MyDD :: Is MSNBC the best cable news network? Is CNN the worst?

Is MSNBC the best cable news network? Is CNN the worst?

by Chris Bowers, Tue Aug 24, 2004 at 02:13:37 PM EST

Last night when I went to CNN.com and saw that something about Amber Frey was the top story, I seriously wondered to myself if CNN might just be worse than Fox. Atrios argues that CNN is at least much worse than MSNBC:

CNN's a joke in your town.

It is really true. MSNBC has become a better news operation during the day. MSNBC.com has always been pretty good. The evening lineup is pretty much six of one, half a dozen on the other. On CNN you have Anderson Cooper (good, but too frivolous), Paula Zahn (atrocious), Larry King (horrible), and Aaron Brown (whatever good is demolished by his smugness). And, on MSNBC you have Hardball (horrible with an occasional ray of truth shining through), Olbermann (pretty good), Norville (okay), and Scarborough which is so bad it's probably, in the net, good.

Atrios isn't the only one noticing this either, as the RNC may have begun to blackball Hardball. Could the network that hired Mike Savage and fired Phil Donahue (at the time MSNBC's highest rated anchor) in a span of one month really have turned a corner and become the most palatable of the cable news networks? Also, is CNN (not CNN international, the CNN you get herein America) really worse than Fox?

I do not have answers or arguments of my own at this point, but I have written the question in the form of a front-page poll.

Tags: Media (all tags)

Permalink :: 13 Comments :: Post a Comment

uh huh (none / 0)

FOX, not worth comment
CNN, spineless
MSNBC, could be worse. Olberman rocks.

by Anonymous Citizen on Tue Aug 24, 2004 at 02:30:12 PM EST

Not Dan Savage (none / 0)

He's a sex columnist. You mean Michael Savage.

by Anonymous Citizen on Tue Aug 24, 2004 at 02:41:50 PM EST

Re: Not Dan Savage (none / 0)

And here I was getting all excited that MSNBC hired Dan Savage! :)

by Anonymous Citizen on Tue Aug 24, 2004 at 03:52:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Best of the worst. (none / 0)

It's a dubious distinction to be "the best cable news network," given that they're all crap. I'm still waiting for GoreTV.

by Drew on Tue Aug 24, 2004 at 03:07:20 PM EST

Re: Best of the worst. (none / 0)

You got that right.

by clawed on Tue Aug 24, 2004 at 03:42:56 PM EST
[ Parent ]

CNN (none / 0)

For some reason I was not able to take the poll, but I think it is amazing how bad CNN has become. I have stopped watching all of them because it makes me so angry. Fox is certainly the most openly biased in favor of the Repugs, but I think a case can be made for CNN being worse than Fox because it has a pretense of objectivity that hides a bias every bit as bad as Fox. I really don't know if it is genuine bias or a feeling that this kind of biased reporting will bring them the popularity of Fox or if it is a giving in to the intimidation that the Bush administration certainly uses, but whatever it is it has turned them into a completely disreputable organization. I do think that MSNBC is the best of a bad lot.

by herodotus on Tue Aug 24, 2004 at 03:18:28 PM EST

Re: CNN (none / 0)

Something weird is going on with your user info. I hope I didn't screw anything up. I'll look into this.

by Chris Bowers on Tue Aug 24, 2004 at 04:56:33 PM EST
[ Parent ]

CNN vs MSNBC, etc. (none / 0)

For my money, and I was a Nielsen household last month, there's something just wrong about the daytime anchors on all these cable channels. They're almost all personally repulsive in one way or another. Smug, or obviously ignorant, or oily and icky in some way.

Content-wise, the gag factor on CNN is getting up there with Fox, so by default MSNBC is moving up. Lately CNN has been flogging a convention special, "The Mission of George W. Bush," whose mere graphic sets my gorge rising. Blitzer and all the others seem to have no trouble saying the words.

However, on weekends CNNfn runs the CNN international coverage. It's first-rate. They ought to just toss the regular ones and replace them with CNNi.

Altoid

by Anonymous Citizen on Tue Aug 24, 2004 at 03:35:16 PM EST

Re: CNN vs MSNBC, etc. (none / 0)

The daytime anchors are idiots. They're little more than transplanted local news people, who only understand 'if it bleeds, it leads' 'news' values.

If you have digital cable or satellite, you can often get CNN International. What's scary about that, though, is you realise that CNN can and does put out decent news broadcasting, drawing from on-the-spot correspondents and concentrating (for the most part) on important issues.

It means that the schlock on the domestic CNN network isn't just bad: it's deliberately bad.

by Anonymous Citizen on Thu Aug 26, 2004 at 12:13:48 AM EST
[ Parent ]

CNN vs. MSNBC (none / 0)

I agree they are all crap and I agree about the anchors on in day time. They strike me as people who have never taken a history class and are far to young to have e personal history that includes the Vietnam war, Nixon, Watergate, etc, let alone be familiar with the players on the Republican slime project.

How did we go from discussing issues in a civil way, to this mode of producing news. There is an issue, then two very rude, crude, and unattractive people screaming at each other.

God, no wonder we are in so much trouble, and we sure as hell are!

by Anonymous Citizen on Tue Aug 24, 2004 at 05:01:46 PM EST

Re: Is MSNBC the best cable news network? (none / 0)

The other thing I just realized is that 9:00 p.m. Eastern is Crap Hour on the "news" nets.

CNN puts up Larry King to bring us the latest thrilling developments in the Kobe Peterson Jackson case while MSNBC brings our Deborah Norville to do the same, and Faux...

Like I said, Crap Hour.

by Anonymous Citizen on Tue Aug 24, 2004 at 06:27:13 PM EST

News (none / 0)

Is Lou Dobbs on CNN? I'm not sure that I agree with him on outsourcing, but he's covered the issue in great detail. He was intrviewed by Bill Moyers last Friday. I actually sort of respect him.

by Anonymous Citizen on Tue Aug 24, 2004 at 08:53:47 PM EST

CNN Distorts (none / 0)

I was watching cover the Kerry appearance on The Daily Show this morning. They showed a shot of Stewart and Kerry that was so distorted that Kerry looked like a munchkin. This had to be deliberate.

by Anonymous Citizen on Wed Aug 25, 2004 at 09:14:31 AM EST

You are not logged in.

In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.

If not, you can make an account right here. It's quick and free.