Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Remind me to unsubscribe

I subscribed to CNN's "Breaking News" email service on their website in the days following September 11, 2001. Back then, they sent important news headlines.

In the years since then I have been of mixed feelings about this service. On the one hand, it alerted me to the fact that Johnny Cash had died. On the other, their "breaking" news too often involves sensational arrests and jury decisions.

Remember we discussed in class the question of what makes news news, and who decides what "issues" are? Well, I've just lost a great deal of respect for the people at CNN who make those decisions. I just checked my personal email and here's today's CNN Breaking News headline:

CNN Breaking News

1:09 pm (1½ hours ago)

-- Britney Spears files for divorce from her husband Kevin Federline, citing irreconcilable differences.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow! that's terrible. i always did prefer bbc. btw, thank you for your comments!

Jeff Macias said...

sidenote...Interesting how the news of Brit. and K.Fed comes on election day. Could this be a clever PR person trying to lessen the sensationalism of the divorce, so she might try a sneak back into the starlight as a single celebrity? Media...wow.

Lilly Buchwitz said...

That's very possible. When PR people have to release news that is not pleasant or favorable, they do indeed try to do so on a slow news day.