Maher Rips CNN: We’ve Lost Them to ‘Tabloid Journalism’

‘They show people what people want to see, and that’s how you get wall-to-wall coverage on CNN about a missing plane’

Maher: ‘Least Important Thing We Could Pull Out of the Ocean Is That Airplane’ (Mediaite)

Maher also criticized the profit-model for cable news, arguing it had led to polarization of networks in MSNBC and Fox News, and the tabloidization of CNN.

“Years ago news used to be a loss leader for a network,” Maher said. “They didn’t care if it made money, that’s what the entertainment programs were for. Now you see the news division has to make money and that’s why they go with the things that get the most eyeballs. Instead of telling people what they need to know, they show people what people want to see, and that’s how you get wall-to-wall coverage on CNN about a missing plane. That’s a shame because MSNBC is the liberal cable news station. Fox obviously is a conservative one. We seem to be losing the one that was right down the middle to tabloid journalism.”

Video files
Full
Compact
Audio files
Full
Compact