Tuesday, November 9

CNN

Cable News Network (CNN) is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States. While the news channel has numerous affiliates, CNN primarily broadcasts from its headquarters at the CNN Center in Atlanta, the Time Warner Center in New York City, and studios in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. CNN is owned by parent company Time Warner, and the U.S. news channel is a division of the Turner Broadcasting System.

CNN is sometimes referred to as CNN/U.S. to distinguish the American channel from its international counterpart, CNN International. As of August 2010, CNN is available in over 100 million U.S. households. Broadcast coverage extends to over 890,000 American hotel rooms,and the U.S broadcast is also shown in Canada. Globally, CNN programming airs through CNN International, which can be seen by viewers in over 212 countries and territories.

History
Early history

CNN's first broadcast with David Walker and Lois Hart on June 1, 1980.

The Cable News Network was launched at 5:00 p.m. EST on Sunday June 1, 1980. After an introduction by Ted Turner, the husband and wife team of David Walker and Lois Hart anchored the first newscast.

Since its debut, CNN has expanded its reach to a number of cable and satellite television companies, several web sites, specialized closed-circuit channels (such as CNN Airport Network), and a radio network. The company has 36 bureaus (10 domestic, 26 international), more than 900 affiliated local stations, and several regional and foreign-language networks around the world. The channel's success made a bona-fide mogul of founder Ted Turner and set the stage for the Time Warner conglomerate's eventual acquisition of Turner Broadcasting.

A companion channel, CNN2, was launched on January 1, 1982 and featured a continuous 24-hour cycle of 30-minute news broadcasts. A year later, it changed its name to "CNN Headline News", and eventually it was simply called "Headline News". (In 2005, Headline News would break from its original format with the addition of Headline Prime, a prime-time programming block that features news commentary; and in 2008 the channel changed its name again, to "HLN".)

Major events
Replica of the newsroom at CNN Center.
Challenger disaster

On January 28, 1986, CNN was the only television channel to have live coverage of the launch and explosion of Space Shuttle Challenger. The shuttle exploded after lift-off killing seven crew members including Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher from Concord, New Hampshire to be the first teacher in space. Then-President Ronald Reagan postponed his State of the Union Address that evening. He addressed the nation from the Oval Office.

Baby Jessica rescue

On October 14, 1987, an 18-month-old toddler named Jessica McClure fell down a well in Midland, Texas. CNN was quickly on the spot, and the event helped make their name. The New York Times ran a retrospective article in 1995 on the impact of live video news. "If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a moving picture is worth many times that, and a live moving picture makes an emotional connection that goes deeper than logic and lasts well beyond the actual event. This was before correspondents reported live from the enemy capital while American bombs were falling. Before Saddam Hussein held a surreal press conference with a few of the hundreds of Americans he was holding hostage. Before the nation watched, riveted but powerless, as Los Angeles was looted and burned. Before O. J. Simpson took a slow ride in a white Bronco, and before everyone close to his case had an agent and a book contract. This was uncharted territory just a short time ago."
The Gulf War

The first Persian Gulf War in 1991 was a watershed event for CNN that catapulted the channel past the "big three" American networks for the first time in its history, largely due to an unprecedented, historical scoop: CNN was the only news outlet with the ability to communicate from inside Iraq during the initial hours of the Coalition bombing campaign, with live reports from the al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad by reporters Bernard Shaw, John Holliman, and Peter Arnett.
Operation Desert Storm as captured live on a CNN night vision camera with reporters narrating.

‎

The moment when bombing began was announced on CNN by Bernard Shaw on January 16, 1991 as follows:
“ This is Bernie Shaw. Something is happening outside...Peter Arnett, join me here. Let's describe to our viewers what we're seeing...The skies over Baghdad have been illuminated...We're seeing bright flashes going off all over the sky. ”

The Gulf War experience brought CNN some much sought-after legitimacy and made household names of previously obscure reporters. Many of these reporters now comprise CNN's "old guard." Bernard Shaw became CNN's chief anchor until his retirement in 2001. Others include then-Pentagon correspondent Wolf Blitzer (now host of The Situation Room) and international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. Amanpour's presence in Iraq was caricatured by actress Nora Dunn as the ruthless reporter "Adriana Cruz" in the film Three Kings (1999). Time Warner later produced a television movie, Live from Baghdad, about the channel's coverage of the first Gulf War, which aired on HBO.

