Incredibly, the Times reported that Turner made it a point to avoid reporters during the big 20th anniversary bash in Atlanta by literally fleeing their questions. Next, there are the technological uncertainties. With its 22 million subscribers AOL could be an asset to CNN, but none of this is clear, as the Times story pointed out. The new company will have a new management structure and, possibly, new ideas about how to do things, especially when ratings are low. And that is CNN's final problem.
Ratings are low, the lowest monthly ratings in nine years according to press reports.
This is partly because the audience for news is being fragmented by new competitors and partly because CNN ratings soar during crises. Other competitors include CNBC, Bloomberg, Overseas BBC World Service and Deutcher Welle. Until now CNN has ruled the cable news roosts, but the upstarts are making a dent, as are news Web sites. Within the last three years CNN has strengthened its reporting considerably, adding special reports, documentaries, investigative features and significant environmental reporting, with more coverage of the world than the other American networks combined. I am going to do the right thing.