CNN was the most watched cable news network on television in 2001. You think this occurred because CNN does a great job of news reporting? No. CNN gets their high ratings from theatrical performances that have nothing to do with presenting news fairly or accurately.

CNN has treated Afghanistan like a circus. They fill their programming with hours of news on the “war” in Afghanistan, hyping the daily events to keep up their ratings. At the same time they forget about important domestic issues that are plaguing our country. Even Lou Dobbs? Moneyline spends half the show commenting on Afghanistan, instead of commenting on the recession our economy has fallen into. The environment has also been ignored: whatever happened to the angry editorials and reports on Bush?s damaging stances on international environmental accords?

Anyone remember Gary Condit? You know, the congressman that CNN helped propel to celebrity status by spending hours of time talking about his connections to Chandra Levy. Isn?t it interesting how fast CNN dropped their golden boy when a new, more exciting news story presented itself. Anyone care about what happened to Chandra Levy anymore? If you watched CNN, you wouldn?t think so.

CNN dropped Condit, in favor of propelling new people, such as Mullah Omar and John Walker, to celebrity status. They?ve spent hours speculating on the whereabouts of Omar, hours about Walker?s defection and conscription into the Taliban.

Was Walker really the most important news story at the time? Instead of pimping Walker for ratings, perhaps CNN could have spent more time covering the thousands of Arab immigrants who are still being held by authorities for minor immigration violations. Or the fact that no one even knows these immigrants? names, because the government refuses to release them.

Instead of real news, we get programs such as Wolf Blitzer Reports, where Blitzer takes us inside the “CNN War Room,” to rehash the same generic military drivel. CNN has no clue about the happenings in Afghanistan. One day they report that Osama bin Laden is trapped in Tora Bora, the next they report that the U.S. has no idea where bin Laden might be. Daily the viewer gets to see the pretty face of General Wesley Clark spouting his bland, meaningless information.

CNN?s military journalism is questionable at best. At worst, it?s misleading information that often presents “news” and the next day presents more “news” that contradicts what they first reported. Often they are presenting half-baked theories, cooked up in their glitzy studios, thousands of miles away from where the action is really happening.

CNN does not know what is happening militarily in Afghanistan because a) they only know what the Pentagon tells them (basic information at best), and b) they cannot get close enough to the action to make out the military?s ground movements and actions. This was plane to see in their reporting of the attack on Tora Bora: the government would not give out specifics because they don?t want to tip off the Al Queda and Taliban fighters, and the reporters couldn?t get real information because they could only get so close with their cameras.

It?s also humorous that CNN drools all over the government?s propaganda on the “evil Taliban” at the time of the war, when the Taliban had been in power for years before, committing brutal human rights violations that have gone un-covered by the network. Sure, we hear all about how the Taliban banned music now, but what about when they actually first put the ban in place? Nothing.

Do you think that anchors Judy Woodruff and Aaron Brown care about presenting the facts, the real news? They are out for ratings, to ensure their executives deem their show a success. CNN cares about ratings first, they are a corporation after all, and corporations are out to make money. Quoting Brown, “It?s not enough to have a great story, you have to be a great story teller.” CNN tells some great stories.

CNN is a big black eye on the face of journalism. The real newsreporters were those killed inside Afghanistan by enemy fire, trying to find the true stories. That is real journalism: the gritty determination to find the facts and get them written down and reported. CNN, by comparison, is a glamorous and polished television spectacle out to entertain their viewers–not to present the facts.

Matt Lepori studies English and Italian at the University of California, San Diego. Loyal CNN fans: give him a piece of your mind at [email protected].