# FUCK YOU CNN! You stupid shit-weaseles. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 13, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220 "2006-03-13T20:08:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/1 "2006-03-13T20:08:26Z")
Sitting here on the computer with CNN on TV in the background, there’s nothing else on and I’ve got things to do, and breaking in from a commercial break you fucking drop the _huge fucking **spoiler** _ from last nights _Soprano’s_!. No warning, no preface, not even a note that you’re switching to TV topics or anything. What fucking day and age are you living in where you think it’s OK to spoil TV shows on the news??? Is the concept of a DVR and HBO’s encore broadcasts foreign to you!!! Fucking shithead producers and anchors. They didn’t even discuss it. It wasn’t in any context about entertainment news. Just a throw-away line in-between to national news stories about a factory fire and last nights severe weather. It’s like they fucking spoiled it just for the sake of spoiling it. Jesus fucking H Christ on a matzo. It’s the equivalent of a prick coming out of a movie theather to announcing who did it to the folks waiting in line. CNN, don’t fucking make me start watching FOX News. There will be a reckoning and you will be dealt with severly. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/2 "2006-03-13T20:14:12Z")
Damn them for talking about a television program that was on last night and has now been available for viewing to the entire nation for 16 hours! ---
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/3 "2006-03-13T20:16:11Z")
Omniscience isn’t quite what it used to be. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/4 "2006-03-13T20:49:54Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Damn them for talking about a television program that was on last night and has now been available for viewing to the entire nation for 16 hours! Certain media outlets took into account that some people use this wondrous new invention called TiVo, where they could do something wild like watch it the following night instead. I hear it’s all the rage with the young kids. The Chicago Tribune even went one step further and put a spoiler warning at the head of the column that reviewed the episode. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/5 "2006-03-13T20:54:39Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Damn them for talking about a television program that was on last night and has now been available for viewing to the entire nation for 16 hours! It’s not like it’s 1979 and everyone watches things as they air. Me, I had other things to do last night. I’m looking forward to watching it this evening, if I can get it in before _24_ starts. Spoilage is spoilage; I’d be choked too if I was watching CNN and, out of the blue, they dropped a bombshell clip. I haven’t opened at the (spoiler-marked) Cafe Thread, and if I saw a bumper on CNN that mentioned they were going to talk about the big developments in last night’s episode, I’d change the fucking channel immediately. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/6 "2006-03-13T20:59:54Z")
_Newsday_ and the CBS Morning Show, however, spoiled it, the latter even showing a clip. They did discuss how anyone who was waiting until later in the week would be spoiled. _The Sopranos_ season premiere was an “event”; much like a Superbowl or the _American Idol_ finals, if you want to record or watch future showing and still be surprised, you will have to hide under a rock, read no papers, watch no TV, listen to no radio and overhear no watercooler talk. I doubt future episodes will be newsworthy events, so you should be safe next week when Tony, in a morphine dream sequence, puts on a tutu and does a pirouet. ---
**Author:** ![scout1222](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@scout1222](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scout1222)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/7 "2006-03-13T21:32:09Z")
Thanks for the chuckle, **Raygun**! ---
**Author:** ![Angua](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8baadc/32.png) [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/8 "2006-03-13T21:36:40Z")
The BBC spoilt Season 7 of the West Wing in an obituary of John Spencer. The worst thing? Season 7 has only just started in the UK, **now** , and hadn’t even aired at the time of Spencer’s death. Grrr. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/9 "2006-03-13T22:03:05Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Damn them for talking about a television program that was on last night and has now been available for viewing to the entire nation for 16 hours! Perhaps you have stern words for the SDMB staff who apparently saw fit to make a rule about it here. Clearly that are out of touch as well. Fucking idiot. ---
**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:** [March 13, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/10 "2006-03-13T22:19:32Z")
As I neither have HBO, nor do I turn on CNN, might I request you give us a spoiler-boxed _précis_ of the offending plot development? ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/11 "2006-03-13T22:31:58Z")
I sympathize (although I don’t get the anger in the OP. It’s just a freakin’ TV show). CNN should not have aired the spoiler without some kind of warning. But I think it’s kind of dumb to expect the media to shy away from talking about a major, extremely hyped television show after it’s already aired. What is the first thing people want to do after they’ve watched a good show? They want to talk about it. It’s kind of like expecting the sportcasters not to talk about the results of the Superbowl after the game is over. It seems to me that if you’re going to watch a show at your own convenience, you should expect to be spoilerized in some shape or fashion. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/12 "2006-03-13T23:17:57Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Perhaps you have stern words for the SDMB staff who apparently saw fit to make a rule about it here. Clearly that are out of touch as well. Fucking idiot. Fuck you, ya whiny little bitch. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/13 "2006-03-13T23:24:15Z")
I was pissed too. Hubby works nights, sleeps late, and hadn’t watched the TiVo’d show yet. It was hard, keeping quiet about what happened, but I didn’t want to spoil it for him. CNN had no problem blurting it out though. They could have talked about the show without giving away a major twist that happened in the last few minutes of the episode, for pete’s sake. **kaylasdad** : An addled Uncle Junior shot Tony, mistaking him for someone else. Tony crawled to a phone and dialed 911, but it was a struggle – it wasn’t just a flesh wound, looked like he was shot in the stomach. ---
