# Just when I thought CNN had hit rock bottom, they grab a shovel and start digging **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 28, 2002, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-thought-cnn-had-hit-rock-bottom-they-grab-a-shovel-and-start-digging/134278 "2002-10-28T18:13:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-thought-cnn-had-hit-rock-bottom-they-grab-a-shovel-and-start-digging/134278/1 "2002-10-28T18:13:25Z")
> **[THE HUNT FOR A SNIPER: COVERAGE; Cable's Focus on Sniper Helped the...](https://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/25/us/hunt-for-sniper-coverage-cable-s-focus-sniper-helped-authorities-but-also-drew.html)** > > Omnivirous coverage cable news networks gave to hunt for sniper terrorizing Washington area has thrust them again into heated debate over nature of cable news; there is evidence that all that attention proved crucial in capture of prime suspects, but... Note paragraph 6. Words escape me. William Petersen and Marg Helgenberger as EXPERTS??? At least CBS had the good sense to say, “Thanks, but no.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-thought-cnn-had-hit-rock-bottom-they-grab-a-shovel-and-start-digging/134278/2 "2002-10-28T19:03:30Z")
Register link bad. Free link gooood. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-thought-cnn-had-hit-rock-bottom-they-grab-a-shovel-and-start-digging/134278/3 "2002-10-28T19:08:18Z")
If the media helped catch the guys, I’m glad for it, but I just find it hard to believe that we needed non-stop, 24/7 coverage of this one event, to the exclusion of everything else. That’s what gets me the most about CNN these days - that they find whatever the current hot story is and cover all the minutae of that story _and nothing else_. But then again, something that really isn’t news is that CNN really sucks as a news source. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-thought-cnn-had-hit-rock-bottom-they-grab-a-shovel-and-start-digging/134278/4 "2002-10-28T19:10:11Z")
For any nytimes link, you can use slashbot/slashbot to read it. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-thought-cnn-had-hit-rock-bottom-they-grab-a-shovel-and-start-digging/134278/5 "2002-10-28T19:15:21Z")
I’m sorry, I guess sometime somewhere I registered to the NY Times. Anway, paragraph 6 is: > [@](#): > > CNN even asked CBS late last week if it would supply real actors — the ones who appear on the CBS prime-time series “Crime Scene Investigation” — to comment on the case. CBS declined. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2002, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-thought-cnn-had-hit-rock-bottom-they-grab-a-shovel-and-start-digging/134278/6 "2002-10-28T20:00:21Z")
I don’t watch CNN for the news, I just tune in to look at all the hottie news casters. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-thought-cnn-had-hit-rock-bottom-they-grab-a-shovel-and-start-digging/134278/7 "2002-10-29T07:53:13Z")
My favorite CNN moment from the sniper story occurred when they were covering the arrests. The talking head said, and I quote, “police then came down I-70, _presumably at a high rate of speed_…” So, not only did they report on the least important detail of the capture you could imagine, but they made it up, since they didn’t actually know what happened!!! Bravo. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2002, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-thought-cnn-had-hit-rock-bottom-they-grab-a-shovel-and-start-digging/134278/8 "2002-10-29T08:26:20Z")
You folks know that there’s talk between ABC and CNN to turn over ABC’s news division to CNN? There’s also been talks between CNN and CBS, but it looks more like the deal will go down between ABC and CNN. I gotta wonder how that’ll work (besides “not very well”), I would think that the FTC or somebody would have problems with it. I’m tellin’ ya, it’s looking more and more like the original film _ **Rollerball** _ was a blueprint for the future. ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-thought-cnn-had-hit-rock-bottom-they-grab-a-shovel-and-start-digging/134278/9 "2002-10-30T07:40:24Z")
hmmm… ABC is owned by Disney. Bambi does CNN? CNN does Bambi? Thumper is a shill for Murdock? I don’t want to hear about the 7 dwarfs go to Iraq… [sub]my head hurts…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-thought-cnn-had-hit-rock-bottom-they-grab-a-shovel-and-start-digging/134278/10 "2002-10-30T07:55:11Z")
Don’t worry, us Aussies have it in hand - we’re exporting [CNNNN](http://www.cnnnn.com) to you. WARNING - link should not be clicked ny the humour impaired. ---
**Author:** ![j\_kat\_251](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/71c47a/32.png) [@j\_kat\_251](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j_kat_251)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2002, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/just-when-i-thought-cnn-had-hit-rock-bottom-they-grab-a-shovel-and-start-digging/134278/11 "2002-10-30T11:53:12Z")
How funny would that have been, though? Grisham/Grissholm starts spouting off about Shakespeare and bullet trajectory while Dan Rather just looks around like “What the?” … then later you could get Calista Flockhart in to discuss the finer points of corporate law. It’d be great. I think we need \* more \*sitcom-to-news crossovers.