*visual approximation

So the GOP have been busy.  They revamped their website for a younger audience and came out like a 45 year old dad who learned the lyrics and steps to High School Musical to get closer to his kids.

www.gop.gov

I always get frustrated when Republicans boast that they are the party of Abraham Lincoln and Fredrick Douglass.  I also love how their “future leaders” are YOU and the “heroes” symbol at the bottom of the homepage thats a glittery flag on hydraulics.

If you really want a good take on this, Jon Stewart says it best: The Daily Show

All I have to say to the GOP is that no matter how much plastic surgery someone gets, they’re still going to die of old age.

I have relied on CNN as one of my main news sources since I started following news.  I have always understood that it was not perfect, but I felt most comfortable with it given my options for television and internet news.  Until recently, that is.  Over the years, CNN has tried to revamp its image to compete with the MSNBC and FOX news networks because it has been in third place on the ratings chart for almost as longas they have existed.  What CNN has realized is that to compete they would have to compromise content for flash, something which they have experimented with for years.  Now, for me at least, its gone too far.

• My first issue is an old one: Lou Dobbs.  He is racist and proud of it.  CNN has always turned its head because it is the most popular and profitable show in their 24 hours.  It has gotten recent attention because of protests against CNN and their new special “Latino in America.”  Protesters are calling CNN hypocritical and for Dobbs to resign (or be let go).  However, its most likely not going to happen because the number of latino viewers added would not equal the number of white racists lost. NY TIMES.
• My second issue is the new CNN.com.  Where’s the news???  I cant find it!  After scrolling down a little you can see “Latest News” in small letters on the left side.  They also have this feature called “NewsPulse” that tells you what the news is as dictated by popular demand.  Now I know this is no different than anything else CNN does, since its all ratings based, but now they got rid of the semi-present filters.  Also, on the “Tour the new CNN” page, Instead of “reporting” it says “storytelling.”  enough said.
• My third issue is with this ballon boy incident and how CNN handled it.  I knew from the moment I heard it that it was going to be a non-story.  The old CNN.com had this feature when big news happens, like when Obama was elected or Michael jackson and Ted Kennedy died, that they made the headline picture twice as big.  Well they did that with balloon boy before anyone knew anything happened.  I was shocked that this story was THAT important.  I have always had issues with the news focusing on lost little girls, but they never got this much attention on CNN.com even though something actually happened.  And low and behold, this wasn’t a story at all! CNN easily fell into the publicity trap that those parents knew it would.
• My fourth issue is best explained by Jon Stewart in this clip:  The Daily Show.  The only thing I would add is that sometimes guests have more time to talk on The Daily Show than CNN.

My solution to make the news more reputable: end ad-based news.  If networks were not worried about ratings, then they would let their reporters decide what was news, not their publicists.  Plus, no commercials!  I know most of you dont watch the BBC, but its not that bad: BBC.com.  I know people are going to equate this to PBS, but is Dora the Explorer really any better than Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers?  And I know that NPR is not the most exciting news outlet, but remember, its on a much different medium than television and the internet.

So this is why you’re going to see very few links in the future from CNN in The Donkey Digest.