CNN turns 30

[jal41]

Today is CNN's 30th Birthday. The network signed on this day in 1980 at 5 PM from the Turner complex in Atlanta. (They moved to their current location at CNN Center in 1987).

The network is not celebrating. No CNN30 logo, no advertisements mentioning 30 years on the air (unlike mentioning Larry King's 25 years on air). Just a normal day...with Lady Gaga as the guest on Larry King tonight.

 

[Mediafrog+]

I recall watching them on day one: The big story was the Cuban refugee boatlift.

Lots of technical errors that day, which is to be expected with a brand new operation. Would be interesting to watch a recording of that day--would probably seem stone age compared to today.

My cable system at the time used CNN as filler on the local junior college's channel when the school wasn't programming it. CNN got its own channel about a year later.

 

[charlestondxman]

Here is the sign-on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laf_Sorkmx4

 

[searadiofreak]

Interesting they did have a tribute on their website. On the air, nope. Hmm. My guess is they are more concerned about fixing their on-air side than celebrating it.

 

[notalkallstatic]

Even if you hate CNN, you have to admit, celebrating 30 years on the air is a major accomplishment. Happy 30th CNN!

First being in the basement of a mansion (which is still there, and is still used by Turner Broadcasting,) to where they are now. Truly amazing.

 

[cowboybud]

Even if you hate CNN, you have to admit, celebrating 30 years on the air is a major accomplishment. Happy 30th CNN!

First being in the basement of a mansion (which is still there, and is still used by Turner Broadcasting,) to where they are now. Truly amazing.

Legend has it that Ted Turner once *lived* in a spare room at the Techwood Drive mansion/studio.

 

[LKellerIII]

CNN is far from perfect, there's plenty to criticize. But I think it's sad that the only cable "news" network with a major commitment to actual news is getting its ass kick in the ratings. I guess it proves that viewers care less about real news than about hearing political pundits they already agree with, so they can validate their own opinions.

 

[notalkallstatic]

Even if you hate CNN, you have to admit, celebrating 30 years on the air is a major accomplishment. Happy 30th CNN!

First being in the basement of a mansion (which is still there, and is still used by Turner Broadcasting,) to where they are now. Truly amazing.

Legend has it that Ted Turner once *lived* in a spare room at the Techwood Drive mansion/studio.

And that legend is true (from my sources, which are extremely reliable.) At times, in the middle of the night, he would come down in his night robe to his network's Master Controls just to see how everything was going (that's from what I've heard also...)

CNN is far from perfect, there's plenty to criticize. But I think it's sad that the only cable "news" network with a major commitment to actual news is getting its ass kick in the ratings. I guess it proves that viewers care less about real news than about hearing political pundits they already agree with, so they can validate their own opinions.

That just shows your right there what the state of our nation is. Our nation would rather hear gossip, and entertainment news, but also like you said, political pundits than hard hitting news.

It is true, that CNN is far from being perfect, but Fox News & MSNBC are far from being perfect also.

 

[DToTheJ]

Even if you hate CNN, you have to admit, celebrating 30 years on the air is a major accomplishment... First being in the basement of a mansion (which is still there, and is still used by Turner Broadcasting,) to where they are now...

... the basement of the cable news ratings... wave to HLN on the way down...

 

[The Voice of Reason]

IMHO CNN's decline started when some genius in management decided to get rid of most of the anchors and reporters who originally started the network 30 years ago and replace them with so-called celebrities like Larry King, Paula Zahn, and Connie Chung. Look what happened with Campbell Brown as an example of history repeating itself.

Headline News was once a great source of obtaining news for those who didn't have time to sit for a 1/2 hour or hour to watch the news.
Today HN is nothing but an appendage of Entertainment Tonight . I could give a rat's you-know-what about Lindsey Lohan and the countless other wannabe actors.

 

[DToTheJ]

By the way, here is an article from earlier this week chronicling CNN's struggles in prime time - and how they were expected to mark their 30th anniversary with "little fanfare" on-air:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/tv/la-et-cnn-20100531,0,6980185.story

 

[FreddyE1977]

they peaked with Bernie Shaw reporting bombs falling on his head 20 yrs. ago.