# What would happen if we put an X on CNN? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 28, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069 "2005-11-28T16:52:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/61 "2005-11-28T20:35:05Z")
I for one consider our friend **Clothy** the board’s king of (unintentional) comedy, and hope he never stops ‘educating’ us on liberal bias in the media. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/62 "2005-11-28T21:21:30Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > **furt** : I don’t know what your computer environment is, but after what happened to Hal and the sheep, He became a Dope legend is what happened. [inner attention-whore]The lucky bastard[/i a-w] ---
**Author:** ![Atticus\_Finch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ec9cab/32.png) [@Atticus\_Finch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atticus_Finch)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/63 "2005-11-28T21:29:14Z")
> [@An Arky](#): > > So I think there’s something to it, even though both NPR and CNN vehemently deny that the Army PsyOps Interns were up to no good or had any influence on their reporting. Thanks for that, mate. Looks like it did actually happen, although I don’t think the interns could have had any / much effect, given the small numbers and short time-frame involved. It’s also good that CNN / NPR did the right thing when they discovered what was happening. Altogether, I don’t think it adds up to any kind of conservative bias. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/64 "2005-11-28T21:36:54Z")
I wonder, does **anyone** think **Reeder** was this bad? Daniel ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/65 "2005-11-28T21:46:11Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > I wonder, does **anyone** think **Reeder** was this bad? Six of one … ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/66 "2005-11-28T21:48:02Z")
> [@furt](#): > > Six of one … Really? I remember **Reeder** coming up with astonishingly lame OPs, but I don’t remember them being as laughably false as **Clothahump’s** always are. Of course, I found **Reeder** embarrassing, so I tended to not open his threads. **Clothahump** is always good for a cruel laugh. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![wring](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/838e76/32.png) [@wring](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wring)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/67 "2005-11-28T22:43:41Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > I’m going to suggest it was just A Bad Apple. > > If it happens a couple dozen times more, feel free to come back and bitch. > > -Joe see, I think that’s the crux of the matter - apparently one lone person stuck answering the phones at CNN= corporate responsability, while a few PFCs and Sgt or two = “few bad apples, nothing more to see here, move along”. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/68 "2005-11-28T23:13:19Z")
\ It’s the Democ[rat](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=38285)’s payback for the [Rat](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=38307)s & a way to focus attention on Bush’s disasterous prescription drug plan. \ ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_The\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Bill\_The\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_The_Cat)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2005, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/69 "2005-11-28T23:36:06Z")
CNN did it deliberately because CNN’s own gay-porn-site-running, pseudonym-using, hack reporter sent in to ask slanted questions about the Republican’s tenuous grasp on reality was snubbed in favor of the gay-porn-site-running, pseudonym-using, hack reporter sent in to ask slanted questions about the Democrat’s tenuous grasp on reality. **HA** Cheney, take that! You can attempt to undermine the freedom of the press and jeapordize national security, but if you do, we tree-hugging hippie liberals will [sub]accidentally[/sub] put a big X over your face for 1/7th of a second. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/70 "2005-11-29T00:02:10Z")
> [@Bill The Cat](#): > > CNN did it deliberately because CNN’s own gay-porn-site-running, pseudonym-using, hack reporter sent in to ask slanted questions about the Republican’s tenuous grasp on reality was snubbed in favor of the gay-porn-site-running, pseudonym-using, hack reporter sent in to ask slanted questions about the Democrat’s tenuous grasp on reality. > > **HA** Cheney, take that! You can attempt to undermine the freedom of the press and jeapordize national security, but if you do, we tree-hugging hippie liberals will [sub]accidentally[/sub] put a big X over your face for 1/7th of a second. Now that is some delux and over the top sarcasm. I applaud your effort. I think you insulted everyone and no one at the same time. Jim ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/71 "2005-11-29T00:03:41Z")
So, uh, Cheney’s _not_ going to stop lying? ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/72 "2005-11-29T00:16:33Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > Now that is some delux and over the top sarcasm. I applaud your effort. I think you insulted everyone and no one at the same time… A spokesman for parrots said he was relieved that no parrots were insulted in this incident… ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/73 "2005-11-29T00:25:07Z")
