Don't Bet Against Jeff Bewkes
Street Smart
5/22/2012 8:43:04 AM
Jeff Bewkes was in my business school class (in fact he was in my section) and I knew him then and during the early years of his career. At your peril do you bet against him! He has spent his entire career at Time Warner and he LOVES that place in a way that is exceedingly rare for a CEO these days.
Moreover, he is a master tactician and is at his very best when it comes to programming and managing the nuts and bolts of an enterprise. He put HBO on the map back in the day. Everything with original cutting-edge programming that we take for granted these days? He built that.
I think that he has other fish to fry (remember AOL Time Warner anyone?) but this is just the wake-up call he'll need to re-focus at the proper "granular" level to steer the ship toward a renewed formula for growth.
Re: Need to do something
AskAsa
5/21/2012 2:18:16 PM
Talk about evolution.
If you can ever get ahold of youtube videos from an experiment Roger Ailes conducted called "America's Talking" you will actually see how some of the ideas were later developed for FNC.
He actually did his own talk show which featured everyone from Jimmy Webb to Mike Wallace. It was all so brilliant that NBC let him and it slip through their hands.
Re: CNN and newspapers
TelecomFreq
5/21/2012 1:52:36 PM
I have to wonder what a full out reinvention of a news org would looke like. one who controls so much media space like CNN. If a company wants to produce high quality news but appeal to more of what todays consumers are looking for would moving more content online be the way to go?
CNN already has a strong online presents, and their apps for tablest and phones are..... just ok. could they do more there? would tayloring their content to a more mobile society be what could save them?
Re: CNN and newspapers
Phoenix
5/21/2012 1:14:01 PM
It is sad to see the once mighty company crumbling. But I think that there is still a chance that they can reinvent themselves. Offer more than news coverage. They could research and find out what it is that consumers want and deliver that to them.
CNN and newspapers
impactnow
5/21/2012 12:45:13 PM
What's happening to CNN is reflecting the change in our overall society's method of getting information, we no longer look to TV when we have smart phone, tablets and laptops that get us the headlines quickly and concisely. My prediction is that CNN will eventual go the way of newspapers in print, it's a dying breed. As our population gets more tech savvy and accustomed to content demand at their finger tips they will less willing to digest content given to them.
Re: Cable
AskAsa
5/21/2012 12:05:36 PM
Also New Orleans, which helped launch Anderson Cooper.
Marvin said it almost takes a disaster to bring out the best in CNN and our observations are reflecting that.
Here's an idea, perhaps they could try to present a "fair and balanced" coverage of the news.
Its hard to pictuer the news org that you talk about in the mid 90s that built its reputation on content like that turning into the TMZ of major news.
I will say there are times when I think CNN has shined, I remember durring the earthquake in Hati they had some great coverage, that was one of their bright points over the past few years.
Re: Cable
AskAsa
5/21/2012 11:23:38 AM
No argument from me on that one.
I think CNN peaked during the 1990 Gulf War when they were hard wired into Bagdad and delivered amazing sound and video. I recall Brokaw himself saying something about the little engine that could was now taking over the track.
@AskAsa,
I could not agree more that the quality of news coverage from CNN has suffered. I can most of the time when I tune into the channel it seems they are covering more of what you would expect from TMZ then from a world news org.
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