Tag Results for media

This summer, Kelsey Grammer's RightNetwork will debut a slate of on-demand cable programming with a significant slant to the right. The new network is designed for conservative viewers by focusing on what they call pro-America, pro-business and pro-military sensibilities.  In an ever-changing media landscape, is there an audience for The Right Network?

Following a report earlier this week that CNN’s prime-time ratings were continuing to crater, there’s been quite a bit of talk about how to get the original cable news net back in the game against the Fox News Channel and MSNBC. My “Beat the Press” colleague Kara Miller has some thoughts, and Michael Calderone of Politico interviewed a bunch of media observers, including me.

But here’s a counterintuitive idea. Maybe we’re all making a category error. As former CNN host Aaron Brown tells Calderone, CNN remains a “highly profitable business.” CNN posits itself as a news alternative to the partisan, opinion-driven talk-show line-ups offered by Fox and MSNBC. In that sense, maybe the three cable news nets aren’t really competitors at all.

The problem, of course, is that CNN’s prime-time line-up also consists mainly of talk shows, though not very good ones. The other night I briefly tuned in the best of the bunch, “Anderson Cooper 360,” and saw Dr. Phil talking about the Phoebe Prince tragedy. I nearly injured myself in my haste to change the channel. (By the way: I like Cooper, but think he’s being misused.)

What I’d like to see is a smart, analytical approach that makes sense out of all the news tidbits we accumulate throughout the day, unafraid to call out lies and misrepresentations but nonpartisan in its overall approach. Something, frankly, like Brown’s old program, “NewsNight,” canceled to make way for “AC360.”

And, yes, it’s time for Larry King to get his gold watch. No Larry-bashing from me: the man has a lot to do with the success CNN has enjoyed over the years. But all things must eventually come to an end.

Given that CNN continues to make money, maybe everyone would get off the network’s back about its poor ratings if it were offering not just an alternative to Fox and MSNBC, but one that is compelling and smart.

Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

Massachusetts Senator-elect Scott Brown became a national sensation as the first Republican to win a US Senate race since the 1970s. Since his victory on Jan. 19th, the coverage of Brown has been non-stop. How is the media shaping Brown's image?

Last weekend, 22-year old Amanda Knox was convicted of murdering her roommate in the fall of 2007. The 11-month trial got intense coverage in Italy where it was generally believed she was guilty. But Knox's coverage in the US was far more sympathetic.

With the primaries for the U.S. Senate now behind us, I’m starting to hear rumblings about a third candidate in the race — Joe Kennedy (photo). No, he’s not the former congressman. Rather, he’s an independent who says his views “are closely aligned with the Libertarian Party.”

Thus the media’s perpetual dilemma. Do they cover someone who poses absolutely no threat either to Democratic candidate Martha Coakley or Republican Scott Brown? Or do they ignore him and face accusations of bias in favor of the two major parties?

Such matters should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Kennedy did have to get 10,000 signatures, just like Coakley and Brown. But the majors had to test themselves in contested primaries. Kennedy, by contrast, automatically won a spot on the ballot. It hardly seems right to put him on an equal footing.

I’d also draw a contrast between Kennedy’s candidacy and those of past longshot candidates who represented actual political parties. In recent years, the Green and Libertarian parties have briefly enjoyed major-party status thanks to the appeal of strong candidates like Jill Stein and Carla Howell, respectively. In situations like those, attention must be paid. But Kennedy is not a third-party candidate; he’s a no-party candidate.

Kennedy deserves some coverage, but certainly not equal coverage. And I’d invite him to the first televised debate. If he registers in subsequent poll results and can raise some money, then he’ll deserve to be taken seriously. If not, then the media shouldn’t be blamed for focusing on candidates who actually have some chance of winning.

The twists and turns in the reporting of Tareq and Michaele Salahi.  It was a kicker story that turned into a security breach with the White House social director refusing to appear at Congressional hearings. How responsible was the media in reporting this story?

Acclaimed film director Roman Polanksi was arrested after 31 years as a fugitive from justice.  Has the press coverage on Polanski been appropriate considering his original  crime, or has he been given preferential treatment because of his talent?

Former president Jimmy Carter stirred the national debate when he claimed that protests against President Barack Obama are rooted in racism. How can the media differentiate between legitimate ideological protests and racist opposition?

This week Congress voted to cut off ACORN funding after undercover tapes allegedly show ACORN employees giving advice on how to skirt the law. The story got a lot of play from conservative media outlets.  But there has been criticism that the mainstream media was slow to pick up the story.

Earlier this week at a memorial service for Walter Cronkite, President Obama praised the CBS anchor while taking a swipe at the media saying. The president said the media today focuses on the insignificant and cheapens the public debate. Today marks the 8th anniversary of the Sept. 11th terrosist attacks on New York and Washington, DC. But is the news cycle back to its trivial pursuits?