CNN

Cable News Network (CNN) is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by American media mogul and philanthropist Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States. While the news channel has numerous affiliates, CNN primarily 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.

CNN is sometimes referred 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. Broadcast coverage extends to over 890,000 American hotel rooms, and the U.S broadcast is also shown in Canada. Globally, CNN programming airs through CNN International, which can be seen by viewers in over 212 countries and territories. Starting late 2010, the domestic version CNN/U.S., is available in high definition to viewers in Japan under the name CNN HD.

Early history
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 anchored the first newscast. Burt Reinhardt, the then executive vice president of CNN, hired most of CNN's first 200 employees, including the network's first news anchor, Bernard Shaw.

Since its debut, CNN has expanded its reach to a number of cable and satellite television companies, several websites, and specialized closed-circuit channels (such as CNN Airport Network). The company has 36 bureaus (10 domestic, 26 international), more than 900 affiliated local stations, and several regional and foreign-language networks around the world. The channel's success made a bona-fide mogul of founder Ted Turner and set the stage for the Time Warner conglomerate's eventual acquisition of Turner Broadcasting.

A companion channel, CNN2, was launched on January 1, 1982 and featured a continuous 24-hour cycle of 30-minute news broadcasts. The channel, which later became known as "CNN Headline News" and then simply "HLN", eventually focused on live news coverage supplemented by personality-based programs during the evening and primetime hours.

Ratings
CNN has suffered a decline in ratings. CNN hit a 21-year ratings low in the second quarter of 2012, falling 35 percent among total viewers and 41 percent in the coveted 25-54 age demographic compared to the same time last year. This comes just months after CNN experienced its lowest-rated month in more than a decade in April, and the lowest-rated primetime month in more than twenty years in May.

On-air presentation
In December 2008, CNN introduced its new graphics package, a comprehensive redesign replacing the existing style that had been used since 2004. 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. CNN's new graphic design is similar to its sister channel, CNN International. The CNN logo itself has remained relatively unchanged since the channel's launch, except that it was originally displayed in yellow.

On January 10, 2011, CNN introduced its most recent graphics package, in conjunction with the network-wide switch to a 16:9 letterbox format from 4:3. Both of CNN's standard-definition and high-definition feeds now carry the same 16:9 format; however, video footage broadcast in standard-definition on either feed is not pillarboxed, resulting in black bars on the top and bottom of the screen as well as the left and right. World Business Today and World One, which both began to be simulcast from CNN International on January 17, 2011, are however both broadcast in the 4:3 picture format on the CNN SD feed.

Moneyline
Moneyline premiered in 1980 of and was CNN's main financial show for over 20 years. As the show moved more towards general news and economic and political commentary, it was renamed Lou Dobbs Moneyline and then Lou Dobbs Tonight.

Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields
Evans and Novak was created in 1980, with Rowland Evans and Robert Novak hosted their own TV news show and it became one of the cable network's best-watched discussion programs. Only a short time after, Al Hunt and Mark Shields joined the show, being renamed Evans, Novak, Hunt & Shields.

Crossfire
In June 1982, a political debate, late night television show, Crossfire, was launched and was hosted by liberal Tom Braden and conservative Pat Buchanan. The idea of it was when the two of them debated on the a daily radio show in 1978. The show soon became popular and was elevated to prime time. In 1985 Buchanan left the show for a job as communications director in the Ronald Reagan White House. His replacement was conservative columnist Robert Novak, who already had a talk show on CNN and was at the time also a regular on The McLaughlin Group. In 1987, Buchanan returned to the show, replacing Novak. In 1989, Braden was replaced by Michael Kinsley, a liberal columnist for TIME, and magazine editor for The New Republic.

Larry King Live
In June 1985, a primetime interview TV show was launched and was hosted by Larry King. Every night on Larry King Live, King interviews one or more prominent individuals, mainly celebrities, politicians, and businesspeople. The show is currently the highest rated and longest-running TV show on CNN. It was the highest rated news show on television until 2001, when the O'Reilly Factor surpassed him and maintained at the top ever since.

Unlike many interviewers, Larry King has a direct, non-confrontational approach. His interview style is characteristically frank, but with occasional bursts of irreverence and humor. His approach attracts some guests who would not otherwise appear. King, who is known for his general lack of pre-interview preparation, once bragged that he never pre-reads the books of authors who appear on his show. Critics have claimed that Larry King asks "soft" questions in comparison to other interviewers, which allows him to reach guests who would be averse to interviewing on "tough" talk shows.

On February 24, 1987, King suffered a major heart attack and then had quintuple-bypass surgery. It was a life-altering event as previously, smoking was one of his trademarks and he was unashamed of his addiction. King was a three-pack-a-day smoker and kept a lit cigarette during his interview so he would not have to take time to light up during breaks. He now encourages curbing smoking to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Variety shows

 * Sports Tonight (CNN) 1980–2001
 * People in the News
 * Style with Elsa Klensch'' 1980–2000
 * Business Morning
 * CNN Daybreak 1980–2005

Leadership under Tom Johnson (1990–2000)
Former 13 year publisher of the Los Angeles Times, Tom Johnson, was named CNN President.