The CNN effect

Coverage of the first Gulf War and other crises of the early 1990s (particularly the infamous Battle of Mogadishu) led officials at the Pentagon to coin the term "the CNN effect" to describe the perceived impact of real time, 24-hour news coverage on the decision-making processes of the American government.
September 11 attacks
CNN breaking the news about the September 11, 2001 attacks.

CNN was the first channel to break the news of the September 11 attacks.Anchor Carol Lin was on the air to deliver the first public report of the event. She broke into a commercial at 8:49 a.m. ET and said:
“ This just in. You are looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there. That is the World Trade Center, and we have unconfirmed reports this morning that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. CNN Center right now is just beginning to work on this story, obviously calling our sources and trying to figure out exactly what happened, but clearly something relatively devastating happening this morning there on the south end of the island of Manhattan. That is once again, a picture of one of the towers of the World Trade Center. ”

Daryn Kagan and Leon Harris were live on the air just after 9 a.m. ET as the second plane hit the World Trade Center and through an interview with CNN correspondent David Ensor, reported the news that U.S. officials determined "that this is a terrorist act."Later, Aaron Brown anchored through the day and night as the attacks unfolded. Brown had just come to CNN from ABC to be the breaking news anchor.

Sean Murtagh, CNN vice-president for finance and administration, was the first CNN employee on the air in New York.

Coincidentally, September 11, 2001 was Paula Zahn's first day as a CNN reporter. She mentioned this as a guest clue presenter on a 2005 episode of Jeopardy!.
2008 U.S. election
The stage for the second 2008 CNN-YouTube presidential debate.

Leading up to the 2008 U.S. presidential election, CNN devoted large amounts of coverage to politics, including hosting candidate debates during the Democratic and Republican primary seasons. On June 3 and June 5, CNN teamed up with Saint Anselm College to sponsor the New Hampshire Republican and Democratic Debates. Later in 2007, the channel hosted the first CNN-YouTube presidential debates, a non-traditional format where viewers were invited to pre-submit questions over the internet via the YouTube video-sharing service. In 2008, CNN partnered with The Los Angeles Times to host two primary debates leading up to its coverage of Super Tuesday.CNN's debate and election night coverage led to its highest ratings of the year, with January 2008 viewership averaging 1.1 million viewers, a 41% increase over the previous year.
Programming
Current shows
Weekdays
ET Program Host(s) Location Description
6a-9a

American Morning
John Roberts and Kiran Chetry New York The channel's morning news program
9a-11a

CNN Newsroom
Kyra Phillips CNN Center A daily look at what's making news
11a-1p
Tony Harris
1p-3p
Ali Velshi
3p-5p
Brooke Baldwin
5p-7p

The Situation Room
Wolf Blitzer Washington D.C. Daily headline stories focusing on politics, homeland security, and human interest stories
7p-8p

John King, USA
John King The day's top political stories are discussed.
8p-9p

Parker Spitzer
Kathleen Parker and Eliot Spitzer New York The hosts (one conservative, one liberal) debate the day's top stories.
9p-10p

Larry King Live
Larry King Los Angeles A nightly talk / call in program, often featuring live celebrity interviews
10p-11p

Anderson Cooper 360
Anderson Cooper New York Nightly news and talk, series-documentary program
11p-12a
The second hour is typically a repeat of the first, unless special events or breaking news warrant it to be live
Saturday
ET Program Hosts Location Description
6a-730a

CNN Saturday Morning
T. J. Holmes CNN Center Weekend morning news program
730a-8a

Sanjay Gupta MD
Dr. Sanjay Gupta Medical news program
8a-930a

CNN Saturday Morning
T. J. Holmes The channel's weekend morning news program
930a-10a

Your Bottom Line
Poppy Harlow New York A personal finance show with a focus on the viewer's bottom line
10a-12p

CNN Newsroom
T. J. Holmes CNN Center A daily look at what's making news
12p-1p
Fredricka Whitfield
1p-2p

Your $$$$$
Ali Velshi and Christine Romans CNN Center/NY A weekend business news program
2p-5p

