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So have you heard there’s going to be a Democratic debate tonight? And one with normal people like you and me posing questions via streaming video? You haven’t? Just turn on CNN. Chances are you’ll find out before the next commercial break.

A few weeks ago, CNN was accused of “milking a story” when they parlayed an on-air argument between Wolf Blitzer and Michael Moore into a into a prime-time “Larry King Live” debate with CNN’s resident medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Was this low-cal Lincoln-Douglas the most scintillating hour of TV in recent memory? No, it wasn’t, but would I rather see people discuss the merits of American health care and Michael Moore’s approach to filmmaking than reading more from Paris Hilton’s diary? To quote Kevin Pollak from “A Few Good Men,” ‘Every day of the week and twice on Sundays.’

The critic in question, Jon Friedman of MarketWatch, made the case that Wolf Blitzer was fishing for sensational soundbytes and trying to grab a few extra eyeballs, at the expense of a probing interview:

Lately, CNN has stretched the definition of news to a nearly incomprehensible level. What has genuine news value and what is a thinly veiled ratings grab? CNN may have plenty of company here, but I expect a lot from this network.

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So have you heard there’s going to be a Democratic debate tonight? And one with normal people like you and me posing questions via streaming video? You haven’t? Just turn on CNN. You’ll find out before the next commercial break.

A few weeks ago, CNN was accused of “milking a story” when they parlayed an on-air argument between Wolf Blitzer and Michael Moore into a into a prime-time “Larry King Live” debate with CNN’s resident medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Was this low-cal Lincoln-Douglas the most scintillating hour of TV in recent memory? No, it wasn’t, but would I rather see people discuss the merits of American health care and Michael Moore’s approach to filmmaking than reading more from Paris Hilton’s diary? To quote Kevin Pollack from “A Few Good Men,” ‘Every day of the week and twice on Sundays.’

The critic in question, Jon Friedman of MarketWatch, made the case that Wolf Blitzer was fishing for sensational soundbytes and trying to grab a few extra eyeballs, at the expense of a probing interview:

Lately, CNN has stretched the definition of news to a nearly incomprehensible level. What has genuine news value and what is a thinly veiled ratings grab? CNN may have plenty of company here, but I expect a lot from this network.

Read full post…