BITS AND PIECES: CNN JOINS THE ESTABLISHMENT
By Reese Schonfeld

Walter Isaacson appearing on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

Twenty some odd years ago Jerry Levin was running HBO he approached ITNA, the company I was then running , about starting a twenty-four hour cable news service with Time-Life. The broadcasters I worked for wouldn’t have any part of it but ever since then I’ve wondered what a cable news service run by Time Magazine would have looked like. Now I’m going to find out.

Today AOL/Time Warner announced that Walter Isaacson, a former managing editor of Time Magazine, would become chairman and chief executive of CNN News Group. Isaacson will replace Tom Johnson who resigned two weeks ago. Isaacson is a print journalist. Johnson, before he came to CNN, was a newspaper publisher. He had never been a working journalist so Isaacson is at least one up on him.

With the appointment of Walter Isaacson CNN joins the establishment. There is no more establishment friendly journalist than Walter Isaacson. Isaacson is Harvard, Rhodes Scholar, author of a friendly biography of Henry Kissinger, and a man whose rolodex is even better than Tom Johnson’s. “Establishment" was not my dream for CNN.

CNN was started by a bunch of mavericks. We did things in ways that nobody had ever done before. We succeeded.  For two years the revolutionary process worked and CNN wound up with the best six month ratings in its history.

Then CNN slumped. Ratings slipped from a 1 to a point 7 to a point 5 and now to a point 3. The upstart Fox News has edged past CNN and to save itself CNN has turned to the establishment, Time Warner. Time has chosen one of its most establishment journalist to attempt the task.

In 1980 CNN was anti- establishment, God knows I was, God knows Ted Turner was no matter how hard he tried to buy CBS.  I suppose there comes a time for the mavericks to pick up their marbles and go home. Sooner or later the ruling class takes over. Is this the right time? Only Time will tell. Or maybe AOL.

Slowly the main characters of Me and Ted are departing the stage. Ted left a year ago, Tom Johnson two weeks ago, and Jerry Levin has only months to go on his CEO contract. Its been my good luck to write my book and this website while the story was happening.

You know I believe in live news. After its over it ain’t news it’s history.