CNN, Lies and Video Tape

Roger Ailes took out a full-page ad in the business section of The New York Times today, attacking CNN for lying about how it acquired the so-called "terror tapes." CNN at first denied buying the tapes, then reversed itself and fessed up. A senior CNN producer said the whole flap was "much ado about nothing."

And on one level, he's probably right (what's important is the substance of the tapes, not the amount paid to acquire them). But on virtually every other level, he's wrong. One of the things that's killing AOL with investors is the perception that the company's executive suites are filled with liars and greedheads. That perception exists because it is in some measure true.

A high profile news story confirming that a division of AOL (CNN) is at least partially managed by liars does not help matters. It leaves the impression that the company doesn't understand the precarious status of the larger enterprise, which is this: it's a junk bond company. That means that confidence in what the company's senior managers say is crucial to the company's survival.

The more one looks at the problems confronting (AOL CEO) Dick Parsons, the more likely it seems that CNN will join AOL and the music business in the column of companies to be spun off. The much-ballyhooed synergies have never materialized. CNN's xenophobic Atlanta culture remains unbroken. Fox News Channel has stolen the most lucrative piece of the market (prime time talk). The cost of newsgathering keeps going up and interest in watching it continues to decline. It's now a mature business whose only value-added is political leverage in Washington and other world capitals.

This fall, Mr. Parsons will have to act. It's noteworthy, I think, that he has not said word one in defense of CNN throughout the whole "terror tape" fiasco. He could have, but he didn't. Just as he could have said good things about Robert Pittman, but he didn't. And Pittman, as everyone knows, was disappeared without even an expression of regret.

Wrong Again

Late last week, I predicted that nothing would happen to the Opie and Anthony radio show, a leading indicator of bad taste in American popular culture. As Jim Cramer used to say: Wrong! They were fired today and their syndicated show was cancelled. Which is good news indeed.

Quote of the Week

"Some days you're the windshield, some days you're the bug.
Of late, I've been the windshield."

--PGA Championship Winner Rich Beem.

Regions of Mind

Geitner Simmons, an editorial writer for the Omaha World Tribune, also writes a blog. It's always interesting and it's very well written. You can check it out by clicking here.

The NEA Is Getting A Bad Rap and Good News on Opie and Anthony

I was amazed by a Washington Times story about NEA "lesson plans" for the anniversary of 11 September. And blogged it. It turns out that the Washington Times story was, at best, misleading. Click here for details.

Opie and Anthony, whose tasteless radio program reached new lows last week with a live segment involving two people having sex inside St. Patrick's Cathedral, have been suspended by Infinity Broadcasting while the company "investigates" the St. Patrick's incident. The FCC is also investigating.

Looking Out For Number One

Dan Balz reports that Democrats are increasingly concerned that a US invasion of Iraq this fall will make it more difficult for the party to recapture control of the US House in the upcoming mid-term elections. You might think these Democrats would be increasingly concerned about the use of chemical agents on US troops in the region or another attack on US interests overseas or, God forbid, another 9/11-like attack on American soil.. And of course they are concerned about those things. But what they tell Mr. Balz they're really concerned about is whether or not Dick Gephardt is the next Speaker of the House.

The Case For Preemptive Action

Never underestimate your enemy's ability to make your case. The CNN tapes are bad enough. The Al Qaeda chemical warfare experiments in Iraq are horrific. Yes, these labs are crude. Yes, they don't pose an immediate threat. But so what?

Clueless

"We've never been able to convince the audience: What are we trying to be?" These odd words of wisdom come from a longtime NBC News executive, speaking about the ongoing problems at MSNBC. Assuming he wasn't quoted out of context (which is, I admit, a risky bet), it would seem to me that the question is the answer.

MSNBC is a failure because it is pointless. And everyone knows it. The prime time schedule consists of has-been hacks and weightless fools. Daytime is, if anything, worse. The only thing that works is Imus and that has everything to do with Imus and nothing to do with MSNBC.

Corporate support will soon evaporate. Microsoft no longer discusses it. General Electric says that it wants it turned around or shut down. It won't be turned around by the people who are busy driving it into the ground. So......

Never Ever Give Up

Golf is foremost a test of character. The difference in skill levels, at the very top of the game, is not great. Yesterday, the game's greatest player, Tiger Woods, somehow managed to get himself to one shot off the lead, only to bogey the 13th and 14th holes. Walking to 15 tee, he was five shots back with four to play. A hopeless situation.

Not to Woods. He told his caddie that if they could "birdie in," they could win the golf tournament. Woods did the former, but not the latter. It may well have been the best four holes ever played in a major championship, with everything on the line and absolutely no margin for error. Hats off to the champion, Rich Beem, for a great win. And hats off to the game's greatest champion, for another breathtaking performance.

The Idiotocracy

This story reads like a parody, but it's apparently true. The whole notion of NEA "lesson plans" is itself an oxymoron, like "airline food" or "corporate vision." And think about this: the NEA is the most powerful constituency, by delegate count, within the Democratic Party.

Thanks to Drudge for the link.