CNN Clueless in Hunt for Young Demos
Jan 16, 2006
By Marianne Paskowski
Memo to CNN chieftain Jonathan Klein: It has now been more than two months since you gave Aaron Brown, who anchored CNN's "NewsNight With Aaron Brown" for the past four years, the big heave-ho. I know, business is business and Mr. Brown's ratings were tanking.
But if you think you're going to get younger (or so-called more desirable) demographics with Anderson Cooper in that role, forget it. I don't know how old you are, Mr. Klein, but when I was a youngster still living at home, I could not care less about the 10 p.m. news.
That's because I was out partying with my pals and had no mortgage to pay or world issues to fret about. In contrast, my parents, who supported me, were glued to TV news each and every evening. They seemed to get some comfort out of it all. To me, watching news was punishment, and I watched it only when I was grounded.
Face it, news is never going to attract the younger demographic. Madison Avenue knows that. Why else would all those commercials for Maalox and Gas-X-products which I never knew existed in my carefree youth-run in news programs? Heck, even today I spend more time online than I do with my television set, and I am not a member of Gen Y.
For those of us who even watch news at 10 p.m., due to your decision, we have to endure a rather stiff-looking and -sounding Anderson Cooper, in Brown's old role, dutifully reading or showing the work of a dozen other reporters each night. He looks bored.
I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I'm now voting with my remote control and getting my news from Comedy Central's Jon Stewart or NBC's Jay Leno. They, just like Mr. Brown, have what Mr. Cooper lacks: a worldliness and grasp of current affairs and a wonderful sense of humor.
Instead of propping up Mr. Cooper in that ridiculous business suit in the news studio, it's time to put him back in the field, where he excelled: Reporting, on the scene, in his swashbuckling manner, about natural-disaster stories such as the Asian tsunami or, more recently, Hurricane Katrina.
That is his milieu. The other night Mr. Cooper seemed much more excited about a bomb scare in a San Francisco Starbucks than he was about the Supreme Court hearings. And that's OK. I can relate. Let him go back to do what pumps his adrenaline. What you've done here is akin to the powers that be here at TVWeek making me their chief counsel or bean counter instead of just allowing me to spew off as a columnist. They haven't offered me those other, more lucrative positions yet, but if they do, no thanks, I'll pass.
So, Mr. Klein, you might ask why is this nutcase writing this two months after the cow has been let out of the barn? Well, I'll tell you. The other day I caught "The Washington Journal" on C-SPAN and I heard Mr. Brown's name mentioned and I was excited.
Until then, I thought he had vanished from the planet.
At first I thought, "Yikes! He's coming back." Instead, it was a segment on a media bias study conducted by UCLA political scientist Tim Groseclose, who said his research found that CNN's "NewsNight" was one of the most centrist media outlets.
I was glad to hear that, but realized how much I still missed watching Mr. Brown in my home each evening. And I'm not alone. Internet bloggers remain enraged over his departure. We especially remember his poignant and comforting reporting on Sept. 11, during a time when fear enveloped America after the bombing of the World Trade Center.
Mr. Brown, back then, was only days on his new job, but somehow his passion, pathos and sensibility helped us all get through that tragic time.
It's certainly an interesting time in TV news. CBS's Dan Rather is gone. NBC's Tom Brokaw passed the baton. And, most unfortunate, ABC's longtime anchor Peter Jennings has passed away. Even ABC's "Nightline" anchor Ted Koppel threw in the towel as a regular weeknight fixture on TV.
Again, back to the demos. I don't envy you your job, Mr. Klein, because even if you produce news for online, wireless or iPods, the young demo you are seeking is simply out of your grasp. So why not cede the turf back to the veterans who report for adults who really watch news?
Only a suggestion. But while I'm at it, I have another one for you. Let's pare down CNN's "NewsNight" to an hour.
Like I mentioned earlier, I forced myself to watch Mr. Cooper for the full two hours. If I don't have an attention span of that length, do you think younger demos do?
Chasing The 25-54 Demo: Pointless?
TV Week columnist Marianne Paskowski writes a memo to CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein:"...If you think you're going to get younger (or so-called more desirable) demographics with Anderson Cooper" in the NewsNight time slot, "forget it. I don't know how old you are, Mr. Klein, but when I was a youngster still living at home, I could not care less about the 10 p.m. news.That's because I was out partying with my pals and had no mortgage to pay or world issues to fret about. In contrast, my parents, who supported me, were glued to TV news each and every evening. They seemed to get some comfort out of it all. To me, watching news was punishment, and I watched it only when I was grounded. Face it, news is never going to attract the younger demographic. Madison Avenue knows that. Why else would all those commercials for Maalox and Gas-X-products which I never knew existed in my carefree youth-run in news programs? Heck, even today I spend more time online than I do with my television set, and I am not a member of Gen Y..."
Cooper Is "Younging-Down The Hour"
In TV Week today, Marianne Paskowski criticizes Jon Klein's decision to appeal to younger viewers by placing Anderson Cooper in primetime. This afternoon an industry observer, not affiliated with any network, responded in an e-mail:"Paskowski's column is pretty hysterical because Cooper's gains are ALL in the younger demos. I've seen the numbers. In the 10p ET hour, 360's total viewers have risen just 2%. But what's happening is that Aaron Brown's older viewers are fleeing and being replaced by 18-49s. Whether it's worth all the hype is a separate question, but Cooper is absolutely younging-down that hour."That's why the Anderson-bashing is pretty much irrelevant: If older viewers are being replaced by younger viewers, the programming change is a success for CNN...
