Cnn

Based on the number of televised GOP candidate debates in 2008, we are just about halfway through the process with tonight's CNN-hosted debate on foreign policy. I am encouraged by the big audiences of up to 6 million tuning in for some of the debates. But I am dismayed by some of the show biz priorities the cable channels are surrendering themselves to in hopes of getting a piece of that tasty Nielsen pie. I am thinking here of CNBC using Jim Cramer as a moderator, and him sounding like Gilbert Gottfried in his first screaming, squawking question to the candidate.

Since others like Mediaite and Eric Wemple in the Washington Post have commented on my denunciation of NBC News on CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday for hiring the woefully unqualified Chelsea Clinton as a special correspondent, I guess I better explain how I really feel. I was only warming up in denouncing this inside job among the elite one-percenters when I said: "At a time when young people who have played by the rules, who have gone to college, who have worked hard are camping out in American cities because the system has failed them in terms of providing jobs, to then take another member of that elite - the 1 percent - and give them one of those jobs is really a dispiriting message to the people in this country...

What does it say about NBC News and its priorities that it hired Chelsea Clinton as a correspondent for Brian Williams' overblown "Rock Center" newsmagazine? And why are some people still talking about the interview Bob Costas did last Monday with accused child rapist and former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky? And can Gayle King and Charlie Rose put a dent in the curse of weekday mornings on CBS? Those are some of the questions host Howard Kurtz will be asking me and two of my favorite media-critic colleagues Sunday at 11 a.m. on CNN's "Reliable Sources.

The Chicago Bears are facing off against their division rivals the Green Bay Packers this week. Michelle Obama was in the news this week, as was GOP candidate Rick Perry. CNN Larry King banner of the year who is  

This year, I gave up reporting cable news ratings every month. The numbers and spin tell us about the horse race to some extent. But what they mainly do is distract us from the important moral and cultural stories of the way these channels are warping our view of the world with their ideological and show biz priorities rather than any genuine commitment to news and information. But there are ratings, and then, there are ratings. And the October numbers that just came out offer a sobering snapshot of just how badly CNN's misadventures in programming are going -- even as they cheapen their news brand identity to try and find larger audiences.

I expected the worst from CNN's debate Tuesday when I saw John King interviewing Wayne Newton outside the hall during "John King USA. " I know Newton is Mr. Las Vegas, but I still wondered why anyone at CNN thinks it is a wise use of one of the best political reporters in the country to have him doing pre-debate chat-ups with the likes of Newton -- unless he's talking to the veteran entertainer about the politics of too much cosmetic surgery....

I promised myself I was going to give CNN's new weeknight host Erin Burnett a full week of shows before I reviewed her. It was hard keeping that promise Monday night when I saw her pay a visit to the Occupy Wall Street encampment so she could look down her nose and mock the folks there. I thought it downright cruel the way she and her producer cut one kid from the herd and then tried to make him look like a fool. This was cool kids mocking outsiders on the playground, and it made me angry.

I am only about 2,000 news cycles behind with this post. But I was working on another project since Monday and did not have time to write about the GOP candidates debate hosted by CNN and the Tea Party Express. I thought I would get over it, but I continue to be troubled by the criticism CNN received in some quarters for partnering with the Tea Party to bring this debate to a prime time audience. I am troubled by the ideological nature of the criticism, as well as the hypocrisy and less than stellar reporting that characterized some of it. Look, I am not going to go on and on with my explanation as to why CNN should have been commended rather than criticized for partnering with the Tea Party, but let me just offer a piece of it. One of the primary roles of the media is to bring citizens reliable information that they can use to make informed choices in their lives, and didn't CNN (with the help of the Tea Party)

WASHINGTON — White House, intelligence and other officials briefed members of Congress Thursday about a "specific, credible but unconfirmed threat" to the U.S. homeland, a government official told CNN. The source said New York City and Washington were cited as possible targets. The legislators were told that officials are "strongly concerned" and "are not taking anything for granted," the source told CNN. Additionally, a senior administration official with first-hand knowledge told CNN National Security Contributor Fran Townsend that there is "specific, credible but unconfirmed threat information," although the official added there are a lot of questions about the information.

Live pictures from Tripoli were hard to come by at first for CNN, but along with al-Jazeera, it offered the most comprehensive rolling coverage Sunday night of another remarkable story of tumult and historic change. Visually, nothing could compete with al-Jazeera, which was once again outstanding with its ground-level, in-the-middle-of-the-action images of the march into Tripoli Sunday night. Correspondent Zeina Khodr was so close to the action she was literally jostled by the rebel soldiers as they surged into Green Square.