CNN has fallen and can’t get up

To say CNN has had a rough few weeks would be an understatement. The cable news channel’s reputation is hovering somewhere between “death spiral” and “just ran over a roadside bomb.”

The most visible damage to CNN’s credibility came from its response to a tweet posted by President Donald Trump last weekend. He shared a video inspired by a meme on the link-sharing website Reddit of him body slamming a person with a CNN logo for a head. The Reddit user, whose handle contains an expletive, faced a barrage of criticism after Trump’s tweet and apologized. CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski got in touch with the user and wrote a story saying, “he is not going to repeat this ugly behavior on social media again.” Kaczynski promised not to publish his name with one caveat: “CNN reserves the right to publish his identity should any of that change.”

The statement was almost universally perceived as a threat, though channel executives later clarified it wasn’t. Some took it as a dare and started churning out CNN-shaming memes, many of which rose to the main pages of Reddit’s “hot,” “rising,” or “controversial” categories. Others posted their creations on Twitter using the hashtag #CNNMeltdown.

The Trump body-slamming tweet followed a less reported but potentially more damaging blow to CNN’s credibility. Project Veritas, which publishes undercover reports by conservative activist James O’Keefe, released a set of videos showing CNN staff sharing their true feelings about Trump.

“Ninety percent of us are on board with the fact that he’s crazy,” New Day assistant producer Jimmy Carr said of his co-workers. Both Carr and another CNN staffer, health producer John Bonifield, talked about how important negative Trump coverage—especially about Trump’s relationship with Russia—is to CNN’s business model. The videos came out right as CNN retracted a story due to shoddy reporting and fact-checking about allegations Trump had improper ties with Russia.

“It’s decisions made by people higher than me, and if they go, wow, your ratings are soaring right now, keep up what you’re doing. Well, what we’re doing is Russia, ISIS, London terror, Chicago shooting, that’s it,” Carr said. CNN has not given a response to the Carr video, though it expressed support for Bonifield after Project Veritas published hidden camera footage of him.

But there’s a disconnect between what Carr and Bonifield said and reality: CNN’s ratings are terrible. Though executives brag the channel has its highest ratings in years, it still falls way behind the competition. During the week of June 26, Fox News and MSNBC held the top two spots for primetime viewers among all cable channels, not just news stations, while CNN came in 13th place. Investigation Discovery and Nick-at-Nite had more viewers than CNN that week, according to data by TVNewser.

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As controversial now as it was then

Speaking of Twitter, NPR tweeted out the entire text of the Declaration of Independence on July 4 and got some unexpected responses. The tweets were an iteration of the broadcaster’s tradition of reading the entire declaration on air each Independence Day. But some Twitter users thought certain excerpts, especially those listing the offenses of Britain’s King George III, were original remarks directed at President Donald Trump. One user criticized NPR for condoning violence when it tweeted, “it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.” Others simply complained that NPR’s 113 consecutive posts caused an annoying barrage of smartphone notifications. User D.G. Davies apologized for his reaction, saying, “I Tweeted a VERY dumb comment. But ask yourselves; if read to the average American, would they know that you were reading the DOI? I do now.” —L.L.

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Facing the future

The BBC announced this week a $44 million plan to compete with YouTube for child viewers. According to the company’s annual report, YouTube reaches about 70 percent of British viewers ages 6 to 12. In the United States, use of streaming services like Netflix has surpassed cable, especially with millennials ages 18-34, according to a June survey by Fluent. Among adults 35 and older, 65 percent use web-based TV and 62 percent have cable. But among the younger generation, the breakdown is 77 to 57 percent in favor of streaming. By the time today’s children reach adulthood, cable television might be a bygone relic, like landline telephones. The BBC is trying to keep up by introducing online-only programs and web content related to kids’ favorite shows. —L.L.

Everybody loves Spidey

Spider-Man: Homecoming released this week to rave reviews despite being the third reboot of the comic series in the last 15 years. Marvel is introducing a new version of Peter Parker to integrate the character into its Avengers series. Robert Downey Jr.’s Ironman plays a prominent role in the new story. For those whose Spidey-sense is rusty, Time published a helpful list comparing the six Spider-man movies (and one failed Broadway show). —L.L.

Back to court

Bill Cosby will go back to court Nov. 6 to be retried on sexual assault charges. A Pittsburgh-area jury deadlocked last month after six days of deliberations, and prosecutors vowed to seek justice a second time for Andrea Constand, who claims Cosby drugged and assaulted her in 2004. —L.L.