CNN Needs to Stop Clock Blocking Us

FTVLive is written for people in the industry, but we are downright shocked at how many viewers read this site as well. 

Viewers send email all the time, like this one, "You should tell that lady that Anchors the news on Channel 4 to grow her hair longer!"

We have no idea what lady, or Channel 4 this viewer is talking about, but if you are a female Anchor, working at a Channel 4 and you have short hair.... grow it out. OK? 

But, by far and wide the most email I get from viewers is about cable news and many talk about how the HATE the "stupid countdown clocks" that cable news (i.e. CNN) put up for events they are covering.

The Washington Post's Eric Wemple agrees with many of the FTVLive emailers.

Wemple writes, the screenshot above comes from Wednesday night’s CNN programming. Even a casual CNN viewer recognizes the graphic at the lower right, signaling, here, that the CNN Republican presidential debate would be going down at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Folks who tuned in Thursday at 8:30 p.m., though, found nothing approaching a debate. A graphic alerted viewers to a “rundown” of events: 8:42 p.m., “RNC Chair Speaks”; 8:55 p.m., “Candidates On Stage”; 9 p.m., “Debate Begins.”

So the CNN countdown clock did it again, bait-and-switching American political junkies. Gray-bearded journo scolds might say about this matter: If the network can’t get something as simple as a clock right, how on earth can it master complex political stories?

Although, no seems to think these clocks are of any use, don't look for CNN or any other of the cable news channels to stop using the countdown clocks.

Just like that lady on Channel 4, they aren't going to change. 

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