1、Cable News Network (CNN) is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner.12 Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage,3 and the first all-news television channel in the United States.4 While the news channel has numerous affiliates, CNN primari
2、ly broadcasts from its headquarters at the CNN Center in Atlanta, the Time Warner Center in New York City, and studios in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. CNN is owned by parent company Time Warner, and the U.S. news channel is a division of the Turner Broadcasting System.5CNN is sometimes referred
3、 to as CNN/U.S. to distinguish the American channel from its international counterpart, CNN International. As of August 2010, CNN is available in over 100 million U.S. households.6 Broadcast coverage extends to over 890,000 American hotel rooms,6 and the U.S broadcast is also shown in Canada. Global
4、ly, CNN programming airs through CNN International, which can be seen by viewers in over 212 countries and territories.7 Although CNN has the most unique viewers (Nielsen Cume Ratings) in the US cable news market, in terms of regular viewers (Nielsen ratings) it battles MSNBC for second place well b
5、ehind FOX News, CNN having suffered ratings declines in 2009 and 2010.8910Early historyMain article: History of CNN (19802003)The Cable News Network was launched at 5:00 p.m. EST on Sunday June 1, 1980. After an introduction by Ted Turner, the husband and wife team of David Walker and Lois Hart anch
6、ored the first newscast.11Since its debut, CNN has expanded its reach to a number of cable and satellite television companies, several web sites, specialized closed-circuit channels (such as CNN Airport Network), and a radio network. The company has 36 bureaus (10 domestic, 26 international), more t
7、han 900 affiliated local stations, and several regional and foreign-language networks around the world. The channels success made a bona-fide mogul of founder Ted Turner and set the stage for the Time Warner conglomerates eventual acquisition of Turner Broadcasting.A companion channel, CNN2, was lau
8、nched on January 1, 1982 and featured a continuous 24-hour cycle of 30-minute news broadcasts. A year later, it changed its name to “CNN Headline News“, and eventually it was simply called “Headline News“. (In 2005, Headline News would break from its original format with the addition of Headline Pri
9、me, a prime-time programming block that features news commentary; and in 2008 the channel changed its name again, to “HLN“.)Major eventsChallenger disasterOn January 28, 1986, CNN was the only television channel to have live coverage of the launch and explosion of Space Shuttle Challenger. The shutt
10、le exploded after lift-off killing seven crew members including Christa McAuliffe, a high school teacher from Concord, New Hampshire to be the first teacher in space. Then-President Ronald Reagan postponed his State of the Union Address that evening. He addressed the nation from the Oval Office.Baby
11、 Jessica rescueOn October 14, 1987, an 18-month-old toddler named Jessica McClure fell down a well in Midland, Texas. CNN was quickly on the spot, and the event helped make their name. The New York Times ran a retrospective article in 1995 on the impact of live video news. “If a picture is worth a t
12、housand words, then a moving picture is worth many times that, and a live moving picture makes an emotional connection that goes deeper than logic and lasts well beyond the actual event. This was before correspondents reported live from the enemy capital while American bombs were falling. Before Sad
13、dam Hussein held a surreal press conference with a few of the hundreds of Americans he was holding hostage. Before the nation watched, riveted but powerless, as Los Angeles was looted and burned. Before O. J. Simpson took a slow ride in a white Bronco, and before everyone close to his case had an ag
14、ent and a book contract. This was uncharted territory just a short time ago.“12The Gulf WarThe first Persian Gulf War in 1991 was a watershed event for CNN that catapulted the channel past the “big three“ American networks for the first time in its history, largely due to an unprecedented, historica
15、l scoop: CNN was the only news outlet with the ability to communicate from inside Iraq during the initial hours of the Coalition bombing campaign, with live reports from the al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad by reporters Bernard Shaw, John Holliman, and Peter Arnett.The moment when bombing began was announ
