With the broadcast legacy of Ted Turner intertwined with the putrid ideology of “Hanoi” Jane, the Chinese News Network (CNN) is currently facing an identity crises, as the coalescence between soccer moms and the hipster suburban dog nannies sends shockwaves across the domain of online surveys. While the ratings hurl themselves off the antenna array at the summit of the Tower Dubai, the most controversial television news syndicate is well past the expiration date of reimaging and audiences are skeptical that any inclination of credibility ever existed within the newsroom and cubicles housing the antithesis to fact checkers in creating myths.
A recent poll conducted by survey firm YouGov, indicates that the torrid love affair is long over between Americans and the media conglomerate, as participants resoundingly voted that CNN is the most politicized of major networks, narrowly edging out MSNBC. Curiously, Democrats still hold a majority net “trust” factor for the content spewed from the billion dollar corporate and editorial catacombs headquartered in Atlanta and Manhattan, the perception from one side of the political aisle is that credibility still reigns behind the glass of the vast bureaus, even though the cable news provider has seen an unprecedented headline anchor reshuffling over the last month. Toxic and woke host Don Lemon was abruptly terminated, a pure business move that was purposefully made during the stunning Fox News firing of Tucker Carlson and foreshadowing a changing trajectory in the delivery of what is construed as “news”, or in the perception of corporate leaders, content that is conducive to driving advertising dollars in the absence of accountability.
Years of false claims, transformed into “fact” by conjecture, apparently does not deter liberals from believing what they want to believe, a necessary characteristic of free will, however when applied to ideology and voting, creates a very dangerous environment, especially for the application of fundamental freedoms.
Earning the bronze medal in the YouGov poll was the New York Times, a publication that has its checkered past in convoluting fact, a reality that readers across the spectrum are privy to, yet some choose indifference to the prevalence of myths and falsehoods pedaled by writers and editors employed simply based on academic accolades and industry nepotism. Multiple incidents of reporters over the years violating the fundamentals of ethics has only galvanized readers in their morning craving of propaganda as part of a well-balanced breakfast.
As the Presidential election looms on a tedious horizon, the core cable audience is showing signs of restlessness and fatigue with the unrelenting stream of information that is sensationalized and tainted with elements of extremism. Similar to the gravitation away from radicalized lawmakers, common sense is once again trending, as the nation recalibrates from the brink of at least social revolt. Considering that at one point media outlets followed the essence of FCC guidelines specifying equal time in the last three decades, the shift towards a blatant worship of a singular and detrimental bias in a pathetic attempt to cauterize the wound of audiences and key demographics defecting to digital news sources and social media marks the inevitable end of the golden era of network and cable television as a whole.
With the window shrinking fast, the corporate execs at Time Warner and minions of the ongoing AT&T revenge against society and government, must decide when to ultimately pull the plug on a product that once delivered fairness and accuracy, but has since devolved into a purveyor of what loosely can be defined as entertainment. The economic model is simply failing for the cable industry as a whole, as the younger generations prefer the cost-effective, convenience, and diverse options offered by streaming services, in not being told what to think. That is the job of big tech branding freedom as indoctrination, and indoctrination as the hip precursor to ultimate control.