What does CNN think it’s doing?
CNN is in a bit of a pickle right now. That is putting it politely. The network is a mess, and I believe they have only themselves to blame. I’ve watched the changes at CNN these past months with interest. Some of them have been good.
For example, CNN has been covering Putin’s war astoundingly well. These reporters who are on the front-lines deserve our utmost respect. CNN has elevated its international reporting, and they have done a good job. But the bad outweighs the good for CNN. Let’s break it down.
CNN has not stopped covering politics altogether, but they have most certainly cut down. And that is a shame because there are things that America needs to know. Many of these things have been given little to no coverage on CNN, which almost guarantees the viewers who want to see political content will skip the network.
And then there is the disastrous rolling out of their streaming service, CNN+. I was speechless at just how badly this was handled. There were glitches from the start, and many who DID sign up complained content was surprisingly limited. Many canceled their memberships.
It is reported by multiple outlets that the audience for CNN+ is less than 20 thousand people. That’s pretty bad. And in my opinion, it isn’t surprising. This was a disastrous time to do a streaming roll-out. Covid is still here. Yes, things have eased in that respect, but many people are still hurting financially. And CNN’s ratings have been terrible. Why then would millions sign up for their streaming service?
And then we come to nighttime punditry. Things don’t look good there either. Chris Cuomo still hasn’t been replaced. The 9:00 PM void is gigantic. So far, CNN has gotten around that by covering Ukraine almost exclusively.
Sooner or later, they will have to bring in new on-air talent. Their ratings remain dismal, and litigation brought by Cuomo is certainly not helping their reputation. I would like CNN to succeed, but they have made a large number of terrible choices. Hopefully, they can right the ship — before it sinks entirely.