16、ced on CNN by Bernard Shaw on January 16, 1991 as follows:13“ This is Bernie Shaw. Something is happening outside.Peter Arnett, join me here. Lets describe to our viewers what were seeing.The skies over Baghdad have been illuminated.Were seeing bright flashes going off all over the sky. ” The Gulf W
17、ar experience brought CNN some much sought-after legitimacy and made household names of previously obscure reporters. Many of these reporters now comprise CNNs “old guard.“ Bernard Shaw became CNNs chief anchor until his retirement in 2001. Others include then-Pentagon correspondent Wolf Blitzer (no
18、w host of The Situation Room) and international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. Amanpours presence in Iraq was caricatured by actress Nora Dunn as the ruthless reporter “Adriana Cruz“ in the film Three Kings (1999). Time Warner later produced a television movie, Live from Baghdad, about the chann
19、els coverage of the first Gulf War, which aired on HBO.The CNN effectCoverage of the first Gulf War and other crises of the early 1990s (particularly the infamous Battle of Mogadishu) led officials at the Pentagon to coin the term “the CNN effect“ to describe the perceived impact of real time, 24-ho
20、ur news coverage on the decision-making processes of the American government.September 11 attacksCNN was the first channel to break the news of the September 11 attacks.14 Anchor Carol Lin was on the air to deliver the first public report of the event. She broke into a commercial at 8:49 a.m. ET and
21、 said:“ This just in. You are looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot there. That is the World Trade Center, and we have unconfirmed reports this morning that a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center. CNN Center right now is just beginning to work on this story,
22、obviously calling our sources and trying to figure out exactly what happened, but clearly something relatively devastating happening this morning there on the south end of the island of Manhattan. That is once again, a picture of one of the towers of the World Trade Center. ” Daryn Kagan and Leon Ha
23、rris were live on the air just after 9 a.m. ET as the second plane hit the World Trade Center and through an interview with CNN correspondent David Ensor, reported the news that U.S. officials determined “that this is a terrorist act.“15 Later, Aaron Brown anchored through the day and night as the a
24、ttacks unfolded. Brown had just come to CNN from ABC to be the breaking news anchor.Sean Murtagh, CNN vice-president for finance and administration, was the first CNN employee on the air in New York.16Coincidentally, September 11, 2001 was Paula Zahns first day as a CNN reporter. She mentioned this
25、as a guest clue presenter on a 2005 episode of Jeopardy!.2008 U.S. electionThe stage for the second 2008 CNN-YouTube presidential debate.Leading up to the 2008 U.S. presidential election, CNN devoted large amounts of coverage to politics, including hosting candidate debates during the Democratic and
26、 Republican primary seasons. On June 3 and June 5, CNN teamed up with Saint Anselm College to sponsor the New Hampshire Republican and Democratic Debates.17 Later in 2007, the channel hosted the first CNN-YouTube presidential debates, a non-traditional format where viewers were invited to pre-submit
27、 questions over the internet via the YouTube video-sharing service.18 In 2008, CNN partnered with The Los Angeles Times to host two primary debates leading up to its coverage of Super Tuesday.19 CNNs debate and election night coverage led to its highest ratings of the year, with January 2008 viewers
28、hip averaging 1.1 million viewers, a 41% increase over the previous year.19Future showsPiers Morgan will host a 9 PM ET weeknight show beginning in January 2011 after the retirement of Larry King.25On-air presentationIn December 2008, CNN introduced its new graphics package, a comprehensive redesign
29、 replacing the existing style that had been used since 2004.26 The design replaced the scrolling ticker that had been in use since 2001. Also, since March 1, 2009, the redundant CNN HD logo has been missing from the bottom left corner of the screen. CNNs new graphic design is similar to its sister c
30、hannel, CNN International. The CNN logo itself has remained relatively unchanged since the channels launch, except that it was originally displayed in yellow.High definitionCNN HD is a 1080i high definition simulcast of CNN that launched in September 2007.30 All studio shows are aired in HD, as well