CNN Newsroom
Fredricka Whitfield CNN Center A daily look at what's making news
5p-6p
Don Lemon
6p-7p

The Situation Room
Wolf Blitzer Washington D.C. Weekly look at political news
7p-8p

CNN Newsroom
Don Lemon CNN Center A daily look at what's making news
8p-9p

CNN Special Investigations Unit / CNN Presents / Other specials
Various special programming
9p-10p

Larry King Live
Larry King Los Angeles A nightly talk program
10p-11p

CNN Newsroom
Don Lemon CNN Center A daily look at what's making news
Sunday
ET Program Host(s) Location Description
6a-730a

CNN Sunday Morning
T. J. Holmes CNN Center The channel's weekend morning news program
730a-8a

Sanjay Gupta MD
Dr. Sanjay Gupta Medical news program
8a-9a

CNN Sunday Morning
T. J. Holmes The channel's weekend morning news program
9a-10a

State of the Union with Candy Crowley
Candy Crowley Washington D.C. CNN's political talk show
10a-11a

Fareed Zakaria GPS
Fareed Zakaria Various A weekly talk show focused on international issues
11a-12p

Reliable Sources
Howard Kurtz Washington D.C. Critical look at the media issues
12p-1p

State of the Union with Candy Crowley
Candy Crowley Re-aired (or updated) edition in Sunday talk
1p-2p

Fareed Zakaria GPS (repeat)
Fareed Zakaria Various A weekly talk show focused on international issues
2p-3p

CNN Newsroom
Fredricka Whitfield CNN Center A daily look at what's making news
3p-4p

Your $$$$$ (repeat)
Ali Velshi and Christine Romans CNN Center/NY A weekend business news program
4p-6p

CNN Newsroom
Fredricka Whitfield CNN Center A daily look at what's making news
6p-8p

CNN Newsroom
Don Lemon A daily look at what's making news
8p-9p

State of the Union with Candy Crowley / CNN SIU / CNN Presents
9p-10p

Larry King Live
Larry King Los Angeles A nightly talk program
10p-11p

CNN Newsroom
Don Lemon CNN Center A daily look at what's making news
Future shows

Piers Morgan will host a 9 PM ET weeknight show beginning in January 2011 after the retirement of Larry King.

On-air presentation

In December 2008, CNN introduced its new graphics package, a comprehensive redesign replacing the existing style that had been used since 2004. The design replaced the scrolling ticker that had been in use since 2001. Also, since March 1, 2009, the redundant CNN HD logo has been missing from the bottom left corner of the screen. CNN's new graphic design is similar to its sister channel, CNN International. The CNN logo itself has remained relatively unchanged since the channel's launch, except that it was originally displayed in yellow.
Former programs