> [@jrfranchi](#): > > I think he enjoys the attention these dumb Ops are getting. I think he’s trying to regain the position of Our Stupidest Doper recently taken from him by **New Iskander.** This was a pretty good effort, but we’ll need to see a few more along these lines before we can re-crown him our champion fool. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/74 "2005-11-29T01:08:17Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > I think he’s trying to regain the position of Our Stupidest Doper recently taken from him by **New Iskander.** This was a pretty good effort, but we’ll need to see a few more along these lines before we can re-crown him our champion fool. \*\*Cloth \*\* doesn’t post enough to get the title. But when he starts an op in can be spectacular. I seen some of his non-political posts and he is not stupid, he is just very thick when it comes to trying to bash the **Liberal Media**. :rolleyes: I would think he could find some real examples and not just continue to post such easily refutable drivel. Jim ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/75 "2005-11-29T07:15:28Z")
I suppose we should be grateful **Clothahump** doesn’t spend his time ranting against conservative bias in the media, else the board would be so flooded there wouldn’t be room for anyone else to post anything. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/76 "2005-11-29T09:14:54Z")
> [@Left Hand of Dorkness](#): > > Really? I remember **Reeder** coming up with astonishingly lame OPs, but I don’t remember them being as laughably false as **Clothahump’s** always are. One posted silly crap, the other posted silly crap; why split hairs over the material’s degree of silliness? Besides, **Reeder** would defintely win on quantity. ---
**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:** [November 29, 2005, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/77 "2005-11-29T09:52:15Z")
This incident is similar in many respects to a trivial dust-up at ABC a few years back. A viewer of _The Practice_ checked the ABC website for an e-mail address he could use to lodge a complaint about a perceived pro-homosexual agenda in the series and ABC programming generally. He ended up e-mailing the webmaster of the site, who took it upon himself to write a snippy reply: > [@](#): > > How about getting your nose out of the Bible (which is ONLY a book of stories compiled by MANY different writers hundreds of years ago) and read the Declaration of Independence (what our nation is built on) where it says “All Men are Created Equal” - and try treating them that way for a change!? Or better yet, try thinking for yourself and stop using an archaic book of stories as your crutch for your existence. The complainant, taking this as an official statement of ABC policy, was happy to share this with anyone who would listen and there was a brief kerfuffle that ended with ABC apologizing and firing the outspoken programmer. In the CNN case, I can easily imagine some call center schmo who has no control whatsoever over CNN programming losing patience with a conspiracy-theory-minded clown. I feel kinda sorry for the call center guy, but being endlessly patient with idiots _is_ their job. [Snopes page on ABC incident.](http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/outrage/practice.htm) ---
**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:** [November 29, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/78 "2005-11-29T16:33:54Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > I can easily imagine some call center schmo who has no control whatsoever over CNN programming losing patience with a conspiracy-theory-minded clown. If you listen to the call, it’s pretty clear that he had no idea what she was talking about, and assumed she was referring to a prepared graphic in an editorial context. There’s no indication at all that she’s talking about a quasi-tachiscopic image, and she is unable to relate that she’s talking about the live coverage of Cheney’s speech. Both sides of the conversation make you weep for their communication skills. It wasn’t helpful that the woman was shrill and antagonistic from the start, but any idiot who spends the day answering phones should be equipped to deal with that sort of thing much more effectively than simply emulating her tone and assuming a contrary position, without making any attempt to solicit actual information from her. She’s definitely got some sort of pathology going on, but anyone who dealt with her the way he did has no business earning their wages through contact with the public. ---
**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:** [November 29, 2005, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/79 "2005-11-29T16:49:24Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > If you listen to the call It’s difficult because of the poor quality of the audio, but it’s clear that he’s a jerk and she’s an idiot. Anyway, like the ABC webmaster, he blew his cool and forgot that he was representing his employer. Bad move. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2005, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069/80 "2005-11-29T17:01:59Z")
> [@Bryan Ekers](#): > > It’s difficult because of the poor quality of the audio, but it’s clear that he’s a jerk and she’s an idiot. Anyway, like the ABC webmaster, he blew his cool and forgot that he was representing his employer. Bad move. Sure. Now is it evidence of a Vast Librul CNN Conspiracy, or is it evidence of a annoyed CSR who is about to get fired? Exactly. -Joe [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-put-an-x-on-cnn/333069.md?page=5)