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Joshua Mairose
Professor Ben Henderson
CAS 137H
29 October 2014
The Rise of Well-Informed Stupidity
From the advent of television up until the 1980s, Americans were quite content to
wait until after they had eaten supper to observe what had happened in the world that day.
There was never any method or motive to check the news before 6:30 every night; the
thought of news as an ever changing entity never even occurred to them. However, in
1980, this all began to change when media mogul Ted Turner founded CNN, Americas
first all-news, cable, television station, and ushered in the cultural phenomena known as
the 24-hour news cycle. CNNs first president, Roger Schonfeld, had a vision for the new
cable news station as that of an electronic newspaper that people could tune into at any
point throughout the day and receive live news from around the globe (qtd. in "All-News
Service in the United States (CNN)" 154). Though the founding vision for CNN was
quite noble, cable newss facilitation and exploitation of Americas increased reliance on
the 24-hour news cycle between the start of the Gulf War and the attacks of September
11th caused a shift in the behavior of the Media and the American people.
When Ted Turner first proposed the idea of a 24-hour, cable, news channel in
1979, he received heavy criticism from people in the Media; the common belief among
the experts at the time was that an all-news channel simply wouldnt have enough
material to attract a profitable audience. In keeping with his notorious ego that was often
characterized as narcissistic, Turner established a budget half the size of the major

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broadcast networks and, against the advice of the industry, launched CNN on June 1,
1980 (Gaffney 630-632). Turners decision to go ahead with his experiment of 24-hour
news was mostly due to his desire to break up the monopoly that the three main broadcast
channelsABC, CBS, and NBChad on televised news (Roberts, Hammond, and
Sulfaro), while also exploiting the untapped market of cable news. When CNN launched
in 1980, cable television was made up of several cable providersmost notably
Cablevisionthat purchased the rights to show independent channels. Although
previous attempts to establish 24-hour, radio, news programs had resulted in fiscal failure
(Shapiro), Turner was willing to gamble on the idea that enough cable providers would
pay to carry CNN for him to make a profit (Roberts, Hammond, and Sulfaro).
Turners initial goal for his fledgling network was to have it develop a reputation
as the network of record, in that it would cover every news topic so that if anyone ever
needed to find out about a current event, all they would have to do is tune in to CNN. It
was this goal that resulted in CNNs live coverage of prescheduled events, such as press
conferences or their gavel to gavel coverage of the Democratic and Republican National
Conventions in 1982; a style of reporting that had never before been feasible. Going
along with his ideal vision of a network of record, Turner mandated the creation of
shows that prominently featured factual news and kept editorializing to a minimum ("AllNews Service in the United States (CNN)"). By instituting this style of live, factual
reporting, CNN effectively altered the way Americans viewed the Media.
The first series of historical events that showcased what kind of effect live, 24hour news could have on the culture of society were OJ Simpsons 1994 low speed, car
chase and his subsequent 1995 murder trial. Following the murder of OJs wife, Nicole

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Brown Simpson, and waiter, Ronald Goldman on June 12, 1994, Simpson (a suspect in
the investigation) failed to turn himself in to the LAPD as previously agreed and sparked
a man hunt that culminated in a low speed car chase that was televised via helicopter.
OJs live car chase essentially turned CNN and other major news networks into a reality
show, and in turn captivated a far larger audience than had ever been seen before with
regard to news. Americas fascination with OJ reached a new level of mania when his
murder trial commenced on January 24, 1995. According to the Nielsen Ratings at the
time, CNN, which had previously never been considered a staple of cable television,
claimed all 15 of the top ratings in cable television for the week of January 30th to
February 5th (Top Cable Shows). With the amount of public frenzy that erupted out of
the OJ trial, which was largely similar to the modern hysteria that accompanies a season
premiere for shows like Breaking Bad or The Walking Dead, cable news was transformed
into 1995s most thought provoking drama. The 24-hour news cycle also received
incredible boosts after the OJ trial with the founding of 24-hour news channels MSNBC
and FOX News in 1996 (Roberts). OJs trial essentially began the shift of the 24-hour
news cycle from a type of information service into a part of Americas cultural identity.
The second major series of historical events that exhibited the shift in Americas
behavioral identity were the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. After Flight 11
crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center, the nation became gripped with
fear as everyone began tuning into news stations to determine the latest events
concerning their countrys security. For an entire week after the attacks, the four major
broadcast networks (FOX was added in 1985) switched their listings to a 24-hour, all
news format in order to provide full coverage of the Governments actions (The Staff of