Both Sides with Jesse Jackson 1992–2000 A political talk show, hosted by civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, that aired Sundays. Each program began with a short taped report on the topic by CNN Correspondent John Bisney. The show ran from 1992 to 2000
The Capital Gang 1988–2005 One of cable news' longest running programs, focusing on discussion of the political news of the week. The original panelists were Pat Buchanan, Al Hunt, Mark Shields, and Robert Novak. When Buchanan left CNN to run for president, Margaret Warner, Mona Charen, and later Margaret Carlson and Kate O'Beirne became regular panelists. The Capital Gang aired Saturday nights at 7 p.m. ET from 1988 to 2005
Crossfire 1982–2005 A political "debate" program, anchored by hosts from left-wing and right-wing ideologies, that aired during prime time and daytime until mid-2005. Originally hosted by Tom Braden and Pat Buchanan, other hosts included Robert Novak, Michael Kinsley, John H. Sununu, Bill Press, Geraldine Ferraro, Mary Matalin, Tucker Carlson, James Carville, and Paul Begala.
Evans and Novak Saturday night political interview program with Rowland Evans and Robert Novak. The name changed to Evans, Novak, Hunt and Shields in 1998 when Al Hunt and Mark Shields became permanent panelists. When Evans died in 2001, the name changed to Novak, Hunt, and Shields for its final year on CNN.
Next@CNN 2002–2005 A scientific and technology oriented program hosted by Daniel Sieberg. Aired on weekends.
Inside Politics A political program that aired from 3:30–5 p.m. ET weekdays. Replaced by The Situation Room in 2005.
Wolf Blitzer Reports 2001–2005 A daily look at the day's stories that aired live from Washington at 5 p.m. ET. Replaced by The Situation Room in 2005.
NewsNight With Aaron Brown 2001–2005 A hard-news program anchored by Aaron Brown which took an in-depth look at the main U.S. and international stories of the day. Was axed from CNN's schedule on November 5, 2005, leading to Brown's immediate resignation from CNN.
CNN Daybreak A first look at the day's stories that aired live from New York City at 5 a.m. ET
CNN Sports Sunday Co-anchored by Bob Kurtz and Nick Charles
Connie Chung Tonight 2002–2003 Hosted by Connie Chung. Cancelled in March 2003
Freeman Reports one of the original programs from 1980. Host Sonja Freeman interviewed guests and took live telephone call-ins regarding current news events and other topics of interest. For a brief period the program featured a live audience in Atlanta. Freeman's former time slot is now occupied by Larry King.
People Now another original program. Host Lee Leonard interviewed celebrities and discussed entertainment news in a one hour program live from the CNN Los Angeles bureau. Leonard was replaced by Mike Douglas, who himself was replaced by Bill Tush in December 1982.
Pinnacle with Tom Cassidy unknown-2004 Business news and leaders
Computer Connection Technological issues
Future Watch Technological issues
Your Health Health news
Style with Elsa Klensch Weekly half hour on Saturday mornings featuring news on style and fashion
Talk Back Live 1994–2003 A call-in talk show with a live audience hosted most recently by Arthel Neville
On the Story unknown-2006 CNN's interactive "week-in-review" series featuring an in-depth look at the story behind some of the week's biggest stories. Anchored by Ali Velshi. However, the show was suspended in June 2006, later cancelled in July
Burden of Proof 1995–2001 A show that discussed legal issues of the day, hosted by Greta Van Susteren and Roger Cossack
Newsstand 1999–2001 News magazine
Newshour Daily news
Sonya / Sonya Live In LA A weekday call-in show airing at 1PM Eastern in the late 80's & Early 90s hosted by Dr. Sonya Friedman
CNN Live Today 2001–2006 Daily look at what's making news, airing live from Atlanta at 10 a.m. ET on weekdays. Anchored by Daryn Kagan
Live From... A lively look at the day's stories airing live from Atlanta at 1 p.m. ET. Anchored by Kyra Phillips
CNN Live Saturday / CNN Live Sunday A look at what's making news on the weekends, airing live from Atlanta. Anchored by Fredricka Whitfield 12:00–6:00pm and Carol Lin 6:00–11:00pm. Replaced in 2006 by CNN Newsroom Weekend.


CNN Saturday Night / CNN Sunday Night The channel's weekend evening news program, airing at 6 p.m. ET and 10 p.m. ET. Anchored by Carol Lin. Replaced in 2006 by CNN Newsroom Weekend.
People in the News unknown-2005 CNN's feature-format program with People Magazine profiling newsmakers from politics, sports, business, medicine, and entertainment. The program aired on the weekend and was first hosted by Daryn Kagan and later by Paula Zahn.
Diplomatic License 1994–2006 Weekly program on CNNI hosted by Richard Roth, focusing on the United Nations
Global View 1994–1999 International policy interview show hosted by world affairs correspondent Ralph Begleiter, aired weekly on CNN classic (1994-5) and CNN International (1994–1999). Program began with Begleiter package on subject, followed by lengthy interview with international figure, and ended with brief "Reporter's Notebook" segment featuring insider tidbits from the host's extensive travel covering global politics. Produced by Pam Benson with Joann Sierra.
Live From the Headlines 2003 Was Paula Zahn's prime-time show after moving from her morning slot, airing from 7–9 PM and later co-hosted by Anderson Cooper; replaced by Paula Zahn Now in 2003
Paula Zahn Now 2003–2007 Was a look at the current issues affecting the world, with former CBS and Fox News anchor Paula Zahn. Last broadcast was on August 2, 2007
CNN Tonight 2001 Anchored by Bill Hemmer (10pm ET) and Catherine Callaway (1am ET/10pm PT). Brought back in late 2009 to replace Lou Dobbs Tonight as a placeholder until new programming debuts in 2010
First Evening News 2001 Bill Hemmer anchors half-hour news show at 6pm (in June) or 7pm (in July to September 10)
The Spin Room 2001 Tucker Carlson and Bill Press host political talk show (aired at 10.30pm ET)
Greenfield at Large 2001–2002 Anchored by Jeff Greenfield in New York (aired at 10.30pm ET weeknights)
CNN NewsSite 2001 Anchored by Joie Chen from Atlanta (aired at 4pm ET weekdays: integrated the news and internet)
The Point with Greta Van Susteren 2001–2002 Primetime news and interviews. Canceled when Susteren moved to Fox News
Ballot Bowl 2008 Election 2008 news
Lou Dobbs Tonight 1980–2009 Anchored by Lou Dobbs, the program originally aired as Moneyline before re-launching as Lou Dobbs Tonight in 2003.
Campbell Brown 2008-2010 A political debate show hosted by Campbell Brown. Ended after Brown resigned from the channel.
Rick's List 2010 Anchored by Rick Sanchez, the host would discuss the day's news with viewers via social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Sanchez was fired from the channel after making controversial statements on a radio show (see Controversy for further details).
Staff

