I don't think it's going out on a limb to suggest that CNN will always be a leftist network, no matter how often a new higher-up is brought in to try to make the content palatable to a centrist audience.
It's just baked into the DNA (remember when it used to be called the "Clinton News Network"?), and no amount of on-air "talent" changes, schedule shuffling, and lofty declarations by senior leaders about working to "rebuild trust and accountability" with the viewing public will ever change that.
As the old saying goes, though, even a broken clock is right twice a day, which is where we find ourselves with the failing media outlet after reports that an "all-hands" meeting held last Wednesday ended up turning into a struggle session of sorts over conservative powerhouse and Salem News Channel talk show host Scott Jennings.
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Because Jennings is unafraid to tell the unvarnished truth about the state of things in America from a conservative standpoint, he's triggered a great many of his fellow panelists (and CNN colleagues) on the Abby Phillip-anchored show "NewsNight." Mounting frustration over their inability to control Jennings and the non-PC terms he uses set off the leftist staff of CNN to demand from CNN Worldwide CEO Mark Thompson that Jennings be "reined in."
But a surprisingly refreshing thing happened during this meeting. Thompson pushed back, not only letting the staff know that commentators are not bound by the same terminology constraints as supposedly unbiased journalists are, but that the debates Jennings has sparked on the program are much-needed as part of their programming and capture the "actual debates" on policy that are playing out across the country:
Responding to concerns raised during the all-hands meeting Wednesday, Thompson said the network does not “police contributors” to “the same extent” as its journalists.
Thompson, a former top executive at The New York Times Company and the BBC, also praised the viral arguments that take place on Abby Phillip’s NewsNight show, which often involve Jennings clashing with other guests.
Thompson said such squabbles act as a “public service” that captures “the actual debate and the anger and passion that’s part of the story.” As noted by Status, not everyone at CNN agreed with that sentiment.
Oh man, to be a fly on the wall when those words defending Jennings were uttered.
Though CNN doesn't deserve to be awarded a cookie over this, it's important to acknowledge Thompson's pushback because it shows that, on some level, at least, he gets the importance of having a diversity of political viewpoints on their programs. Jennings isn't the only conservative voice on CNN, I should note. Shermichael Singleton is another who has proven he can go toe to toe when in a room full of lefitsts (including the CNN anchors).
Even more notable than that, though, is that it was a tacit acknowledgement by Thompson that Jennings isn't going away from CNN anytime soon, at a time when it's critically important to have and keep conservative voices in the lion's dens, because this is one area where minds could potentially be changed for the betterment of our country.
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