Chapter 11: CNN Exam 18 Questions with Verified Answers
CNN Effect - CORRECT ANSWER Effect of being an "outside agenda setting voice for US foreign
... [Show More] policy."
Effect can be multiplied when other networks match and engage with CNN foreign focus: Agenda Building.
"Refers to the process by which coverage of a foreign event by CNN causes that event to be a primary concern for its audiences, which in turn forces the federal government to act."
CNN - CORRECT ANSWER Presence in 200 countries
4,000 people (global team)
Worldwide potential to reach half a billion people everyday
Local and Global Competitors - CORRECT ANSWER Deutsche Welle
Channel News Asia
US Department of State and IBB
Voice of America
Worldnet Television and Film Service
Office of Cuba Broadcasting
New Global TV Environment - CORRECT ANSWER Newcomers
Russia Today
Iran's TV Press
France 24
Telesur (Venezuela)
Deutsche Welle (Germany)
CCTV-China
CNN: Role & Impact - CORRECT ANSWER -New concept of news and news gathering (1980's)
-Niche market for all-news television
-Promoted development of cable networks
-Advertising success
-International expansion
-Model niche cable channel to mimic
CNN: Role & Impact
Pt. 2 - CORRECT ANSWER -National and international audience
-Increase of advertising revenues
-Relationship w/ governments, sources, and foreign bureaus
-Change in journalistic practices
-Changes in policy making and diplomacy
Iconic Event for CNN - CORRECT ANSWER Tiananmen Square
CNN: Role and Impact
Pt. 3 - CORRECT ANSWER Ted Turner and his visionary idea: Turner Broadcast Corporation
-Historical niche for international news
-Transform niche in a global phenomenon (The International Herald Tribune; Le Monde; BBC)
-Acquired by Time Warner in 1996 for $6.54 billion
CNN: Role and Impact
Pt. 4 - CORRECT ANSWER The need for cable access in the U.S.
The need for satellites
Competition:
BBC
CNBC
Euronews (EU)
International Information Channel (CII, France 2006)
AlJazeera (Launching)
MSNBC
FOX
Goals of CNN - CORRECT ANSWER According to Thomas McPhail, the initial goals of CNN were "to expand newsgathering capabilities, and become the primary global television networks for news". And CNN did so. In few years it established itself as the place to watch unfolding events that affected multiple nations.
How CNN changed Journalism - CORRECT ANSWER With its live coverage it changed forever the way news was presented to a U.S. and global audience. It forced traditional domestic networks such as ABC, NBC, CBS to change their journalistic practices because CNN was bringing the news on the instant they were happening. From a format of 30 to 60 minutes of prime time news, viewers now had the opportunity to watch in a 24-hour format.
CNN: A public diplomacy actor - CORRECT ANSWER CNN not only changed the way how people understood news but also opened the door to a different understanding of world events and how world leaders react to them. There is no doubt that CNN is an agenda setter. It's most dramatic impact has been on establishing agendas about national and international events and in prompting world leaders and policymakers to address or respond to these events. CNN and similar global networks have affected "how governments and leaders reshaped their approaches to international politics in the global television era" (Saib, 2012, p. 83).
CNN Broadcasting Techniques - CORRECT ANSWER Additionally, CNN impacted traditional TV networks' practices of having two or three main newscasts a day and forced them to incorporate new gathering and production techniques to somehow compete with news that by the evening was obsolete because CNN already broadcast it throughout the day. CNN gave viewers the freedom to watch news when they wanted and liberated them from a set up schedule.
CNN's place in the global arena: - CORRECT ANSWER CNN still holds an important place in the global arena even though its ratings have been dropping at home, product of strong competition with Fox and MSNBC. The network is part of the gigantic Time Warner conglomerate and is viewed by more than 1.5 billion people in over 212 countries and has hundreds of news offices and correspondents across the world (Moyo, 2010).
Loss of Credibility - CORRECT ANSWER Domestic and world events are often chaotic and this is reflected in the coverage. In many cases, on-the scene-cameras and live satellite pictures do not fully explain the events; and viewers get rumors, speculation and unchecked claims without verification. In the need to have the first beat, reporters wonder aloud on-screen about what they see and what is happening, leaving the audience to interpret for themselves what is going on. However, this is the nature of the business, to deliver information in increments, as the networks have it to construct a clear picture over the hours or days. This weakness also brings conflicts with policymakers who expect journalism to "Get it first, but get it right."Although being right or wrong is a matter of interpretation as "many government officials consider any news report to be 'wrong' if it is critical or even merely unpleasant for them" (Saib, 2012, p. 85).
The Gulf War - CORRECT ANSWER It was the first live war.
By 1991, CNN provided news to more than 100 countries, and governments used it to supplement their own information obtained through intelligence and diplomatic channels. Saib explains that President George H.W. Bush could not announce the U.S. attack on Iraq on television because that would have alerted the Iraqi leadership who was also watching the news. So he waited until live TV reports broke news of the attack.
On the Home Front - CORRECT ANSWER CNN International dominates international news and business networks in the global arena. At home, the network faces a strong competition when compared to MSNBC and Fox networks but still manages to report more news as compared to commentaries and packaged news. A Pew report for the status of the news media in 2013, indicates that "CNN is the only one of the three big cable news channels to produce more straight reporting than commentary over all."
Commentary vs .Opinion - CORRECT ANSWER Data collected for three full days in 2012 indicated that CNN produced 54 percent of news and 46 percent commentary, whereas FOX News produced 55 percent commentary and 45 percent of news while MSNBC presented 85 percent commentary and 15 percent news. The Pew study reports that CNN leads in news production in spite of cuts in reporting resources reports between 2007 and 2012 that affected the areas of in-depth story packages and live event coverage. [Show Less]