ENTERTAINMENT
August 27, 2009 | ROBERT LLOYD, TELEVISION CRITIC
The death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was the first of a liberal politician of legendary stature since the rise of the cable news networks and as such it brought out their biases in slightly new ways. MSNBC, which has increasingly positioned itself as the anti-Fox, covered his death wall-to-wall and most often sounded the heroic note. CNN, staking out the middle, made it the day's main, but not only story. And Fox News, which had to measure respect for the dead against its habitual rightward spin, made its feelings known by treating it, for the most part, as just another of the day's news events (though the lead story, to be sure)
ENTERTAINMENT
August 4, 2009 | Matea Gold
The liberal media watchdog group Media Matters for America sought to ratchet up the pressure on CNN on Monday with an ad slamming the network for allowing host Lou Dobbs to continue raising questions about President Obama's birth certificate. In the ad, set to begin running on cable today in three cities, the group spotlights Dobbs' recent focus on the so-called "birther" controversy, fueled by right-wing critics of Obama who question whether he is really a citizen.
ENTERTAINMENT
July 25, 2009 | Matea Gold
CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein told staffers of "Lou Dobbs Tonight" on Thursday that the controversy regarding the legitimacy of President Obama's birth certificate -- a topic Dobbs has avidly pursued on the air -- is a "dead" story. But in an interview, the cable news chief left open the possibility that Dobbs may continue to raise questions about why the president has not produced a long-form birth certificate.
BUSINESS
July 17, 2009 | Joe Flint
Cable news channel CNN's latest ad campaign is raising quite a few eyebrows and has a competitor crying foul. In a new television spot aimed at getting advertisers to spend more on the network, CNN proclaims it is "No. 1, with more viewers than Fox and MSNBC." The ad goes on to say that CNN has held the top spot for seven years in a row. This came as a news flash to Fox and MSNBC, considering that both top CNN in the ratings.
BUSINESS
April 17, 2009 | David Sarno
Ashton Kutcher is poised to single-handedly conquer CNN. On Twitter, anyway. Kutcher, the actor and new-media entrepreneur, was in a near dead heat with the cable news network late Thursday to become operator of the most-followed account on the micro-messaging service. He did so by positioning himself as the ringleader of a frenetic digital circus act whose cast has swollen to include Larry King, video game maker Electronic Arts Inc.
SPORTS
April 6, 2009 | Diane Pucin
Amid expectations of more coverage for West Coast games and events, ESPN is officially opening its 12,300-square-foot studio today in the middle of LA Live, the entertainment complex across the street from Staples Center. The national sports cable network, which reaches 98 million viewers, will broadcast its first 10 p.m. "SportsCenter" from the new studio tonight.