CNN

Cable News Network
Launched	June 1, 1980
Owned by	Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (a Time Warner company)
Picture format	480i (SDTV) 1080i (HDTV)
Slogan	"The Worldwide Leader in News" "CNN = Politics" "The Best Political Team on Television" "CNN = Money"
Country	United States
Language	English
Broadcast area	United States Canada Worldwide
Headquarters	CNN Center Atlanta, Georgia
Sister channel(s)	CNN Airport Network CNN en Español CNN International HLN CNN Chile CNN+ CNN-IBN
Availability
Satellite
DirecTV (U.S.)	202 (SD/HD) 1202 (VOD)
Dish Network (U.S.)	200 (SD/HD) 9436 (HD)
Bell TV (Canada)	500
Shaw Direct (Canada)	500
Selectv (Australia)	102
Cable
Available on most cable systems	Check local listings
Verizon FiOs (U.S.)	100 (SD) 600 (HD)
Vidéotron Illico (Canada)	62 (SD)
Satellite radio
Sirius	132
XM	122

Cable News Network, almost always referred to by its initialism CNN, is an U.S. cable news network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner.^[1][2] Upon its launch, CNN was the first network to provide 24-hour television news coverage,^[3] and the first all-news television network in the United States.^[4] While the news network 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 network is a division of the Turner Broadcasting System.^[5]

CNN is sometimes referred to as CNN/U.S. to distinguish the North American channel from its international counterpart, CNN International. As of June 2008, CNN is available in over 93 million U.S. households.^[6] Broadcast coverage extends to over 890,000 American hotel rooms,^[6] 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.^[7] In terms of regular viewers (Nielsen Ratings), CNN rates as the United States' number two cable news network and has the most unique viewers (Nielsen Cume Ratings).^[8]

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.^[9] Since its debut, CNN has expanded its reach to a number of cable and satellite television networks, several web sites, specialized closed-circuit networks (such as CNN Airport Network), and a radio network. The network has 36 bureaus (10 domestic, 26 international), more than 900 affiliated local stations, and several regional and foreign-language networks around the world. The network'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 network, Headline News (originally called CNN2) was launched on January 1, 1982 and featured a continuous 24-hour cycle of 30-minute news broadcasts. Headline News broke from its original format in 2005 with the addition of Headline Prime. The added Headline Prime programs featured confrontational personalities like radio talk-show host Glenn Beck and former Fulton County, Georgia prosecutor Nancy Grace.

Recent years

In 2004, Jonathan Klein took over CNN as president and has maintained the position ever since. CNN HD was launched September 1, 2007, and was first nationally distributed by DirecTV on September 26, 2007. The network has also faced an increasingly competitive media environment; since CNN's debut, more than 70 television networks have launched with 24-hour news coverage.^[3]

Major events

Replica of the newsroom at CNN Center.

Challenger disaster

On January 28, 1986, CNN was the only television network 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."^[10]

The Gulf War

The first Persian Gulf War in 1991 was a watershed event for CNN that catapulted the network 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:^[11]

The Gulf War experience brought CNN some much sought-after legitimacy and made household names of previously obscure (and infamously low-paid) 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 network'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. Since CNN's debut, more than 70 television networks have launched with 24-hour news coverage.^[3]

September 11

CNN breaking the news about the September 11, 2001 attacks.

CNN was the first network to break the news of the September 11 attacks.^[12] 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:

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."^[13] 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 network employee on the air in New York.^[14]

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 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. In 2007, the network 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.^[15] In 2008, CNN partnered with The Los Angeles Times to host two primary debates leading up to its coverage of Super Tuesday.^[16] 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.^[16]

Programming

Current shows

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.^[17] 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 network, CNN International.

Former programs

Please help improve this section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page. (November 2008)

Staff

Anderson Cooper, anchor of AC 360

Richard Quest, London-based correspondent

Political contributors

Political analysts

• 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

CNN HD

American Morning on CNN HD with the 2004-2008 graphics package. Graphical weather forecasts were added to the sides in 2009 but removed a few months later.

CNN HD is a 1080i high definition simulcast of CNN that launched in September 2007.^[20] All regular shows based out of CNN's New York City studios at Time Warner Center such as American Morning, Lou Dobbs Tonight, Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull, Anderson Cooper 360, Fareed Zakaria GPS, State of the Union with John King and Your Money are in HD (as well as special events, see section below). In early September 2009, Larry King Live and The Situation Room began airing in HD, making its entire evening and primetime lineup in HD. In mid-October 2009, CNN Newsroom began airing in HD as well, making its full schedule all in HD. Stylized pillarboxes (outlines of the letters "HD" in a large font, configured sideways, and usually in red with a red background, but sometimes in blue with a blue background) are used for normal programs that are not available in HD, as well as remotely shot video that's only available in SD, even during shows that are in HD.