Coverage of the Gulf War
The first Persian Gulf War in 1991 was a watershed event for CNN that catapulted the network past the "big three" American networks for the first time in its history, largely due to an unprecedented, historical scoop: CNN was the only news outlet with the ability to communicate from inside Iraq during the initial hours of the American 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 announced on CNN by Bernard Shaw on January 16, 1991 as follows:

This is Bernie Shaw. Something is happening outside.... Peter Arnett, join me here. Let’s describe to our viewers what we’re seeing...The skies over Baghdad have been illuminated.... We’re seeing bright flashes going off all over the sky.

The Gulf War experience brought CNN some much sought-after legitimacy and made household names of previously obscure, low-paid reporters. Many of these reporters now comprise CNN's "old guard." Bernard Shaw became CNN's chief anchor until his retirement in 2001. Others include then-Pentagon correspondent Wolf Blitzer (now host of The Situation Room) and international correspondent Christiane Amanpour. Amanpour's 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 network's coverage of the first Gulf War, which aired on HBO.

CNN was criticized for excessively pushing 'human interest' stories and avoiding depictions of violent images; the result of all this being an alleged 'propagandistic' presentation of news. A report by FAIR quotes an unnamed CNN reporter as describing "the 'sweet beautiful sight' of bombers taking off from Saudi Arabia."

The CNN effect
Coverage 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-hour news coverage on the decision-making processes of the American government.

John Kiesewetter explained: "CNN has changed news. Before CNN, events were reported in two cycles, for morning and evening newspapers and newscasts. Now news knows no cycle. When a plane has crashed, or shots are fired in school, we expect to see it immediately on all-news channels. We don't depend on the Big Three broadcast networks. The turning point point came shortly after CNN's 10th birthday, when Bernard Shaw, Peter Arnett and John Holliman provided play-by-play of the 1991 Gulf War from a Baghdad hotel. The Gulf war proved how CNN had changed the world. U.S. military leaders chose their words carefully during televised press briefings, knowing that Sadam Hussein was watching CNN, too."

Both Sides with Jesse Jackson
Both Sides with Jesse Jackson was a political talk show, hosted by civil rights leader and two-time presidential candidate Jesse Jackson, that aired on Sundays. Each program began with a short taped report on the topic by CNN Correspondent John Bisney. The show ran from 1992 to 2000.

Capital Gang
Capital Gang is one of cable news' longest-running programs, focusing on discussion of the political news of the week. The original panelists were Pat Buchanan, Al Hunt, Mark Shields, and Robert Novak. When Buchanan left the network to run for president, Margaret Warner, Mona Charen, and later Margaret Carlson and Kate O'Beirne became regular panelists. The Capital Gang aired Saturday nights at 7 p.m. ET from 1988 to 2005.

Burden of Proof
Burden of Proof was a show that discussed legal issues of the day, hosted by Greta Van Susteren and Roger Cossack. It was started in 1995 and was canceled in 2001.

TalkBack Live
TalkBack Live was a talk show on CNN that lasted from 1994 until 2003. It aired from 3 to 4 p.m. Eastern Time and was hosted at various times by Susan Rook, Bobbie Battista, Karyn Bryant and Arthel Neville.

End of the monopoly
In 1996, two major US news networks were created: MSNBC and Fox News. Although CNN's ratings were #1 and Larry King Live was still the most watched news show.

Although Johnson still was leading the network, Rick Kaplan served as president of CNN from 1997 to 2000. He is a personal friend of Bill Clinton, who was President of the United States during Kaplan's tenure. According to the Media Research Center, Kaplan's friendship, and political affinity, with Clinton affected the way the network covered the Monica Lewinsky scandal: "As the Lewinsky scandal broke, Kaplan leapt into action at CNN with two-hour specials attacking any and all Clinton critics. The programs included 'Media Madness,' which asked 'what the hell are you people doing' probing Bill Clinton’s sex life?; and 'Investigating the Investigator,' which described Ken Starr as 'suspect' over his 'religious and Republican roots.'" Conservative commentator John Fund wrote that "During Mr. Kaplan's CNN tenure, there were no obvious examples of his coming to Mr. Clinton's aid," but that CNN's "executives create a perception problem when they hobnob with politicians."

In 1998, CNN, in partnership with corporate sister Time magazine, ran a report that Operation Tailwind in 1970 in Vietnam included use of Sarin gas to kill a group of defectors from the United States military. The Pentagon denied the story. Skeptics deemed it improbable that such an extraordinary and risky atrocity could have gone unnoticed at the height of the Vietnam War's unpopularity. CNN, after a two-week inquiry, issued a retraction. The story's producers were summarily fired, and one of them has been highly critical of CNN's handling of the story, saying that CNN bowed to pressure from high-ranking officials to kill the story.