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CNN and New Coke [1]
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Date: 2023-05-16
Some of you might remember the New Coke fiasco some years ago. The Coca Cola company had done a lot of blind taste tests and decided they could broaden their customer base. They came out with a new version of Coke that tasted more like arch competitor Pepsi. The result was a marketing disaster. No one had any reason to switch from Pepsi to Coke. The people who preferred the original taste of Coca Cola (such as myself) now had no reason to prefer Coke. So they managed to alienate their most loyal customers without gaining any new customers. It did not take long for them to surrender and reintroduce Coke Classic. New Coke soon disappeared.
CNN seems to be caught in a similar trap. When Discovery Network took control of CNN, the new CEO David Zaslav said he wanted a “balance strategy” and more Republican voices on CNN. It is clear that CNN was hoping to get some of the Fox News audience, and were intimidated by Trump’s attacks on CNN. The CNN Trump townhall, with its selected audience of Trump cheerleaders, is the ultimate expression of that strategy.
This strategy will probably backfire. The Republican true believers are not going to switch to CNN unless CNN goes full MAGA. Those who watch CNN who are not Republican true believers will be turned off by the sort of campaign marketing like the townhall which most Republicans who appear will insist on. If CNN is trying to buy the attention of Republicans, they will find they are digging a bottomless pit. I believe that CNN ratings will drop, not rise.
CNN should try to keep to a niche of hard news. They could be leaders in things like covering the Ukraine war or the earthquake in Turkey. But corporate leaders have a lot of pressure to meet Wall Street expectations of rapid growth at any cost. A really good hard news network might not be the best strategy for rapid growth. But it performs a needed function and a good reputation for accurate reporting in the long run will make them last in the long run.
Balance is a vague goal. What does it mean? Balance is not always truth. Simply reporting the dueling marketing messages from people who disagree is not near enough. What people need is enough accurate information to help them decide who is right. Finding out who is telling the truth might not sound balanced. But if the choice is between balance and truth, I’ll take truth anytime, even of the truth is unpleasant.
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