CNN, a network that at one time could stand by its Most Trusted Name In News moniker with a straight face, has obviously decided that 24/7 Grief Porn is the solution to its well-publicized ratings woes. After nearly a month of obsession over the missing Malaysian airliner, CNN has noticeably as of late shifted its obsessions to the Korean ferry disaster.
While both are certainly compelling and legitimate stories, CNN has milked the disasters to a point where the network has declared no news “Breaking News” and faced criticism for cynically exploiting tragedies for a ratings bump.
Exploiting tragedy is nothing new to CNN. For a time, the network was very quick to exploit mass shootings as a way to push for laws restricting our 2nd Amendment civil rights.
In CNN’s defense, the network is in a tough spot. Under the tenure of Jeff Zucker, almost every attempt at serious news has only resulted in the network making a series of unforced errors and embarrassing itself. In fits and starts, CNN has also tried to move to the left of MSNBC with relentless Christian bashing and contrived partisan attacks against Republicans. The ratings that resulted were devastating.
Through the unseemly exploitation of tragedy, though, Zucker does seem to have found a niche that lifts CNN’s ratings from “horribly embarrassing” to “slightly embarrassing.”
Zucker’s thrown a lot at the wall.
Grief Porn stuck.
For now.
Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC
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