CNN's current president is Ken Jautz. He replaced Jonathan Klein on September 24, 2010.
Anderson Cooper, anchor of AC 360
Richard Quest, London-based correspondent
Political contributors



* Jack Cafferty, Commentator
* Gloria Borger, Senior Political Analyst
* Candy Crowley, Senior Political Correspondent
* Ali Velshi, Chief Business Correspondent
* Jeff Toobin, Senior Legal Analyst
* Bill Schneider, Senior Political Analyst
* David Gergen, Senior Political Analyst
* John King, Chief National Correspondent

High definition
American Morning on CNN HD with the 2004–2008 graphics package.

CNN HD is a 1080i high definition simulcast of CNN that launched in September 2007.[23] All studio shows are aired in HD, as well as special events. Stylized pillarboxes (outlines of the letters "HD" in a large font, configured sideways, and usually in red with a red background, but sometimes blue with a blue background), are used for remotely shot video that's only available in standard definition.

Formerly during American Morning, CNN HD viewers saw weather forecasts in graphic form on the sides of the screen (American cities on the right, and cities outside of the U.S. on the left). This feature was removed in November 2009.

The documentary Planet in Peril was CNN's first documentary program produced in HD, followed by Black in America (Its sequel Black in America 2 also aired in HD). Its spinoff Latino in America was also in HD. CNN HD also used to display a CNN HD logo (the normal CNN logo with the letters HD in a different, gray colored font next to it) on the bottom left corner of the screen. It was last used on February 28, 2009.
Special events

All special events are aired in full HD. During primary and caucus nights, America Votes 2008 was produced in complete HD with Wolf Blitzer anchoring from CNN's main New York studio which was renamed the CNN Election Center. During this time, CNN HD viewers got additional information on the side of their TV screens such as poll numbers, charts and graphs. This also happened for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the 2008 Republican National Convention, the 2008 United States Presidential Debates, the 2008 United States Vice Presidential Debate and the 2008 Election Day coverage on November 4, all of which were also shot in HD. Other special events such as Presidential speeches and press conferences are aired in HD
The CNN Election Express bus, used for HD broadcasts.

CNN's political coverage in HD was given mobility by the introduction of the CNN Election Express bus in October 2007. The Election Express vehicle, capable of five simultaneous HD feeds, was used for the channel's CNN-YouTube presidential debates and for presidential candidate interviews.
Coverage

Initial carriage of CNN HD on cable and satellite systems was limited. DirecTV was the first provider to carry it, adding it mid-September 2007.By June 2008, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, AT&T U-verse, Rogers Cable, Midcontinent Communications, Bright House Networks, and Dish Network launched carriage of CNN HD. Verizon is currently in the process of adding CNN HD to its FiOS service on a market by market basis.
Online
New CNN website, unveiled October 24, 2009

CNN debuted its news website CNN.com (initially an experiment known as CNN Interactive) on August 30, 1995. The site attracted growing interest over its first decade and is now one of the most popular news websites in the world. The widespread growth of blogs, social media and user-generated content have influenced the site, and blogs in particular have focused CNN's previously scattershot online offerings, most noticeably in the development and launch of CNN Pipeline in late 2005.

