If you ever needed proof that the elites running CNN live in an echo chamber with no sense of outside perception, look no further than this latest announcement.
The beleaguered news network announced Tuesday that it will soon introduce an initiative specifically meant to push readers away from its news site.
Seriously.
In a hilariously tone-deaf bit of boastfulness, the self-reporting from CNN began like this: “CNN, one of the most popular news websites in the world, is starting to ask some of its visitors to pay $3.99 a month for access.”
As fast and loose as CNN is playing with the term “most popular,” the rest of the article is almost even more unbelievable, if only because — as you’ll soon see — the hubris runs even deeper.
CNN’s report all but admitted that the issue is a financial one: “On Tuesday, the news organization is laying the first bricks in a so-called paywall that should, over time, help foot the bill for CNNâs journalism around the world.”
Given the state of the economy, this being a fiscal matter is hardly a surprise.
What is a mild surprise, and an ongoing theme for CNN, is just how delusional the network and its higher-ups are about the quality of its content.
Exhibit A: Alex MacCallum, CNNâs executive vice president of digital products and services.
Have you watched CNN in the last year?
He sent out a memo to employees outlining this new paywall that CNN was introducing.
âStarting today, we are asking users in the United States to pay a small recurring fee for unlimited access to CNN.comâs world-class articles,â MacCallum said.
The CNN executive went on to explain some of the nuances of this forthcoming paywall.
âOnly after users consume a certain number of free articles will they be prompted to subscribe,â MacCallum wrote to his employees. âIn addition to unlimited access to CNN.comâs articles, subscribers will receive benefits like exclusive election features, original documentaries, a curated daily selection of our most distinctive journalism, and fewer digital ads.â
So, in a nutshell, a network that can’t get people to tune in when CNN is already being paid for via a cable bill is expecting consumers to pay to read news that will inevitably pop up on social media or a competitor site.
Again, seriously.
Unsurprisingly, the network is being taken to task for this boneheaded business decision.
Just look at some of the responses to re-hired CNN stooge Brian Stelter making the announcement on social media platform X:
I know you guys need to make money, but instead of this, you could try returning to honest, unbiased coverage. That would attract more viewers.
This will be the last nail in your coffin. I don’t care either way because your days as journalists are over…
â Matt Bartruff (@MattBartruff) October 1, 2024
One X user astutely suggested: “I know you guys need to make money, but instead of this, you could try returning to honest, unbiased coverage. That would attract more viewers.”
That X user added: “This will be the last nail in your coffin.”
Another X user reminded CNN what happened the last time it dabbled in paid services.
Itâs like the CNN+ fiasco never happened
â Jeff Carlson (@themarketswork) October 1, 2024
“It’s like the CNN+ fiasco never happened,” the user posted.
(For the unfamiliar, CNN+ was a short-lived streaming service offered by the outlet in 2022. It lasted for all of a month.)
Oh, and about that echo chamber?
How’s this for a condescending conclusion to CNN’s self-congratulatory announcement: “Still, many readers and viewers donât connect the dots between personally paying for news and helping to sustain the industry as a whole.”
Oh, readers can connect the dots alright.
They just don’t want to pay for a Democrat apparatchik outfit like CNN.
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