Et tu CNN?

Back when I had cable, I was an avid viewer of CNN.

The Cable News Network, which began in 1980, opened windows onto things happening in the world that were not often covered by Network news.

The folks at CNN did good work – they had good reporters, good producers, and the programming they produced shed light on what all too often is a very dark world.

In the absence of cable television in my home, CNN was my online news source of choice. I would check their web site several times a day, because I’m kind of a news junkie and I like to keep up with what’s happening in the world.

For years and years, many people I know have been critical of CNN for their "liberal bias" and until recently, I’ve always thought that CNN wasn’t really given a fair shake.

I think a lot of people would confuse the politics of CNN with the politics of CNN’s founder, Ted Turner.

From my point of view, it seemed that for the most part, CNN’s coverage was fair and balanced.

For some folks I know, fair and balanced didn’t cut it.

They didn’t want to see any stories that criticized the president, or their right-wing way of thinking, even if the facts justified the stories. They didn’t want "fair and balanced." What they wanted was news that did not contradict their world view. There was such strong demand for this kind of programming, whole new networks emerged that catered to what people wanted. "Give the people what they want" may apply to show business, but I don’t think it should apply to news.

I have noticed a dramatic change in CNN recently, however.

It seems they are tired of fighting for fairness and balance and have instead decided to become the very thing for which they have always been criticized.

And I don’t think the timing is coincidental either as we enter the last few weeks before the upcoming election.

I have noticed that recently almost every story on CNN appears to be aimed at portraying the War in Iraq as an unmitigated disaster while placing the blame on the Republican administration and other Republican officials. There is little balance in this area and it’s very hard to find sources quoted as saying that while the going may be tough, it is critically important for America to help the Iraqi people establish a free democracy in this region.

Other recent scandals involving Republicans seem to have received an inordinate amount of coverage, and it has reached a point where it is becoming obvious that the motives of CNN management have shifted in a new and unsettling direction.

Any media that places political interest above its responsibility of reporting facts to their audience, risks losing credibility with that audience.

We have seen it happen with network news, major metro newspapers, and now even cable news outlets.

I can remember a time when journalists served a noble purpose, arming people with information they needed. Though there were differences in those times, it seemed there were a lot more instances of Americans working together, despite those differences.

These days it seems like everybody has a side to take, and they’re going to take that side, even if it means failing in their responsibility to their audience.

CNN and other media outlets need to remember that without credibility and without an audience, their motives and strategies will eventually add up to a whole lot of nothing.

Without an audience, they are no longer needed.