In April 2009, CNN.com ranked third place among online global news sites in unique users in the U.S. according to Nielsen/NetRatings; with an increase of 11% over the previous year.

CNN Pipeline was the name of a paid subscription service, its corresponding website, and a content delivery client that provided streams of live video from up to four sources (or "pipes"), on-demand access to CNN stories and reports, and optional pop-up "news alerts" to computer users. The installable client was available to users of PCs running Microsoft Windows. There was also a browser-based "web client" that did not require installation. In July 2007 the service was discontinued and replaced with a free streaming service.

The now-defunct topical news-program Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics was the first CNN program to feature a round-up of blogs in 2005. Blog coverage was expanded when Inside Politics was folded into The Situation Room. In 2006 CNN launched CNN Exchange and CNN iReport, initiatives designed to further introduce and centralize the impact of everything from blogging to citizen journalism within the CNN brand. CNN iReport which features user-submitted photos and video, has achieved considerable traction, with increasingly professional-looking reports filed by amateur journalists, many still in high school or college. The iReport gained more prominence when observers of the Virginia Tech Shootings sent-in first hand photos of what was going during the shootings.

As of early 2008, CNN maintains a free live broadcast.CNN International is broadcast live, as part of the RealNetworks SuperPass subscription outside US. CNN also offers several RSS feeds and podcasts.

On April 18, 2008 CNN.com was targeted by Chinese hackers in retaliation for the channel's coverage on the 2008 Tibetan unrest. CNN reported that they took preventative measures after news broke of the impending attack.

The company was honored at the 2008 Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards for development and implementation of an integrated and portable IP-based live, edit and store-and-forward digital newsgathering system.

On October 24, 2009 CNN launched a new version of their CNN.com website, revamping it adding a new "sign up" option where users may create their own user name, a new "CNN Pulse" (beta) feature along with a new red color theme.However, most of the news archived on the website has been deleted.

CNN also has a channel in the popular video-sharing site YouTube, but its videos can only be viewed in the United States, a source of criticism among YouTube users worldwide.

In April 2010, CNN announced via Twitter its upcoming food blog called "Eatocracy," in which it will "cover all news related to food – from recalls to health issues to culture."
Specialized channels
CNN en Español televised debate for the 2005 Chilean elections.
Post Production editing offices in Atlanta.

* CNN.com Live
* CNN Airport Network
* CNN en Español
* HLN
* CNN International
* CNN+ (a partner channel in Spain, launched in 1999 with Sogecable)
* CNN TÜRK A Turkish media outlet.
* CNN-IBN An Indian news channel.
* CNNj A Japanese news outlet.
* CNN Chile A Chilean news channel launched on December 4, 2008.
* n-tv German 24 hour news channel in German language. In 2009, on air graphic (DOG position and news ticker) is like CNN. Owned by RTL Group

Former channels

* CNN Pipeline (24-hour multi-channel broadband online news service, replaced with CNN.com Live)
* CNN Italia  (an Italian news website launched in partnership with the publishing company Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso, and after with the financial newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore, launched in November 15, 1999  and closed in September 12, 2003.)
* CNN Checkout Channel (Out-of-home place-based custom channel for grocery stores started in 1991 and shuttered in 1993)
* CNNfn (financial channel, closed in December 2004)
* CNN Sports Illustrated (also known as CNNSI), CNN's all-sports channel, closed in 2002.


CNN launched two specialty news channels for the American market which would later close amid competitive pressure: CNNSI shut down in 2002, and CNNfn shut down after nine years on the air in December 2004. CNN and Sports Illustrated's partnership continues today online at CNNSI.com. CNNfn's former website now redirects to money.cnn.com, a product of CNN's strategic partnership with Money magazine. Money and SI are both properties of Time Warner, along with CNN.
Bureaus
CNN bureau locations
The CNN Center in Atlanta.
CNN Center studios.

Note: Boldface indicates that they are CNN's original bureaus, meaning they have been in operation since CNN's founding.



