Daniel Lubetzky

The New York Times ran a story a couple days ago about how CNN is losing market share to MSNBC and to FOX, primarily on prime time, explaining that coverage tilted to extremes on the right (FOX) and left (MSNBC) has captured more ratings than moderate balanced coverage.

It is a real and serious challenge that moderation and balance tends to incite less excitement.  Partisan coverage can capture passions and appeal to core audiences.  I have written about this challenge before, studying how people are programmed for "affirmation" instead of "information – and how lack of critical unbiased thinking is a challenge for society; analyzing FOX coverage of Obama; and exploring how the internet could redress this. Indeed, that is part of why OneVoice’s work is necessary. 

But in CNN’s case, the problem seems to be a far simpler one: their prime-time programming and formatting suck! (sorry, I tried first to use "are terrible" instead of "suck", but it didn’t ring as true)

It is incredible that nobody in management at Time Warner has figured out how pathetic their coverage is.  They keep introducing more bells and whistles, with interactive screens and charts, and literally DOZENS of people in the newsroom, as if they will command authority and respect by just filling tables with more talking heads.

But there is the problem: other than some excellent commentary from seasoned experts like David Gergen, the vast majority of commentators have no idea what they are saying or doing, or even if a couple others are good, they just dilute one another in such ridiculous formats.

During election night coverage, you could argue that their Board of Directors table format was authoritative. "Hey, let’s watch CNN because they have more ‘experts’", you could imagine people thinking.

But the next day after elections, I tuned to CNN and, alas, it was like a hangover brunch.  All these unknown and uninteresting commentators were hanging around to express their opinions in communal commentary formats.  Oh, and CNN also felt compelled to share with us comments on every issue from average people, plus unscientific interactive meaningless "polls."  Is that really what people looking for "news" want?

Ok, I guess you could understand the 20 commentators the day after the election – or even the week after the election – because a historic election had just taken place.  But what is the logic of keeping this party format 4 months later? What is the "event" that warrants having the grandmother of the producer’s cousin’s brother sitting alongside all these other pundits to share their two cents on every issue?

All CNN needs is a compelling anchor that can probe into issues with sincerity of purpose.  In the meantime, there is NO news program I know of that provides balanced, interesting, deep, consistent coverage.

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Incidentally, the New York Times suffers in analogous ways.  Their editorials are either patronizing or fixated on rehashing the obvious.  They lack innovation, personality, persuasiveness and pizzazz: a good editorial should have at least two of those elements.  I may disagree with the Wall Street Journal editorials more often, but they have more personality and are better constructed.  Is it that hard to write compelling and fresh arguments?

Several hundred media outlets across the world covered the OneVoice poll and related town hall meetings.  Here are just two samples:

• The Guardian: Most Palestinians and israelis willing to accept two-state solution, poll finds
• Jerusalem Post: Poll: 80% of both peoples want 2 states

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Check this out for confirmation of the human potential of the most unassuming:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

We are honored that BusinessWeek chose PeaceWorks among 25 of "America’s Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs."

If you like what we do, we’d appreciate you voting here for us – PeaceWorks Holdings – as the top 5 will be featured in the magazine.

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Dalia Labadi from OneVoice Palestine and Itamar Cohen from OneVoice Israel did a great job representing OneVoice in Tulsa Oklahoma, on campuses and community centers, as well as on this TV interview.

I don’t think I’ve ever laughed harder at an interview about PeaceWorks.  This is HILARIOUS – I don’t understand it, but I love the part when they start poking fun at all our mistakes.  As well as when the guy shows up with the title "Non Style."  What is that?  Definitely lost in translation!

Change-Maker was the first episode on a Social Entrepreneurship Series by NHK Japan, which is like the BBC of Asia.

Jon Stewart’s interview of Jim Cramer earlier tonight was a stunning indictment of the financial sector, the insider chicaneries of Wall Street, the complicity of financial networks like CNBC, and the overall sad state of affairs of corporate America.  See art.

It is scary that the best reporting out there comes from a comedy show, while regular networks and publications have effectively sold out to corporate sponsors.  One starts sounding like a conspiracy theorist or left wing radical, but when you listen to this stuff, it confirms some of the scarier theories!  Just like you are not paranoid if you really are being followed, so too is the case that you are not wrong to suspect Wall Street’s transparency and integrity and to assume insiders are rigging it against ordinary investors.

Here are a couple of samples of good reporting:

James F. Smith of the Boston Globe just did a story about a OneVoice Tour through New England that captured the essence of OneVoice rather well.  It also highlighted the importance of keeping the message and movement alive, now more than ever.

Roi Assaf of OneVoice Israel (left) and Nisreen Abdallah of OneVoice Palestine spoke this week at Harvard Divinity School, the first of several stops on a tour of New England schools. (Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff)

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KIND Nut Delight got a nice endorsement from NY Giants’ nutritionist Heidi Skolnik on the Today Show earlier this month.  She recommended it as an energy boosting snack whose natural ingredients you can see and pronounce.(tm)

KIND was the only nutritional bar to make it into Good Housekeeping’s listing of the 100 best convenience foods.

This follows on KIND Mango Macadamia being chosen as the Best Product of the Year out of all thousands of natural food products introduced at the Natural Products Expo earlier this fall (Oct 2008).