CNN Facts
The Cable News Network, more commonly referred to as CNN, is a cable television network that was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner & Reese Schonfeld(although the latter is not currently recognized in CNN’s official history).
It is a division of the Turner Broadcasting System, owned by Time Warner. CNN is widely credited for introducing the concept of 24-hour news coverage. It celebrated its 25th anniversary on June 1, 2005.
As of December 2004, it is available in 88.2 million U.S. households and more than 890,000 U.S. hotel rooms, and it broadcasts primarily from its headquarters at the CNN Center in Atlanta and from studios in New York City and Washington, DC. Globally, the network has combined branded networks and services that are available to more than 1.5 billion people in over 212 countries and territories.
CNN is the most watched 24 Hour News Network in the world.
CNN History
Since CNN’s launch on June 1, 1980, the network has expanded its reach to a number of cable and satellite television networks (such as CNN Headline News), 12 web sites, two private place-based networks (such as CNN Airport Network), and two radio networks. The network has 42 bureaus around the world and more than 900 affiliates worldwide.
CNN has launched many regional and foreign-language networks around the world. CNN debuted its news website CNN.com (then referred to as CNN Interactive) on August 30, 1995, which it describes as the first major news and information website on the Internet.
CNN’s global reputation was greatly enhanced in 1991 during the Gulf War, where its saturation coverage was carried around the world. It obtained much of that coverage through close cooperation with the U.S. government, which led to accusations that it did not attempt to investigate the claims of the U.S. government during the war.
There was a television movie, Live from Baghdad, about the network’s coverage of the war. Coverage of this and other conflicts and crises of the early 1990s (including, perhaps most famously, the Battle of Mogadishu) led to the coining of the term “the CNN effect”, which testified to the percieved impact its pioneering real time, 24 hour news coverage had in influencing the decision-making processes of the American government.
CNN International now provides regional editions of its news service, in response to foreign demand for less U.S.-centric news coverage, and also rival services such as BBC World and Sky News. It uses local reporters in many of its news-gathering centers, though they cover stories from an international (some would still say U.S.) perspective.
On September 11, 2001, CNN was the first network to break news of what would prove to be the September 11 attacks. Anchor Carol Lin was on the air at that time. In fact, as a result of the large amount of news on that day, CNN began running a news ticker, now standard in most broadcasts.
CNN launched two specialty news channels for the American market which would later close amid competitive pressure: CNNSI shut down in 2002, and CNNfn shut down after nine years on the air in December 2004.
CNN has also been parodied.Many movies outside of the Turner Broadcasting Network also mention CNN in their storylines. Ted Turner doesn’t mind as long as they don’t use CNN for promotional purposes or for malicious use.
The most famous station ID is a five-second musical jingle with James Earl Jones’s simple, but classic line, “This is CNN.” Jones’ voice can still be heard today in updated station IDs.
The term “CNNing” is sometimes used to refer to how television news has become “news entertainment” by focusing on celebrity, ratings, storylines, and spectacle, as well as on its own authority and corporate-related products and features.
CNN Management
The current President of CNN U.S. is Jonathan Klein. He was appointed in November 2004.
