Blame CNN for the Shameful Ryan Gidursky Mehdi Hassan Conflict

CNN viewers HaberGececesi They were probably caught off guard Abby Philip I tell them one of his guests, Ryan Gidursky, After that incident, he was removed from the program’s panel implicit fellow panelist Mehdi Hasan At best he was a Hezbollah sympathizer, at worst he was a genuine terrorist.

This was the culmination of an ugly incident that was handled tactfully by the presenter and the channel itself. quickly issued a statement He condemned Gidursky’s comments and announced that he would not be invited back to CNN. Philip’s words to the camera are worth including here because they get to the heart of his show’s standards:

There’s a line crossed here and it’s not acceptable to me. This network is unacceptable to us. We want discussion. We want people who disagree with each other to talk to each other. But once you cross the line into complete lack of civility, that won’t happen on this show. It’s a hot time. We are in the middle of a political season. There are eight days left until the presidential election. But we can talk about what is going on in this country without resorting to the lowest of the worst rhetoric. I want to address this issue.

And I want to apologize to the viewers at home because we want to be able to hear each other. We want to be able to talk to each other. And we plan to do this in the next segment.

But no matter how clever it was to overcome this ugly ordeal, it was a moment that was bound to happen for anyone paying attention to how it happened. HaberGececesi It’s evolved dramatically since its reboot as a classic clash of cable news pundits — each eager to go viral with the sick burn of a partisan opponent.

Dear media critic Brian Steinbergsummarized the show’s fly-by Diversity first in September tells its origin story:

“NewsNight,” which launched in the wake of the terrorist attack on Israel in October of last year, looked at first glance similar to other programs on CNN and its main rivals, Fox News Channel and MSNBC. Phillip sat alone on set, always speaking directly to the audience and interviewing experts, analysts and news producers about the biggest headlines of the day. Earlier this summer, CNN relaunched the show, which shares its name with Aaron Brown’s prime time show in the early 2000s, and it quickly became the loudest program on the schedule. The program runs at a volume that is almost unrecognizable Risk-averse Warner Bros. These days owned under Discovery management.

However Steinberg’s observation is that his DNA is much closer to that in the series, and that lately it has become an ideological battleground. Jon Stewart It was CNN’s original sin, once it was suggested, Cross fireThere are regular fights between James Carville, Paul Begala, tucker carlsonAnd Mary Matalin (among other notables).

During his famous appearance in 2004, Stewart told the show’s hosts that their regular partisan bickering was “damaging America,” which resonated so deeply that the former CNN CEO Jonathan Klein canceled the show. But Steinberg’s statement on the Phillip-backed NewsNight reflects the commercial motivations behind recasting the show:

However, in recent weeks the network seemed on the verge of rekindling his inner Zucker. CNN rehires Brian StelterHe was the pioneer of the long-running but now-defunct “Reliable Sources” media review program and became a fixture on CNN under former president Jeff Zucker. Who ran the network much more competently during the Trump administration.

…

Could the strategy work? The number of viewers of the renewed “NewsNight” is increasing. Of course, the show’s overall audience is small compared to its rivals, which is part of a broader decline in CNN’s ratings in recent years. While “NewsNight” crowds remain below 1 million most nights, both Fox News’ “Gutfeld” and MSNBC’s “Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell” easily surpass that mark. But since its launch in late July, the new format has led to an 82% increase in viewers aged 25 to 54, the demographic most coveted by advertisers in news programs, compared to its performance in June. Perhaps more notable: September through 11^This“NewsNight” had the second-highest viewership among the 25- to 54-person crowd on CNN; Only Anderson Cooper’s 8pm hour earned more.

There you go—fueling cable news feuds is good for business, especially after the launch of the original iteration of NewsNight failed to make any sort of a splash in the ratings or the water-refreshing moments that are the bread and butter for sites like ours.

But there’s a reason we don’t write this column. CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt– featuring regular panel discussions – or CNN’s Internal PolicyFox’s Five or outnumberedMSNBC Good morning Joe, or Deadline: White House—although these shows tend to take a much narrower perspective with little to no opposition.

NewsNight’s problem isn’t exciting conversations; All of the programs I just mentioned have this. The difference with NewsNight’s format is that it encourages harsh, sassy, ​​personal insults from one panelist to another. The hotter the fight, the more attention the series gets and, as a result, more viewers watch it. Judging by the increase in viewership, it’s working from a business perspective. But let’s not be surprised if things get so out of hand that a guest has to be removed from the show and the host has to apologize to the audience.

The writing was on the wall then Scott Jennings dismissed fellow panelists during a particularly tense discussion.“Conspiracy theory night on the Abby Phillip show.” Or when you’re a Democrat strategist Keith Boykin he shouted“You are a liar, congressman!” Rep. Byron Donalds That crimes have increased under the Biden administration. or guest Leigh McGowan to shout“This is crazy!” to two fellow panelists who tried to belittle some former Presidents. Donald Trump’s The most provocative words.

These are just a handful of examples where Socratic discourse has given way to the lesser angels of NewsNight panelists, good for clicks but not so good for the health of the body politic. It’s part of a more significant trend at a network that’s struggling with ratings and willing to throw anything at the wall to get people’s attention, a network that prides itself on having some of the absolute best in the business at conducting thoughtful and insightful interviews — namely, Anderson Cooper And Jake Tapper, For example.

This ugly incident on Monday night wasn’t a mistake; This was a feature CNN programmers were looking for. If they’re not careful, this could hurt a brand that’s already dealing with this. dubious criticism From a presidential candidate who could very well return to the White House.

This is an opinion piece. The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.