CNN or Cable News Network is a cable television network that was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner & Reese Schonfeld [1] (http://www.meandted.com/author.htm)[2] (http://www.cnn.com/COMMUNITY/transcripts/2000/5/8/bierbauer/)(although he currently is not 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.

As of December 2004, it is available in 88.2 million U.S. households [3] (http://www.tvweek.com/article.cms?articleId=27290) and more than 890,000 U.S. hotel rooms, and it broadcasts primarily from its headquarters at the CNN Center in Atlanta as well as 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.

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. The television movie Live from Baghdad is based on the network's coverage of the Gulf War.

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 the terrorist attacks on the United States.

In mid-December 2004, CNN shut down the operations of its financial channel, CNNfn, after nine years of failing to compete with the CNBC channel. A similar event before that happened in 2002, when the network shut down its sports division channel, CNNSI (a joint venture with Sports Illustrated), after its struggles against the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN).

CNN personalities

CNN shows

• American Morning--The network's morning news program, airing from 7-10am ET. Hosted by Bill Hemmer and former NBC News anchor Soledad O'Brien. Veteran anchor Jack Cafferty provides commentary on the day's top stories.
• Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics--A politial program hosted by veteran anchor and CNN senior corespondent Judy Woodruff. Airs from 3:30-4:30pm ET weekdays.
• Crossfire--A political debate program that airs at 4:30pm ET. Hosted by Paul Begala and James Carville "from the left" and Robert Novak "from the right".
• Wolf Blitzer Reports--A daily look at the day's stories airing live from Washington at 5pm ET.
• Lou Dobbs Tonight--A nightly news and discussion program that airing live at 6pm ET weeknights; evolved from Moneyline, a nightly business newscast.
• Anderson Cooper 360°--A fast-paced, nightly news program with former ABC News reporter Anderson Cooper that airs at 7pm ET weeknights.
• Paula Zahn Now--A look at the current issues affecting the world, with former FOX News anchorwoman Paula Zahn. Airing at 8pm ET weeknights.
• Larry King Live--A nightly talk program that airs daily at 9pm ET.
• NewsNight--Former ABC News anchor Aaron Brown hosts the network's signature nightly news program. Airs at 10pm ET weeknights.
• Capital Gang--Moderated by veteran Mark Shields, with panelists Al Hunt, Robert Novak, Kate O'Beirne, and Margaret Carlson, it is one of cable news' longest running programs, focusing on political news. Airing Saturday nights at 7pm ET.
• Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer A look at the past week. Airs 12-2 p.m ET Sundays.

CNN specialized channels

• CNN Airport Network
• CNN en Espaņol
• CNNfn (Financial network, closed in December 2004)
• CNN Headline News
• CNN International
• CNN Plus (CNN+, a partner network in Spain, launched in 1999 with Sogecable)
• CNN Sports Illustrated (a.k.a. CNNSI), the network's all-sports channel, closed in 2002.
• CNN Turk
• n-tv (CNN owns 27.5% of this news channel in Germany)

Controversies and allegations of bias

CNN has come mainly under criticism by conservatives for a liberal bias.

Conservatives have alleged that CNN's reporting is characterized by liberal editorials disguised as news and have jokingly referred to CNN as the "Clinton News Network" or the "Communist News Network." Conservative critics of CNN point to the following as evidence of a liberal bias:

• During the first Gulf War, CNN reporters Bernard Shaw, Peter Arnett, and John Holliman refused to be debriefed by the US military concerning what they saw during their stay at the Al-Rashid Hotel in Baghdad during the initiation of the air campaign, citing themselves as belonging to an "international" news organization.
• On August 16, 1997, Chief News Executive Eason Jordan gave gifts to Secretary Kim Jong-il of North Korea to nurture a relationship with CNN.[4] (http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/1997/9708/news8/16.htm) (Jordan had been credited in 1996 with gaining exclusive access to North Korea for CNN reporters.)
• In January 1998, Lucia Newman, the bureau chief in Havana reported that Cuba's single candidate elections were better than the elections with “no dubious campaign spending” and “no mud slinging” in the United States.
• On March 10, 1999, while speaking at Harvard, Eason Jordan thanked leftist Cuban dictator Fidel Castro for inspiring the creation of CNN International.
• In 1999, CNN, in partnership with corporate sister Time magazine, ran a report that Operation Tailwind included use of Sarin gas to kill a group of defectors from the United States military. The story proved untrue, CNN issued a public retraction. [5] (http://edition.cnn.com/US/9807/02/tailwind.johnson/)
• In 2000, Lou Dobbs left CNN, reportedly due to heated clashes with then-president Rick Kaplan, who was frequently accused of manipulating news programs to present a liberal slant. Dobbs returned the following year at the behest of CNN founder Ted Turner.
• On April 11, 2003, Eason Jordan admitted that CNN knew about atrocities commited in Iraq by Saddam Hussein since 1990, but the network refused to tell the public so that it could gain better access to the government. [6]  (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/11/opinion/11JORD.html?ex=1050638400&en=ec21e8cd8fea181c&ei=5007&partner=USERLAND)
• Shortly after the 2004 Election, a picture of President Bush with First Lady Laura Bush named "asshole.jpg" and another of the pair named "moron.jpg" were posted on Netscape news, which is run by CNN. CNN denied any of their employees was responsible, and blamed Netscape. Both are owned by Time Warner.
• In November 2004 at the News Xchange conference in Portugal, Eason Jordan claimed that United States armed forces arresting and torturing journalists in Iraq. He also claimed that American troops were intentionally killing journalists.[7] (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1355027,00.html) Also at the conference, Chris Cramer, a CNN executive, claimed that journalists were being “deliberately targeted (by the US military) for seeking out the truth.”
• On January 27, 2005 Eason Jordan claimed 12 journalists who were killed were actually targeted by United States troops. He later tried to backtrack on his comments, but resigned from CNN on February 11, 2005 in an effort, he claimed, to spare the network from further controversy. Jordan's comments invoked outrage in the US, even among such liberal politicians such as Sen. Christopher Dodd and Rep. Barney Frank.

CNN domestic bureaus

• Atlanta
• Boston
• Chicago
• Detroit
• Los Angeles
• Miami
• New York City
• San Francisco
• Washington, DC
• Seattle

CNN international bureaus

• Baghdad, Iraq
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Berlin, Germany
• Havana, Cuba
• Hong Kong, China
• Islamabad, Pakistan
• Jakarta, Indonesia
• Jerusalem, Israel
• Kabul, Afghanistan
• Lagos, Nigeria
• London, United Kingdom
• Mexico City, Mexico
• Moscow, Russia
• Nairobi, Kenya
• New Delhi, India
• Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Santiago, Chile

Similar networks

The CNN format has inspired many similar cable news services:

• CNN Headline News (1982)
• Weather Channel (1982)
• CNN International (1985)
• CNBC (1989)
• E! Entertainment Television (1990)
• Court TV (1991)
• CNN Airport Network (1992)
• CNNfn (1995)
• MSNBC (1996)
• Fox News (1996)
• CNN/Sports Illustrated (1996)
• ESPNEWS (1996)

See also: 24-hour television news channels (category).

CNN has also been lampooned and parodied. See for instance, Groland.

External links

• CNN website (http://www.cnn.com/)
• CNN International website (http://edition.cnn.com)
• New Georgia Encyclopedia: CNN (http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-2643)