid CNN piece tried to imply there are guns squirreled around town like Otis the drunk’s moonshine. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/34 "2006-06-27T00:45:01Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > As mentioned, because those who don’t fail in a mass market. They succeed if they represent a niche who doesn’t need advertising, like NPR. I get most of my information from the New York Times - not perfect, but pretty close. > > I listen to the BBC World Service on my NPR station every so often, and the difference is amazing. BBC correspondents know their stuff, and they both ask hard questions of the world leaders they interview and don’t let them get away with the evasive answers so common from US politicians. > > As the familiar misquote of Mencken goes “No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public.” How come other countries don’t have the same “system” then? Will the BBC get more money if they underestimated the intelligence of the British public? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/35 "2006-06-27T00:56:20Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > Don Henley pitted this same topic back in 1982 with his song “Dirty Laundry” Hence the tie to Clorox! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/36 "2006-06-27T05:45:23Z")
> [@MelCthefirst](#): > > How come other countries don’t have the same “system” then? > Will the BBC get more money if they underestimated the intelligence of the British public? The BBC doesn’t try to maximize profit, being government-owned. ---
**Author:** ![OKFMDOA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a6a055/32.png) [@OKFMDOA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OKFMDOA)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/37 "2006-06-27T05:54:55Z")
In Canada, I consider the national newscasts of CBC and CTV to be quite reasonable. Both are ad-supported, although CBC is publicly funded. No comparison to Fox or CNN, from what I’ve seen of them. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/38 "2006-06-27T06:26:12Z")
> [@Random](#): > > The question I asked? How many did you find? > > (For those who haven’t watched the clip, the story claims that there is terrible new & widespread gang gun problem. Community guns! Gangs are hiding guns in public places, so different gang members can easily share them when they commit crimes. They’re in parks and playgrounds! Think of the children! A crime victim’s sister says or implies that he brother might have been killed with a community gun, but the basis for this belief is never revealed. There’s a picture of the dead guy. A bunch of short press-conference clips where law-enforcement types solemnly intone about the problem, and tell us of a new police initiative to combat the problem. Trained sniffer dogs. We see a couple of these. One’s really cute! Then clips of careful searches of playgrounds and vacant lots by the dogs and handlers. Sniff, sniff. It’s a bold new initiative that’s already being implemented. CNN-guy’s tone is very approving – the program is being expanded!) > The answer, of course, is zero. Well, of course it’s zero! What do you think the CNN reporters are, a bunch of gang members ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/39 "2006-06-27T06:28:32Z")
… uuhhh, there should be a question mark at the end of my post. Everybody just pretend it’s there, okay? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243/40 "2006-06-27T16:54:58Z")
The guns issue seems to be the most dramatic issue when it comes to propoganda/slant. You will never, ever see guns in the news portrayed as anything but evil killing machines that come alive at night and shoot cute kids. I exaggerate slightly. Of course, in this case, this is more a crime issue than a gun ownership issue - but as something I’ve been sensitive to, the media coverage is so ridiculously slanted as to qualify as propoganda. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-cnn-think-were-stupid/362243.md?page=3)