The Cable News Network (CNN), a niche broadcaster, concentrating on round the clock reporting started a revolution that changed the way journalism and news services were viewed, developed and transmitted. Created by Ted Turner, CNN has had a turbulent history in becoming a global 24 hour news service.
“It was founded in 1980 as a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting Systems Inc and in 1996 Time Warner, a 20 per cent shareholder in Turner Broadcasting, bought the remaining shares of the publicly traded company, describing the acquisition as a merger.� (Kung-Shankleman, 2000: 77)
As a result the two organisations created the largest media and entertainment company in the world, engaging in a wide range of broadcasting activities across a variety of media. Some of these activities include the following:
The motivation behind CNN was “to concentrate completely on news and to cover that news in an entirely different way from anyone else.� (Kung-Shankleman, 2000: 78) CNN achieved this by firstly, creating a 24 hours non-stop news service, secondly, by enabling the service to be global and thirdly by encouraging and presenting live news coverage and reporting.
This approach proved effective with the viewers, revitalising the old, out of date style of other news networks and services. “CNN redefined news from something that has happened to something that is happening.� (Kung-Shankleman, 2000: 79)
Despite mass competition faced by CNN, “CNN is still the world-renowned icon of the new era of commercial news programming and the following innovations bear witness to this role:
The development of CNN’s 24-hour non-stop news coverage required new methods of journalism and political reporting and a new organisation of newsgathering. As a result, CNN invented two prominent journalistic styles and types of news presentation: breaking news and unlimited live coverage.
The idea behind breaking news was that journalists would aim to discover a story that would grow bigger over time. While the story was unfolding, CNN journalists would already be sending back live reports.
Live coverage was implemented and prompted by the invention of satellite technology. Live coverage of important and influential world events contributed to boosting CNN’s reputation for instant news coverage. “Live coverage is necessary as the viewer receives timely, first-hand primary source, rather than secondary edited information. (Volkmer, 1999: 139) Due to the digitisation of information, live coverage has existed and enabled 24 hour news reporting.
The CNN.com website is a primary example of online journalism. CNN.com is among the world's leaders in online news and information delivery featuring the latest multimedia technologies, from live video streaming to audio packages to searchable archives of news features and background information. One reason why CNN is so popular is because it “goes into considerable depth on stories that only get a minute or two of treatment in television� (Pavlik, 2001: 36) Another reason is that the site is updated continuously throughout the day therefore the public has access to up to minute news from their homes or offices.
Kung-Shankleman, L. (2000) Inside the BBC and CNN: Managing Media Organizations, London: Routledge
Pavlik, J. (2001) Journalism and the New Media, New York: Columbia University Press
Volkmer, I. (1999) News in the Global Sphere: A Study of CNN and its Impact on Global Communication, Luton: University of Luton Press
Kellie McCall 17:40, 19 Oct 2004 (EST)
