http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wium/local-wium-949677.mp3
Macomb, IL – The panelists discuss CNN's sagging ratings.
A recent column in American Journalism Review refers to CNN as "a network in disarray" and is highly critical of CNN's prime time line up.
The Shop Talk panelists feel Larry King was not nearly as strong on TV as he was on the radio, yet he held down a prime time spot on CNN for numerous years. CNN's new prime time line up lacks much punch.
The panelists would like to see CNN try to do something different - perhaps documentaries and/or in-depth reporting and interviewing programs - rather than simply copy the prime time model used by Fox and MSNBC. While that might not attract the highest ratings, it could draw a core audience, allowing the programming to be marketed by the network.