To nobody’s surprise, CNN’s ratings are falling faster than Joe Biden on a flight of stairs leading up to Air Force One. It’s so bad that they’re getting less than a quarter of the nightly viewers that some sitcom reruns are getting. They’ve brought in a new CEO, Chris Licht, to try to turn things around. He’s showing signs that he wants to do it by backing away from the traditional CNN mission of pushing DNC propaganda. He has even told his staff that he expects them to be the one thing they are not – less partisan. I’ll bet they didn’t see that coming.
It’s a noble objective, and he has made a good start by canning a couple of his non-journalist journalists – John “Trump Is a Demagogue” Harwood and Brian “Mister Potato Head” Stelter. But Chris has a lot more work to do – and a lot more people to fire – if he wants to regain any sense of credibility for CNN.
How bad is it at CNN? Employees at the network are taking a page out of the FBI’s playbook and are starting to leak (anonymously) to other friendly news outlets. One terrified CNN “journalist” complained to the Washington Post that Licht isn’t telling anyone how to avoid coming across as partisan. I’ll ignore the fact that this person’s greatest terror is that they may need to do their job to keep their job. How pathetic. Show of hands please: how many other reporters at CNN would like to admit that they’re on TV every day, doing a job they don’t know how to do?
Given that journalism schools don’t provide instruction in being journalists, I have a few remedial tips for the staff at CNN. I suggest they write them down on their forearms for easy reference during their next broadcast.
Tip 1 – Focus on being a better reporter, not a better actor
You’re missing the point if you think your new boss wants you to avoid coming across as partisan. He wants you to avoid BEING partisan. Those are two completely different things. If you don’t get that, maybe you should do a podcast out from your basement like Keith Olbermann.
CNN obsessive compulsive sufferer Jim Acosta recently said
Neutrality for the sake of neutrality doesn’t really serve us in the age of Trump.
Which translates to: Kicking the bad orange man in the nether regions is more important that being neutral. So, Jim is biased, admits he’s biased, and thinks that’s good. Sorry, it’s not good at all. For a supposed reporter, it’s arrogant, contemptable, and not what Chris Licht is looking for. For the anonymous leaker to the Washington Post, if you want to get on Licht’s good side, just do the opposite of what Acosta does. If you’re Jim, get your resume ready.
Tip 2 – Get out of the mind reading business
Having a God complex does not make you God, so stop acting like you know what’s in other people’s hearts and minds. Acting like you see into the souls of other men doesn’t make you look smart; it makes you unlikeable and biased.
If you claim that someone is a racist, you better have a quote from that person claiming to be racist. Otherwise, it’s just your opinion – which news consumers aren’t interested in.
If you call someone a liar, you better be able to prove not only that they’re incorrect, but also that they know they’re incorrect. Joe Biden say’s a lot of false stuff. But if I was a reporter (which I am not) I would never call him a liar. He could just be stupid.
A good example of the God complex was provided by Stephen Collinson on his July 4th rant for CNN. He said:
The ex-President is, meanwhile, impatient to launch a 2024 campaign rooted in his election fraud lies that would highlight his increasingly autocratic tendencies.
If that isn’t a judgement about what’s in another man’s heart, nothing is. He called Donald Trump a liar, claiming to know what he actually believes, without even investigating if the Trump statements were wrong. He even claims to know Trump’s underlying motivation – attributing it to “autocratic tendencies.” I could claim that Stephen Collinson is a hateful man that wishes to destroy America and usher in Satan’s dominion over the Earth, and I’d have just as much basis for that statement as he does for making judgements about Donald Trump.
Tip 3 – Avoid using inflammatory adjectives
Journalists in general, and CNN journalists in particular, need to be put on an adjective timeout. The man’s name is Donald Trump – not the racist Donald Trump. Adjectives are an embellishment based on the speaker’s beliefs, not facts. From the same Collinson rant, he said
In another example of startling political disruption, an activist Supreme Court …
The fact is the Supreme Court did something. Whether it was activist, startling, or disruptive is a matter of opinion – Stephen Collison’s opinion – making it biased reporting.
Tip 4 – You’re not in the sales business, you’re in the information business
Have faith in your audience. Give them facts and let them decide what those fact mean.
If you find yourself trying to sell something to your viewers, such as an ideology, you’ve crossed the line from journalism to advocacy. If you try to do it under the guise of journalism, you’re a propagandist. You’re not giving your audience facts because you don’t trust them and have contempt for their intelligence. Hence the need to manipulate them. But that’s the job of a philosopher (or a used car salesman), not a reporter. The last time I checked, CNN was still the Cable NEWS Network.
If you’re seduced by the notion that the country needs your guidance, you are being arrogant. Your Ivy League journalism degree does not put you on the high end of the smarts scale – and we know it even if you don’t. A little humility would go a long way to making you a better reporter.
One “news man” who has never had an ounce of humility is Dan Rather. In the runup to the 2004 presidential election, Rather did a false story about George W. Bush’s military service on 60 Minutes. He actually used fabricated evidence. When caught, his explanation was that the story was “fake but accurate.” Translation: the story was false but its narrative was just what Rather intended. Anytime a reporter even thinks about a narrative, he has decided to do propaganda and not news reporting.
The fact that CNN reporters don’t know how to be impartial does not bode well for the network. However, I sincerely hope that Licht can pull off the conversion. America is not well, and the unavailability of facts for Americans to base informed decisions on is a major contributing factor.
Perhaps if Licht is successful, it will cause introspection by other supposed news organizations. The odds are against him, but for the sake of America, I wish him the best.
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