**Author:** ![duffer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duffer/32/1026_2.png) [@duffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duffer)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/14 "2006-03-13T23:28:10Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Fuck you, ya whiny little bitch. Somehow the day is never complete until **Otto** makes a complete ass of himself. Soldier on, brave soul. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/15 "2006-03-14T00:26:38Z")
Out of mild curiousity, at what point in time are the millions of people who _did_ watch the show last night allowed to talk about it? ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/16 "2006-03-14T00:39:51Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Fuck you, ya whiny little bitch. And thanks for playing, useless little turd. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/17 "2006-03-14T00:42:14Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > Out of mild curiousity, at what point in time are the millions of people who _did_ watch the show last night allowed to talk about it? Nowhere did I say it shouldn’t be discussed, just use a little fucking tact while doing it. There’s plenty of threads and hyperlinks around the net that managed to get it right. ---
**Author:** ![Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e19adc/32.png) [@Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/18 "2006-03-14T18:26:02Z")
Gimme a fucking break. CNN did not spoil the Sopranos for you fucktard. You spoiled yourself. If CNN mentions before the show airs that Tony is shot, then it’s a spoiler. But at any point from 10 pm on, the contents of the show are fair game. We follow those same rules here at the Dope, and just because _you_ didn’t watch it doesn’t make CNN the bad guys. It is _not_ the same as someone coming out of a movie theatre and telling people in line what happened, because it’s a fucking TV show that airs at the same time across the country. Everyone has access at the same fucking time. If you choose to watch on a delay, then it’s your duty to turn off every fucking device that may spoil what you _chose_ not to watch and scream _ **LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU** _ any time you encounter another person until you do get with the fucking program and watch it. I think every fucking morning show in America discussed The Sopranos on Monday morning, and it was in every fucking paper I read that day too. Some of them had a picture of the fat fucker from Jersey on the front fucking page! How you managed to go _24 hours_ without knowing that Tony was shot is a fucking miracle. It’s The Sopranos. The hottest show on cable, hands down. The show that got _everyone_ hooked on HBO, and has had millions of people renting the goddamn DVDs. It was the first show on the air in TWO FUCKING YEARS! Of fucking course it’s going to be mentioned in every medium for the next week! What planet do you live on that you haven’t figured this out yet, fucktard? ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/19 "2006-03-14T18:56:26Z")
> [@Barbarian](#): > > If CNN mentions before the show airs that Tony is shot, then it’s a spoiler. But at any point from 10 pm on, the contents of the show are fair game. We follow those same rules here at the Dope, and just because _you_ didn’t watch it doesn’t make CNN the bad guys. Maybe you should fucking figure out what you’re talking about before you jam your head up your ass and start screaming, I don’t care if you like the way it smells up there. From [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=343601): > [@CK Dexter Haven](#): > > When do you need to warn of spoilers? > Obviously, if the material is new, some people will want to experience it for themselves without knowing the plot. Remember that a TV show you see on the U.S. east coast will not be seen for several hours later on the west coast. And perhaps not for weeks or months in a different country. > Although a work may have been well known for quite a while, some folks may still be unaware of particular plot points. Agatha Christie has been dead a long time, but there are still new students and others coming to her mysteries for the first time, who don’t want to know that the butler did it. On the other hand, anyone who doesn’t know that Dorothy could have gone home anytime by clicking her heels, well, the hell with ‘em. > > It should be evident from these examples that we can’t give hard-and-fast rules about when to use spoilers. Instead, we have guidelines that involve common sense and courtesy: if you’re revealing a major plot element that could ruin the first-timer’s experience, then DON’T. If it’s a brand new work, be careful about revealing minor plot elements, as well. This is clearly different from what CNN did, anyone with the slightest grasp of the English language can figure that out. All these morning shows you mention went out of their way to preface and warn about those spilers. Radio shows did a fine job of it. A simple “Did you see the Soprano’s last night” would have given me plenty of time to change the channel like I did numerous times yesterday. No such courtesy from the jackasses at CNN. It’s dubious at best to claim that the final minutes of a TV show qualify as _news_, which makes the fact they chose to treat it like a scoop even more fucking idoitic. Nice of you to shit on **kaylasdad99** request to box a direct discussion of the offending spoiler. You’re a real fucking peice of work. Go choke on your own semen. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2006, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220/20 "2006-03-14T19:15:21Z")
CNN wasn’t the only one. CBS spoiled it, then after spoiling they spoke of how they were spoiling it. Both of them did mention, prior to commercials, that a segment on _The Sopranos_ was coming up. If I tape the Superbowl or Game 7 of the World Series or the Academy Awards or the American Idol finals (not that I watch it or care, but you get the idea), either I have to make extreme efforts to avoid all knowledge of the outcome, or I have to expect being spoiled. HBO marketed the return of _The Sopranos_ as an event. CNN and others treated it as such (although I do find there are far too many entertainment segments in any news show - low hanging fruit and lowest common denominator work against real news segments). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fuck-you-cnn-you-stupid-shit-weaseles/348220.md?page=2)