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. The 2009 United States Presidential Inauguration Day coverage on January 20 was also shot in full HD. President Barack Obama's first prime-time press conference on February 9, 2009 was also aired in full HD, as well as his address to a joint session of Congress on February 24, and his second prime-time press conference on March 24, and his address to a joint session of Congress on September 9, 2009.

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 network's CNN-YouTube presidential debates and for presidential candidate interviews.^[21]

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.^[20] 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.^[22][23] Verizon is currently in the process of adding CNN HD to its FiOS service on a market by market basis.^[24][25]

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., after msnbc.com and Yahoo! News, according to Nielsen/NetRatings; with an increase of 11% over the previous year.^[26]

Citizen journalist video submitted to CNN's iReport.com.

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.^[27] 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.^[28]

As of early 2008, CNN maintains a free live broadcast.^[29] CNN International is broadcasted 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 network's coverage on the 2008 Tibetan unrest. CNN reported that they took preventative measures after news broke of the impending attack.^[30][31]

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.^[32]

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 Checkout Channel
• CNN en Español
• HLN
• CNN International
• CNN+ (a partner network 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 [2] (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 ^[33][34] and closed in September 12, 2003.)
• CNNfn (financial network, closed in December 2004)
• CNN Sports Illustrated (also known as CNNSI), the network's all-sports channel, closed in 2002.

Experiments

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 the network's founding.

United States

Controversy

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 networks of Republican and Democratic candidates during the earliest five months of presidential primaries in 2007: whereas CNN “gave decidedly more negative coverage to Republican candidates. CNN “tended to cast a negative light on Republican candidates – by a margin of three-to-one … with McCain fairing the worst … It’s not that Democrats, other than Obama, fared well on CNN either … 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.” The study concluded, “When those two candidates are removed from the field, the tone of coverage for the two parties is virtually identical. The findings about who got the most favorable coverage and the focus on horse race in many ways reinforce each other. Obama, the first African-American candidate to be a major White House contender, performed better in polling and fundraising than expected in these early months. McCain, in contrast, was a former presumed front runner who fared far worse in the polls and in fundraising than anticipated.” ^[35]

CNN has been accused of perpetrating media bias for allegedly promoting both a conservative and a liberal agenda based on previous incidents. Media Matters for America has documented several hundred separate instances of what it sees as conservative editorializing during CNN broadcasts.^[36] Accuracy in Media and the Media Research Center have claimed that CNN's reporting contains liberal editorializing within news stories.^[37][38]

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.^[39][40] 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.^[41]

Chicago Sun-Times. 5 June 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.^[42]

A Chinese website, anti-cnn.com,^[43] 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 network 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.^[44][45]

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.^[46]

Popular culture

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (February 2008)

• CNN has been parodied many times. Many movies outside of the Turner Broadcasting Network also mention CNN in their storylines. Several television shows (i.e., Seven Days, JAG, and NCIS) use a parody of CNN known as "ZNN". During the run of the series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, "LNN" was used to stand for the Luthor News Network. In the movie Mr Bones appears a news network with the name "CCN", its logo being in the same font as CNN's. In the video game Desert Strike, the in-game news station is called "EANN", with the EA standing for the video game company's name, Electronic Arts. In The Flintstones Movie, a news reporter is seen reporting for a news network called BCNN. The movie Batman Forever shows a newscast on "GNN" (presumably standing for Gotham News Network). The logo is very similar to the "CNN" logo. GNN also appears on the Nolan series of Batman films, and in the movie Vantage Point where its reporter is caught in the middle of an attack on the President in Spain. Other parodies or references include Command & Conquer: Generals – Zero Hour's American campaign, featuring updates on missions with a correspondent from BNN, the rapper Eminem included a similar alteration in his song "Without Me", where, dressed up as Osama Bin Laden he was reported on by ENN, derived from his name. Finally, the movie The Dark Knight had its own version of CNN called "GCN". In the DVD, episodes of Gotham Tonight of the GCN network are found explaining events before the movie.
• CNN's most famous station ID is a five-second musical jingle with James Earl Jones' simple but classic line, "This is CNN." Jones' voice can still be heard today in updated station IDs. The line has also been referenced in other programming, including The Simpsons and Will & Grace, where Jones himself says that it was his last good piece of work. The line was also referred as a sub-parody in the 2002 film Kung Pow! Enter the Fist, during the ending of another sub-parody based on a scene from Disney's The Lion King, where Jones himself is noted have voiced one of the main characters.
• Australian satirist group The Chaser produced 12 half-hour episodes of CNNNN, a show that parodied the logo and slogan, with taglines such as "We report, you believe". The Chaser's work was shown on CNN in July 2007 after their APEC 2007 stunt for their show The Chaser's War on Everything created considerable controversy.

See also

• Breaking news
• CNN effect
• News channel
• United States journalism scandals

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: CNN

• CNN.com
• CNN International