He actually looks a lot creepier than this photo would indicate.
Posted on 03/26/2003 7:01:15 PM PST by paltz
Poor old CNN thought it could exploit the war in Iraq by overtaking Fox News Channel in the ratings. The people have dashed those hopes.
The Gulf War in 1991 put CNN on the map, the network has been spending a fortune on its coverage this time around, and "many within CNN felt the war would enable it to reclaim the No. 1 spot - at least temporarily,” the New York Post reported today.
CNN forgot a couple of facts, though. It no longer has a monopoly, and many Americans are sick of its leftist bias.
Though its viewership lately has increased more than FNC’s, it still lags, even though more cable systems carry it. Thursday, the first full day of war coverage, CNN lured an average of 3.66 million viewers, compared with 4.13 million for Fox, according to the Nielsen ratings.
Arnett Snipes at His Old Network
Peter Arnett, who profited mightily from the Gulf War, doesn’t mind tossing barbs at his former employer, now that NBC supplies his fat paycheck.
Reporting from Baghdad, where CNN has no one, gives him "perverse pleasure,” Arnett snickered.
"CNN is not represented here and [cannot cover] the story they are most associated with.” He implied that he outwitted the Iraqis, whereas CNN could not.
Insult and Injury for Connie Chung
So why did CNN suddenly dump "Connie Chung Tonight"? It "had been criticized in some circles for its emphasis on crime and personality stories but had drawn strong ratings in a nondescript time slot,” the Associated Press noted.
Her tabloid-like interviews ran counter to the network's supposed renewed focus on actual news, the network claims.
"This reflects CNN's efforts to differentiate itself in a crowded market," a CNN mouthpiece told Reuters. "We did offer her another on-air opportunity, and she declined."
The ultimate slap: Aaron Brown replaced her.
Boston Globe: Aaron Brown ‘Too Weird’
Speaking of Brown, the leftist Boston Globe doesn’t think too much of this fellow traveler.
Despite some good qualities, media critic Mark Jurkowitz writes, "as was the case in the days after the attacks on Sept. 11, the war on Iraq is again proving that he is just too studied, too enigmatic, and frankly, too weird, to be anchor material.”
"Brown's mannerisms - the subtle lip bite, the fingers playing at the corners of his mouth, the Mona Lisa-like smile - can seem contrived, even inopportune. And he is not well served by sitting next to retired General Wesley Clark, a CNN military analyst. Crisp, focused, and direct, Clark is the antidote to Brown's pregnant pauses, quizzical looks, and at times, languorous pacing. On Sunday, after a rather heated exchange with an Al-Jazeera journalist, a flustered Brown could only utter this mysterious passage: ‘On we go. General Clark, apparently it's going to be a night.’'
"One of CNN's frustrations has been its elusive search for a marquee anchor. Maybe the network thought it landed one when it imported Brown from ABC in 2001. But with the possible exception of Dan Rather, no anchor can be more annoyingly self-conscious.”
As bad as Dan Rather? Yow!
"When introducing correspondent Susan Candiotti's interview with the family of POW Ronald Young, he said, ‘CNN's Susan Candiotti has talked with them. She talked with the family earlier. I guess I just said that, Susan. So I've now repeated myself for the first time tonight.’ As the kids say, Aaron: Get over yourself,” the Globe concluded.
What a pathetic little girly-man.
I heard that while he was reporting during Shock & Awe, Arnett actually laughed as Saddam's presidential palace was destroyed. Does anyone know whether or not this is true? Did he actually take pleasure at seeing his old buddy's digs reduced to rubble?
MSNBC recently gave Joe Scarborough his own time slot and he seems to have what it takes. A conservative viewpoint. But MSNBC made a mistake when they recently hired Jesse Ventura. He's over the top, out of the mainstream and won't last long.
Fox is on a roll.
LOL. TRUE!
You know, I have switched myself between these channels and I myself have noticed how when I am watching I get a sense that this guy is exactly that. I mentioned this on a previous post on FR, and i wonder if it just me, or are others thinking "there he goes again, with that whiney voice, that smirk, and that narcissistic self-referential commentary.. " at least, that's what I find myself thinking. (did I say "I" enough times? I'm sure I'll hear from someone on that.)
Well, he puts the rest of us to sleep, so why not?
Of all the reasons the Turks have given for their behavior, this one I would believe.
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