CNN tries closing the authenticity gap
There was a newsletter from Puck’s Dylan Byers last week that kinda bugged me.
Byers was writing about some efforts at CNN to shift up the visual presentation of its programming.
Byers explained:
On air, Anderson Cooper and two guests were seated at a table speaking into massive desk microphones that channeled Edward R. Murrow. Anderson’s jacket was off, his sleeves were rolled up, tie loosened, and monitors filled the backdrop. Yet rather than relying on those sophisticated technological assets for the network’s coverage of the war in Iran, the producers would cut to a bird’s-eye view of the table itself, upon which lay a physical map of the Middle East.
These avant-garde innovations, which a network spokesperson described as “an experiment,” were inspired by a meeting with content leaders in which CNN C.E.O. Mark Thompson alluded to the old Murrow broadcasts—a cigarette in his mouth, a pile of papers on the desk—and noted that it gave the air of a real journalist doing real journalism. The experiment continued on Friday when a jacketless Jake Tapper broadcast from his own office—which, as the CNN kremlinologists know, is adorned with old campaign posters of losing presidential candidates.
It has been clear for a long while now that cable news needed to shake up its presentation for a changed media. Increasingly, one could feel the authenticity gap between the well-resourced, but far too-flossy TV news presenters with their pricey sets and flashy graphics packages when seen alongside news and news-opinion videos found on platforms like YouTube.
While the industry grapples with the question as to whether YouTube is TV, viewers are just getting on with it and streaming YouTube shows via connected TV. And the more they watch, the more the lower budget, earthier programs begin to just feel right.
So, what is the likes of CNN, 70s feminist magazine turned cable news channel MS NOW, and Fox News going to do about it?
Put microphones everywhere!
It was only today that I took the effort to see what the newly styled CNN might look like.
Here’s Anderson Cooper at a conference table away from the studio:
And here’s Jake Tapper (sans tie) looking casual presenting from his desk:
Neither quite nails it. They haven’t quite reached that sweet spot between lower-budget YouTube set and premium CNN experience. But I think there’s tremendous value in trying to get that right because the path CNN has been on will feel bloated and stale increasingly over the coming years. Should it have that long.
There’s a better ‘best of both worlds’ approach to things. It isn’t that a glossy set is the issue, but instead I’d suggest that viewers would rather TV sets begin to look like real physical spaces.
Something I really liked was this NBC News Now “podcast studio” set used back in November 2025:
It felt professional, but had a relaxed quality to it. It also felt like a real space, with the camera moving around through the show to also capture the production team watching on.
Byers was too dismissive of the efforts at CNN. This tone was also found it a THR article on the visual experiment.
I say it is a push in the right direction. Again, I think the problem needs to be that they need to move away from polished sets that feel like an old-school TV presentation and enter actual tangible spaces to build a connection to a real-world space. But, overall, it is a very positive sign that an effort is being made.
News Desk
School Spirits has been renewed for a fourth season at Paramount+. Read: Deadline
Paramount+ has also renewed Criminal Minds: Evolution for what will be season 20 of that (retitled) show. Why not just call it Criminal Minds? Read: Deadline
OpenAI is shutting down generative social video platform Sora. Disney has subsequently ended its partnership with OpenAI. Read: Variety
Netflix has announced a remake of 2004 romcom, 13 Going On 30. Fingers crossed they maintain the integrity of the original. Read: The Wrap
The rather good For All Mankind has been given a sixth and final season at Apple TV. Read: thefutoncritic
Paul Walter Hauser has joined the cast of Netflix’s live action Scooby-Doo TV show. There’s no word on who he will actually be playing, but lets safely assume that he’ll be running an old amusement park. Read: Deadline
Kara Swisher says she will cut ties with CNN if the Warner Bros Discovery deal goes through with David Ellison’s Paramount. Read: THR
NCIS is airing its 500th episode this week. That means I have around 493 episodes to catch up on. Read: Variety
Disney+ has announced a May 12 release date for The Punisher one-off special One Last Kill. That’s one week after the Daredevil: Born Again season 2 finale and two months before he is seen in the new Spider-Man movie. Read: thefutoncritic
There is a new YASS (Yet Another Streaming Service) launching this week. BBTV will deliver Bold & The Beautiful fans 37 complete seasons of the show (seasons 38 and the current 39th season will be added later). That’s more than 9000 episodes. There are also “Director’s Cuts” of over 4000 episodes and other bonus features. It’ll cost $5.99 a month (or a discounted $49.99 annually). Read: The TV Cave
Because you were undoubtedly waiting on an oral history of the Late Night with Conan O’Brien recurring Walker, Texas Ranger gag, Brian VanHooker has put in the work. Read: Polygon
The Spider-Man: Brand New Day trailer is the first movie trailer to have over one billion views. Read: Variety
HBO Max’s upcoming American Blue pilot, a series made to embrace the economic filming approach of The Pitt, has announced five cast members in support of series star Milo Ventimiglia. Among them is a guy I really rate, Eddie Kaye Thomas. What’s funny is every article about his casting referencing this guy as being from “The Beauty” and “Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” But that’s like saying Seann William Scott is known for his role on Shifting Gears. Read: Variety
Y’know, Deadline…
Maybe just give the writeup this week a miss?
Trailer Park
Bridgerton season 5 is now in production.
The fifth season of Bridgerton spotlights introverted middle daughter Francesca (Hannah Dodd). Two years after losing her beloved husband John, Fran decides to reenter the marriage mart for practical reasons. But when John's cousin Michaela (Masali Baduza) returns to London to tend to the Kilmartin estate, Fran's complicated feelings will have her questioning whether to stick to her pragmatic intentions or pursue her inner passions.
Devil May Care returns for season 2 on Netflix May 12.
Unchosen debuts on Netflix April 21.
Behind the closed doors of a claustrophobic British cult, a woman finds herself trapped between her suffocating marriage and an intriguing newcomer with a dark criminal past. Tense, psychological thriller starring Asa Butterfield, Molly Windsor, Fra Fee, Christopher Eccleston and Siobhan Finneran.
Je m’appelle Agneta debuts April 29 on Netflix.
Craving a fresh start, recently unemployed Agneta accepts an au pair gig in Provence that turns into an indulgent escape - and an unexpected awakening.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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