CNN and the Fascination of Mugshots

After an entire semester of scouring CNN for unethical or irresponsible journalism I believe I found the answer to all their mistakes. CNN does not understand what responsible journalism is. This notion was made concrete after reading the article Media Taking Mug Shots -- Foreign, Familiar -- to Bank by Elliot C. McLaughlin.

McLauglin's article talks about our society's fascination with mugshots. John Watson, a suppposed expert on journlistic ethics stated:

"These are pictures of monsters who actually exist, and we can look at them from
the safety of wherever we are, and they disappear when we close the book."

I find it hard to take either the writer of this article or his source very seriously. Monsters? Did he really just classify anyone who is ever arrested and had their mugshot published as a monster? Maybe I need to check, but I don't believe we live in communist Russia where all people are guilty until proven innocent. In America being arrested does not prove guilt.

This article's largest flaw is the complete absense of any discussion relating to the impugnity of those arrested who are innocent. The focus of this piece is how fascinated we all are when we see that mugshot and this would be the perfect opportunity, if not necessary opportunity, for CNN make note of how these images can slander the innocent. It is obvious that, after we read the police logs or an actual article about an illeged criminal, our opinion of that person has been tarnished. Even after that person has been aquited of the charges many of us may not be aware of the person's innocense or at the very least will still hold some negative feelings. This article needed to explain the issue of reporting on those not yet convicted. Many people read the news everyday without thinking deeper into whether or not this person is truly guilty.

Works Cited
Media Taking Mug Shots -- Foreign, Familiar -- to Bank http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/12/08/mugshots.fascination/index.html

CNN as Ad Agent for Son...(Correction) Nokia?

When I delved into the task of writing my first blog on the irresponsibility of media, I figured that finding a hard hitting example would be fairly difficult. Fortunately however, I stumbled across a very discreet tactic. CNN had published an article declaring a dooms day for iPods based solely on the fact that so many people already own one. Meanwhile, two articles later CNN posted a video showing all the “amazing” features about a Sony product that directly competes with iPods. It just so happened that CNN’s corporate owner, AOL Time Warner, had partnered with Sony in an effort to produce wireless broadband technologies. I was very pleased by finding this connection, but figured that that relationship would not crop up again. I was wrong.

In a direct answer to the original iPod article, CNN was forced admit defeat. Phillip Dewitt’s assumption that current iPod owners wouldn’t go for any future iPods was wrong. In his original article he wrote:

“Will these changes be enough to bring back the days of double- or triple-digit
sales growth? Probably not. But if the price cuts are steep enough and there are
enough new and interesting things you can do with iPods — like download
applications from the App Store — the latest versions could find their way onto
Christmas wish lists for a few more years.”

Well the iPod did find its way on to Christmas lists this year and the one place they didn’t find themselves were on store shelves. Best Buy, Target, Walmart and Crutchfield have all reported shortages this Christmas season due to the excessive demand. Being so wrong must sting, but this did not prevent CNN from their continued effort to support the products of their partners.
After reading the iPod concession speech I continued on down the tech page and was forced to rub my eyes and fight off déjà vu. It wasn’t the Sony Mylo this time, but the Nokia N97.

“The N97 will feature a 3.5-inch touch screen with 50 percent greater resolution
than the iPhone. It will also have a slide-out alphabetic keyboard, making it
similar in overall design to the Xperia X1 recently launched by competitor Sony
Ericsson.”

So it seems that CNN has been given some heat on the issue of high sales for iPod products (Notice the nod to Sony as well). So, just as before, I went digging. I first found that Nokia is not owned by anyone else but happens to be the number one brand name in Europe and Asia, and not unpopular in the States. So I continued on and looked for a connection between CNN and Nokia. With my first Google search, I was successful.

“CNN Interactive and Nokia join forces to offer CNN Mobile, 24-hour news
service for digital wireless phones”

I believe that title sums it up completely. For fear of continued iPhone and iPod sales growth, CNN has jumped in as an advertiser once again. They have now given reason to consumers to hold their horses on buying an Apple product and wait for their partner’s rival cell phone.

I'm beginning to find it harder and harder to explain the reasons for why CNN is being irresponsible. It is almost needless to say at this point that a new agency should not be creating "news" for the purpose of pushing products. Yes, I understand that CNN or rather AOL Time Warner generates it revenue through the advertisements of its partners. But there must be a division between a news article and an ad. This kind of deception is what discredits a news agency and makes me among many others concerned about whether what we're reading is news or fluff.

Works Cited:

Can Steve Jobs Save the iPod?http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/09/04/can-steve-jobs-save-the-ipod/

The Sony Mylo http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2008/09/04/aqui.pirillo.sony.mylo.cnn?iref=videosearch

Nokia Device to Challenge RIM and Apple Next Year http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1863265,00.html?cnn=yes

iPod holiday sales: Hot or cold? http://apple20.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2008/12/03/ipod-holiday-sales-hot-or-cold/