CNN International

From Free net encyclopedia

Image:1138797809.pngCNN International is an English language television network available in most of the world, distributed via satellite and cable. Its international reach is more than 1 billion households and hotel rooms in over 200 countries. For most viewers it is free-to-air, however some pay TV companies include it in their pay TV bouqets, or issue an LCN to the FTA version on the same satellite. The channel predominantly carries news, current affairs and business programming. CNNI is owned by Time Warner.

There are five variants of CNN International:

CNN International Europe/Middle East/Africa based in London
CNN International Asia Pacific based in Hong Kong
CNN International South Asia based in Hong Kong
CNN International in Latin America based in Atlanta
CNN International North America based in Atlanta

The schedules of the different regional versions no longer differ significantly from each other, but there are still minor variations. The London and Hong Kong production centers produce 50 and 30 hours per week of programming respectively.

Occasionally CNNI draws from the CNN/US feed for news coverage and for programmes such as Larry King Live and Anderson Cooper 360°. CNN/US will occasionally turn to CNNI newscasts, primarily when major international news breaks during the night-time in the U.S. A notable case was during the death of Pope John Paul II.

During 12pm-1pm EST on weekdays, CNNI's Your World Today airs on CNN/US[1]. CNNI will also air CNN/US newscasts whenever major events happen in the United States or any other major events around the world.

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The network, in large part a result of Ted Turner's internationalist ideals, began transmissions in 1985, at first primarily broadcasting to American business travelers in hotels. The early studios in Atlanta were tucked away in various corners of the CNN Center, and the newsroom lacked even a digital clock. The vast majority of the network's programming originally consisted of simulcasts of the two domestic CNN channels (CNN/US and CNN Headline News). In 1992, however, the amount of news programming produced by CNNI especially for international viewers increased significantly. A major new newsroom and studio complex was built in 1994, as CNN decided to compete against British television channel BBC World. CNNI emerged as an internationally oriented news channel, with staff members of various national backgrounds, even though some accusations of a pro-U.S. editorial bias persist.

In 1998, CNNI underwent a major rebranding, which made its on-air look less overtly American and replaced it with a more "international" aesthetic. CNNI had another makeover of sorts in 2006. Gone are the brash multi-coloured headlines and such, in place are sleek, modern lines.

On March 10, 1999, while speaking at Harvard, Eason Jordan thanked Fidel Castro for inspiring the creation of CNN International.[2]

In the U.S., CNNI North America was distributed during overnights and weekends on the CNNfn financial channel, until that channel's demise in December 2004. It is now available in its own right on a limited basis.

There are also a number of wholly owned and joint-venture CNN news channels that do not have English as their primary language.

CNN International can be seen in more than 183 million television households and hotel rooms, including over 30 million in the Asia Pacific, via a network of 38 satellites. CNN.com's news web sites include international and US editions of CNN.com as well as five local language sites in Arabic, German, Japanese, Korean, and Spanish.

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Controversies

Many non-American viewers feel the channel is too American to be considered a truly "international" channel. For example, during the O. J. Simpson trial, the network devoted a great deal of air time to this topic, although still substantially less than on CNN/US. This was despite other events that were happening that were considered by many to be more important on a global scale. The selection of stories and the deployment of newsgathering resources are also reflective of an American view of what is important in world news.

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