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Broadcasting & Cable). This temporary switch in format can be seen as a testament to
the 21st centurys need for 24-hour news coverage. Throughout the weeks following the
attacks, Americans became increasingly reliant on cable news networks, mostly due to
their increased sense of apocalyptic fear. One example of their increased reliance on
news networks was the increase in traffic on news websites during the week of the
attacks. According to Broadcasting & Cable, CNN.com received 4,601,000 unique
visitors during the week of September 10th, a 264% increase over the previous week,
while FOX News received 630,000 unique visitors, a 506% increase (Web Watch 35).
This data exemplifies the shift of the American people from a society that only 21 years
prior was content to wait until after supper for their news, to a society that actively sought
out news and information during their mid-morning, coffee break.
Americas cultural shift, courtesy of their increased reliance on the 24-hour news
cycle, caused several changes to the behavior of two major groups: the Media (especially
cable news) and the American people. The major defining factor that caused the shift in
behavior among the Media was the rapid increase in viewers that accompanied OJs car
chase and the rapid decrease that accompanied his murder trials final verdict. According
to a report by Jim McConville in Broadcasting & Cable, cable news networks saw an
increase in ratings by 24% between October 1994 and October 1995, while the major
broadcast news networks saw a 7% decrease during the same time period (51). The
migration of Americans to cable news during 1995 and their return to normality
afterwards caused cable news networks to alter their style of material in order to try and
keep as many new viewers as possible, hence the creation of several shows focused
solely on editorializing the news, such as TalkBack Live in 1994, Burden of Proof in

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1995, The OReilly Factor in 1996, and Hannity & Colmes also in 1996. In fact,
evidence of this trend is also present in shows created after both the Gulf War and
September 11th. Some other notable shows that signaled a shift toward editorializing as
opposed to strictly factual news following an influx of new viewers were Both Sides with
Jesse Jackson in 1992, NewsNight with Aaron Brown in 2001, and Buchanan and Press
in 2002. The 24-Hour News Cycles slide from a source of live, factual news to a
reflection of the practices it sought to avoid has created a culture that thrives on bias and
abandons rhetoric. A 2013 report on cable news bias by The Pew Research Center found
that CNN, MSNBC, and FOX News all utilize editorial journalism significantly with
CNN being the lowest at 46% of all material and MSNBC being the highest at 85% of
material (Bercovici). This desertion of rhetoric by news networks has served to not only
alter the identity the Media as a whole, but also the identity of the American people.
Unlike the shift seen in the Media, the factors that led the alteration of the
paradigm and behavior of the American people were quite diverse. Following the attacks
of September 11, 2001, the effects of the 24-hour news cycle on Americas psyche
became much more apparent. As was previously stated, during the aftermath of 9/11, the
American people were consumed by their need for news (McConville 51) so much so that
a new societal paradigm was born. Throughout the past 13 years, Americans have
immersed themselves into this new belief that they must be informed at all times. The
advent of multiple internet-based, news websites, smartphones, and twitter are prime
examples of recent innovation that have only served to further the information craze
started by 24-hour cable news. However, thats not the only way the paradigm shift of
the Media has affected the behavior of the American people; their absence of rhetoric has

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also had a heavy influence on the mindset of our current society. As noted by Jon Stewart
in 2004 when he questioned the purpose of the CNN show Crossfire, the use of
sensationalism in place of proper, rhetorical debate has had severely harmful effects on
the behavior and communication skills of the American people ("Jon Stewart's
America). By adding more sensationalism and editorial material to their everyday
coverage in order to appeal to the reality-show quality of news seen during major national
events, cable news networks have essentially changed the way Americans view argument.
When Ted Turner created the 24-hour news cycle in 1980 with the founding of
CNN, he truly believed that it would function as an effective informational aid to society.
However, due to Cable Newss tendency to facilitate Americas fascination with live
news in order to gain a profit and their subsequent lowering of journalist standards to
increase the amount of sensational broadcasting, the 24-hour news cycle has become an
entity focused solely on creating exciting news. The resulting paradigm shift seen in the
Media and the American people over the past few decades are evidence of this. Despite
its goals of enriching our society as a continuous, factual record of events, the 24-hour
news cycle has instead served to create a new societal paradigm in which live news is
everything and editorialized journalism is the norm.

Words: 1793

Works Cited

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"All-News Service in the United States (CNN)." Election Broadcasting in Canada. Ed.
Frederick J. Fletcher. Toronto: Dundurn Limited, 1991. 154-58. Google Books.
Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
Bercovici, Jeff. "Pew Study Finds MSNBC the Most Opinionated Cable News Channel
By Far." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 18 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Oct. 2014.
Gaffney, Paul. "CNN." St. James Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. Ed. Thomas Riggs.
2nd ed. Vol. 1. Detroit: St. James Press, 2013. 630-632. Gale Virtual Reference
Library. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.
"Jon Stewart's America." Crossfire. CNN. 15 Oct. 2004. CNN.com - Transcripts. Web. 29
Oct. 2014. <http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0410/15/cf.01.html>.
Transcript.
McConville, Jim. "Down Is up for Cable News." Broadcasting & Cable 30 Oct. 1995: 51.
Print.
Roberts, Robert N., Scott Hammond, and Valerie A. Sulfaro. "Cable News Network
(CNN)." Presidential Campaigns, Slogans, Issues, and Platforms: The Complete
Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2012. N. pag. Google
Books. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.
Shapiro, Neil. "Don't Touch Your Dial: Here Comes Cable TV!" Editorial.Popular
Mechanics Dec. 1980: n. pag. Google Books. Popular Mechanics. Web. 20 Oct.
2014.
The Staff of Broadcasting & Cable. "Made-For-TV Terrorism." Broadcasting & Cable 17
Sept. 2001: 1-8. Print.
"Top Cable Shows." Broadcasting & Cable 13 Feb. 1995: 25. Print.

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"Web Watch." Broadcasting & Cable 24 Sept. 2001: 35. Print.