31、 as special events. Stylized pillarboxes (outlines of the letters “HD“ in a large font, configured sideways, and usually in red with a red background, but sometimes blue with a blue background), are used for remotely shot video thats only available in standard definition.Formerly during American Mor
32、ning, CNN HD viewers saw weather forecasts in graphic form on the sides of the screen (American cities on the right, and cities outside of the U.S. on the left). This feature was removed in November 2009.The documentary Planet in Peril was CNNs first documentary program produced in HD, followed by B
33、lack in America (Its sequel Black in America 2 also aired in HD). Its spinoff Latino in America was also in HD. CNN HD also used to display a CNN HD logo (the normal CNN logo with the letters HD in a different, gray colored font next to it) on the bottom left corner of the screen. It was last used o
34、n February 28, 2009.Special eventsAll special events are aired in full HD. During primary and caucus nights, America Votes 2008 was produced in complete HD with Wolf Blitzer anchoring from CNNs main New York studio which was renamed the CNN Election Center. During this time, CNN HD viewers got addit
35、ional information on the side of their TV screens such as poll numbers, charts and graphs. This also happened for the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the 2008 Republican National Convention, the 2008 United States Presidential Debates, the 2008 United States Vice Presidential Debate and the 200
36、8 Election Day coverage on November 4, all of which were also shot in HD. Other special events such as Presidential speeches and press conferences are aired in HDCNNs political coverage in HD was given mobility by the introduction of the CNN Election Express bus in October 2007. The Election Express
37、 vehicle, capable of five simultaneous HD feeds, was used for the channels CNN-YouTube presidential debates and for presidential candidate interviews.31CoverageInitial carriage of CNN HD on cable and satellite systems was limited. DirecTV was the first provider to carry it, adding it mid-September 2
38、007.30 By June 2008, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, AT Sharpe, M.E. (2003). American Television News: The Media Marketplace and the Public Interest. “Death on the CNN curve“ By Lisa Belkin. New York Times Magazine, Sunday, July 23, 1995. The Gulf War and its Consequences “No-nonsens
39、e news returns to CNN“. PressD. http:/ Retrieved 2010-02-20. CNN BREAKING NEWS Transcript Terrorist Attack on United States CNN.com (September 11, 2001) Available at archive.org. Retrieved 2007-06-18. “CNN/WMUR-TV/New Hampshire Union Leader Democratic Debate“. Gwu.edu. 2007-06-03. http:/www.gwu.edu/
40、action/2008/primdeb08/nh060307.html. Retrieved 2010-02-20. YouTube and CNN invite ordinary Americans into presidential debates a b Super Tuesday gets presidential treatment How Fox Was Outfoxed Businessweek 13 February 2006 State of the Media 2009 Summary Essay, Project for Excellence in Journalism,
41、 Retrieved: 8 September 2010 CNNs Primetime Viewership Hits 10 Year Low In August As Ratings Woes Continue TVbytheNumbers 31 August 2010 15 Most Popular News Websites ebizMBA (derived from Alexa Internet, Quantcast, and C data) 1 September 2010 Retrieved: 8 September 2010 See also: Top 20 Websites i
42、n 2009 “Twitter / Wolf Blitzer: Starting Monday, SitRoom g“. T. http:/ Retrieved February 20, 2010. Piers Morgan is Larry Kings CNN replacement. Dickson, Glen (December 15, 2008). “CNN Gets New Graphic Look“. Broadcasting & Cable. http:/ Retrieved January 24, 2009. Rev. Jesse Jackson (October 2001)
43、RainbowPush.org Retrieved June 18, 2007 Grossman, Andrew (June 24, 2003). “Zahn trimmed, Cooper set as CNN shuffles“. The Hollywood Reporter. http:/ Retrieved February 27, 2009. “CNN finally has an answer for critics“. Politico. September 24, 2010. http:/ Retrieved September 24, 2010. a b TV Week Se
44、ptember 6, 2007 CNN HD Debuts CNN Rolls Out Election Express “CNN HD Gains Carriage with Cablevision Systems 2007-11-08 11:55:00 | Broadcasting & Cable“. B. http:/ Retrieved 2010-02-20. “Cox Adds TBS, CNN HD Channels 2007-10-04 11:58:00 | Broadcasting & Cable“. B. http:/ Retrieved 2010-02-20. “Veriz
45、on FiOS Adds 22 New Channels In Fort Wayne | Satellite Television News“. Satellitetv-. http:/www.satellitetv- Retrieved 2010-02-20. “Verizon FiOS TV Delivers 100 High-Definition Channels to New Yorkers on the Network Built for HD Entertainment News“. redOrbit. 2008-07-28. http:/ Retrieved 2010-02-20.