In a joint study by the Joan Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University and the Project for Excellence in Journalism, the authors found disparate treatment by the three major cable channels of Republican and Democratic candidates during the earliest five months of presidential primaries in 2007: "The CNN programming studied tended to cast a negative light on Republican candidates—by a margin of three-to-one. Four-in-ten stories (41%) were clearly negative while just 14% were positive and 46% were neutral. The network provided negative coverage of all three main candidates with McCain fairing the worst (63% negative) and Romney fairing a little better than the others only because a majority of his coverage was neutral. It's not that Democrats, other than Obama, fared well on CNN either. Nearly half of the Illinois Senator's stories were positive (46%), vs. just 8% that were negative. But both Clinton and Edwards ended up with more negative than positive coverage overall. So while coverage for Democrats overall was a bit more positive than negative, that was almost all due to extremely favorable coverage for Obama."

CNN has been accused of perpetrating media bias for allegedly promoting both a conservative and a liberal agenda based on previous incidents. Accuracy in Media and the Media Research Center have claimed that CNN's reporting contains liberal editorializing within news stories.

CNN is one of the world's largest news organizations, and its international channel, CNN International is the leading international new channel in terms of viewer reach. Unlike the BBC and its network of reporters and bureaus, CNN International makes extensive use of affiliated reporters that are local to, and often directly affected by, the events they are reporting. The effect is a more immediate, less detached style of on-the-ground coverage. This has done little to stem criticism, largely from Middle Eastern nations, that CNN International reports news from a pro-American perspective. This is a marked contrast to domestic criticisms that often portray CNN as having a "liberal" or "anti-American" bias. In 2002, Honest Reporting spearheaded a campaign to expose CNN for pro-Palestinian bias, citing public remarks in which Ted Turner equated Palestinian suicide bombing with Israeli military strikes.

Chicago Sun-Times. June 5, 2007. As said by Ted Turner, founder of CNN, "There really isn't much of a point getting some Tom, Dick or Harry off the streets to report on when we can snag a big name whom everyone identifies with. After all, it's all part of the business." However, in April 2008, Turner criticized the direction CNN has taken.[46] Others have echoed that criticism, especially in light of CNN's drop in the ratings. Tom Dougherty, President and CEO of brand development firm Stealing Share, told The New York Times, "Until they decide who they’re for — which is an amazingly difficult thing to do, and includes deciding who they are not for — they will flounder.”

A Chinese website, anti-cnn.com, has accused CNN and western media in general of biased reporting against China, with the catch-phrase "Don't be so CNN" catching on in the Chinese mainstream as jokingly meaning "Don't be so biased". Pictures used by CNN are allegedly edited to have completely different meanings from the original ones. In addition, the channel was accused of largely ignoring pro-China voices during the Olympic Torch Relay in San Francisco.

On April 24, 2008 beautician Liang Shubing and teacher Li Lilan sued commentator Jack Cafferty and CNN $1.3 billion damages ($1 per person in China), in New York, for "violating the dignity and reputation of the Chinese people". This was in response to an incident during CNN's "The Situation Room" on April 9, where Cafferty stated his opinion that "[the USA] continue to import their junk with the lead paint on them and the poisoned pet food" despite his view that "[the Chinese leaders were] basically the same bunch of goons and thugs they've been for the last 50 years". Further, amid China's Foreign Ministry demand for an apology, 14 lawyers filed a similar suit in Beijing.

In June 2009, musician M.I.A. stated she did an hour-long interview with CNN condemning the mass bombing and Tamil civilian fatalities at the hands of Government forces in Sri Lanka in 16 weeks the same year, "and they cut it down to one minute and made it about my single “Paper Planes.” When I went to the Grammys, I saw the same reporter from CNN, and I was like, “Why did you do that?” And she said, “Because you used the G-word.” "Genocide. I guess you’re not allowed to say that on CNN," raising questions concerning CNN's coverage and commitment to free speech.

On November 11, 2009, longtime CNN anchor Lou Dobbs resigned on air. He didn't explain why in his exit speech but it has been reported that he was bothered by a memo that ordered anchors to stop allowing Obama birthers airtime.

On July 7, 2010, Octavia Nasr, senior Middle East editor and a CNN journalist for 20 years, was fired after she expressed on her Twitter account admiration for a liberal-minded Muslim cleric who had recently passed away, casting doubts on the company's commitment to freedom of speech.

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