CNN-RIP

“Last week, for example, we learned that Sarah Isgur Flores, a GOP operative who has never worked as a journalist, will be joining CNN as one of the network’s political editors. The exact contours of Isgur’s role remain unclear― in part because of CNN’s lack of transparency in discussing her position ― but it appears she will be helping to shape the political coverage of an outlet whose agenda-setting power plays a part in determining which stories receive national attention and how they are covered”.  Huffpost.com

This former spokeswoman (she joins Sarah Huckabuck Sanders on my list of people who should just shut up) for Attorney General Jeff Sessions only got that position because of a “loyalty pledge” to the president.  She has admittedly not a single bit of journalistic experience in her background…none.  Yet now she will be another highly paid voice of “fairness” that CNN will use to promulgate their desperate need for fair and balanced coverage, a position that they seem obviously pushed into by the bully on the news A-block, Fox.

I have long held that the “both sides now”, Judy Collins-esque, reportage that you have been promoting the last few years has only led to fractious, screeching, non-factual and in fact, misleading “news” reports. Giving equal time and good money to past politicos like the sniveling Rick Sanctimonious Santorum was a good clue as to the direction you were headed.  His blatant, contrarian lies (yes, I call a lie a lie rather than your news reader’s habit of parsing the truth by naming them mis-characterizations, etc.) only exist to provide a point-counterpoint dramatic interlude between commercials, a concept and a show that was more admirably done back in the day by Shana Alexander and James J. Kilpatrick.  At least their points of view were validly held differences rather than validly over-paid for performance pieces.

Now, by your dissembling and secretiveness (are you ashamed of your moves? You should be), you have removed any doubt any of us have held as to your relevance. You exist only to appease the Money Gods and to placate your advertisers. There are still a few of us around who remember when The News was NOT a profit center but a public service. We are all screwed as we stumble about looking for fact over fiction. You CNN, along with the rest of your ilk, are responsible for the total totalitarianism we are headed for. The faux-buddy bro-pal pairing of Cuomo and Lemon is disgusting to watch, dear-curdling, cringe-inducing, and simply exemplifies the lengths to which you will go to engage an apathetic base that hungers more for Hunger Games than reportage on hungry people.

Jeff Zucker described CNN’s new philosophy in an interview as “home to both those points of view on the right and the left, even if some of these folks are not very good with the facts.”  Enough said.

CNN, I’m speech-fucking-less. I now formally renounce any respect and credibility I ever gave to you. You are now simply the evil twin of Fox News. You are now a Dead Ringer for one of Bette Davis’ best films only she had better makeup to hide her flaws and her scripts were much better conceived than your hit pieces you name as news.

But the question remains…where are we to turn now?  I hope someone appears in the wilderness to guide us to a new home, we need it.