CNN founder Ted Turner: Network 'sticking with politics a little too much'

[PDittie]

(pstokely's LBN thread locked as I was composing reply below)

Source: The Hill

CNN founder Ted Turner says his former network now focuses "too much" on politics, and that he wishes the company would strive for more "balanced" programming between politics and other news.

In an interview with "CBS Sunday Morning," Turner told veteran anchor Ted Koppel that he rarely follows the news, and only watches his former news channel occasionally.

“I think they’re sticking with politics a little too much,” he told Koppel. "They'd do better to have a more balanced agenda."

"But that's, you know, just one person's opinion," he added.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/media/409050-cnn-founder-ted-turner-network-sticking-with-politics-a-little-too-much

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They used to have a more "local-style" broadcast: news (that wasn't the latest political development, or police car chase, or shooting) at the top, followed by weather, a short sports take and some entertainment or human interest news at the end of a thirty-minute period.

What I'm describing is now Headline News (or used to be, anyway. Even that seems to be more like Entertainment Tonight now). At ten pm (Central) they would do a sports wrap that was better than ESPN's SportsCenter -- Fred Hickman and Nick Charles.

That was Ted Turner's time, mid to late '80's. Fewer cable channels and more generalized coverage. There's been so much segmentation/fragmentation that the kind of news broadcast he remembers (or given his Lewy body dementia, prefers) simply cannot compete today.

Watch CNN World or the BBC and you'll get a slight glimpse of what it was like back then: more serious, global, less sensational, not 'tabloid'-y. Especially international war coverage, with reporters like Peter Arnett. That's what we lack the most in our US media today.

[HAB911]

1. I loved Headline News back in the day

I remember a talking head I called Mistress Lynn

Lynn Russell was also a county sheriff and would sometimes appear with wet hair having just come off duty and showered

Just the news, Just the facts, ma'am, to quote Joe Friday


I agree with Ted and that's why I like Vice News Tonight so much

[underpants]

2. I remember their sports show

Van Earl Right

We only had one tv station when I was in the Army - AFN. They carried CNN sports not ESPN. It was funny when I got out and came home all my buddies were used to CNN and I'd been watching CNN. We also pretty much completely missed the first gulf war because they didn't want the dependents overwhelmed by it so we got 1 hour a day of coverage. Mostly the anti aircraft tracer image. Also no Seinfeld or The Simpson's.

[hlthe2b]

3. I think both CNN and Headline News (which I've not watched in many years) would have been wise

to adopt a broader level of both domestic and international coverage. I used to be able to watch CNN international--what a difference. They seek to go head on with Faux, when I think what they should do is be more like a BBC (which in its UK version, DOES include lots of local news stories as well)