Jonathan Klein Cries Wolf, Again
Now that the Jacko trial is over, CNN president Jonathan Klein is once again claiming that it’s time to buckle down and start reporting real news. A recent Newsweek article on Klein even poses the question in regard to CNN: “Will a more highbrow plan work in a tabloid era?”
We’ve been hearing since November 2004, when Jonathan Klein took over the sinking ship known as CNN, that he was going to make CNN “more highbrow.” You know, less Brangelina and Wacko Jacko in favor of real journalism. So when is this supposed transformation going to happen? Over the last 8 months we have seen countless hours devoted to Jacko, not to mention the runaway bride on CNN. Still major news outlets continue to buy Klein’s promise of a more highbrow CNN:
From Newsweek:
Klein has moved aggressively to make CNN’s prime-time producers shift their focus to longer, more-polished pieces, eventually creating a sort of “60 Minutes” every night.
Where’s the evidence of this aggressive shift? When Klein waxes poetic about CNN going highbrow, it’s simply spin. A bluff. The old advertising adage applies, if you say something enough times, people will begin to believe it. (At least the dense people who write for Newsweek). Given Klein’s fluff-filled Jacko/Brangelina-friendly track record, does anybody believe Klein for a second? Here’s a choice chunk from the Newsweek article:
[Klein] was concerned that their evening coverage of the not-guilty verdict was destined to be stale. “We have a less interesting story now,” Klein told his deputies. “What is there original to say about Michael Jackson at this point?”
“Michael dressed like Captain Crunch, walking out of the limousine.” He marveled at opportunities lost: “We could have done 60 stories during that time.”
Yes, you sure could have Mr. Klein.
At this point, Klein reeks worse than a cheating husband who comes home smelling like cheap perfume swearing that it will never, ever happen again.
