CNN’s plummet from the cable news hierarchy may be indicative of societal changes rather than blatant and documented unprofessionalism.
As the bustling realms of digital communities entice perpetual interaction laden with the segregated released of endorphins, the monolithic artifacts of network television are abandoned in the obscure stoicism of an accidental masoleum. Covered with a sheen of fine bone dust and ancient pollen on the fringes of an arid geological sink, the futility of attaining lucrative relevancy is a far cry from the brash mustache and plaid suit days of the breaking news industry during heights and intrigue of the 1980’s. In the modern nightmare of chinks of shimmering data forging the information age, fact has become obsolete, at least to the younger generations, and as traditional audiences dwindle, the struggle to remain buoyant as a relevant cable news organization becomes an inglorious struggle.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. 2019 was not a kind year for the overall ratings numbers, but the network stoked and savagely nurtured by the dubious duality of the Turner-Fonda corollary function of manufactured nastiness and unpatriotic sentiment took a drastic dive from the cleft of mediocrity, descending into the murky depths of a Pacific ocean trench. The ramifications of the submerged benchmark a victory for researchers on a quest to discover the next somber species icon of the Green New Deal, but for sensible folks, the opportunity to take solace in Chernobyl magnitude failure of a tycoon well past the point of providing stewardship for the betterment of humanity. In a true non-fake news story of passing interest, the brainchild and pecuniary source for the Turner conglomerate, finished 2019 as the 22nd ranked channel, a reality that even evokes a wry sardonic botox smile from Nancy Grace.
Good things are happening at A&E. (courtesy Variety.com)
The numbers simply do not lie. CNN now ranks outside of the top-20, and certainly eons away from sniffing the BCS playoffs of television super galaxies in the hotly contested scramble for ratings, and the holy grail of agency advertising dollars. With a wide array of news services offering digital content, the television medium already faces a daunting three mile vertical rock climb above the fog of obscurity, and the New York based network, the once flagship business model of the journalistic endeavors outside of the influence of the big three clings in vain to a storied past, and the controversial legacy of Turner himself. The slow and painful demise of the cable news network susceptible to legions of thrill seeking mad lib participants with a propensity for fun with acronyms, does not face a resoundingly bombastic theatrical implosion of nuclear proportions, a testament to the tiresome antics or the ruling class power couple. Instead, the Nielsen ratings from another arduous marathon of a calendar year, are a tangible and exhaustive indictment of a news formula vile and incredulous on slow news days where filler material remains impossibility politicized.
As a result of the divisiveness afflicting the nation, moderate purveyors of content have either remained steadfastly loyal to the Sunday shopper crowd, or in the case of Turner’s bias, have morphed into a propaganda industry concern for and extremist agenda. Fittingly, the audience has been unwillingly to inherit the guerilla political leanings of a newsroom focused on attempting to discredit the White House through contrived rhetoric, unbalanced reporting reporting, and even crossing the line of journalistic ethics to stage events that deter from support for Trump and most importantly fact. With the latter indictment spawning pure sin, to CNN’s (dis) credit, the lack of parenting and emphasis on decency is actually favoring a world where falsehoods are embraced for generations behind the X’s. However, this does not forgive the audacity to promote societal engineering and a codependency towards sensationalism. In the either/or mentality of the voter towards the president, strong opinions are acceptable, however trading social media quips for blatant mistruths, does not mesh with the values of traditional Democrats. In a wavering climax of vitriol, the abomination of a journalistic legacy is going down kicking, screaming, and biting, but to no avail, as the ratings have spoken. Purchasing the phrase “meteoric rise” is completely out of the question.
Fact cannot compete with the superficial desires of the generations experiencing their formative years, the presence of spontaneous reinforcement or the trendy exhausted term to describe the emphasis on personal belief burying truth in releasing an excess of endorphins, threatens the integrity and stabilizing notions of reality. As individuals are able to customize and craft their own life experiences through smartphone worship, the need for news content resonating with the majority diminishes, and while sociological climate change has transformed CNN into a listless and arid desert wasteland, the other channels are on the Nielsen pending threatened list (on average the top 24 channels are dropping at nearly a 6% rate). Though Fox News ratings continue a steady pathway of growth, the upcoming intrepid character hunting season of the 2020 elections should benefit the entire gamut of pay to play newsrooms, even if the outdated and insufferable formula of the irascible Turner mogul fades into the mundane gray ether of repugnant matter allocated for the eternal trash heap purgatory by the orders of God. Perpetual solitude and stagnation, rather than shame, seems a tolerable fate for the collective egos of Ted and Jane, or maybe even hell does not want them.
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