125 replies to this topic

[kratos]

Big day at ‪#CNN‬. We're launching NEWSROOM: INTERNATIONAL at 12pm ET, a world news show for the domestic audience w @suzannemalveaux

http://twitter.com/E...716469123100672

[kk_kev]

So they're bringing back the YWT-at-noon without using CNNI...what were they thinking?

[newser]

If they're planning to cover international news the CNN Newsroom way, this show will be a complete trainwreck and they will eventually use it as a "proof" Americans don't care about foreign news. Hate to be so negative before I see something, but when most of us agree how dumbed down "CNN Newsroom" is these days, the only thing that comes to mind is that "CNN Newsroom: International" will be yet another dumbed down show, albeit with international perspective. I guess it's good they didn't decide to launch something like "Erin Burnett OutFront - International". And don't get me wrong, flexing the international muscle is not a bad idea at all, it's the format that I'm worried about.

Edited by newser, 18 June 2012 - 03:47 PM.

[kk_kev]

Live reaction to first portions of the first NewsRoom: International

TOTH opening

• The music of NRI is the same piece used for CNNI's previous 12p ET show - Prism. Another reminder of how the mighty has fallen. On the other hand, no tacky black and white taped @SuzanneMalveauxCNN opens.
• The title card consists of a grey-white globe on the standard CNN/US light grey background, the word "NewsRoom" in grey, "International" in blue, still using Impact.

1st segment :00-:10

• Item #1 - Obama/Putin meeting in Mexico during the G20 meeting, Brianna Keilar live hit from Los Cabos, focusing on the Syria situation. Feels like a slightly more laid-back 1st item on your average I-Desk.
• Item #2 - Outcome of the French legislative elections, in which Francois Hollande's Socialist Party gets a majoirty, with Hala doing an analytical live hit from DC
• Tease - Greece (arguably should've been in 1st segment, but anyway), high fashion in Islamabad

2nd segment :12-:17

• Item #3 - 30-second mention of Sir Paul McCartney's birthday (the second only WTF moment so far: control the fluff, please)
• Item #4 - Greece parliamentary re-election fallout, live hit with Richard Quest in Athens (eventually drifts to "what this means to America" around the last minute)
• Tease - How will the Euro debt crisis play out in terms of US electoral politics (America's Choice 2012 maybe?)
• Also spotted on the flipper - an 12.30ET item (more like at 12.45ET) on China's latest manned space mission

3rd segment :20-:25

• Item #5 - Egypt runoff presidential election results, Ben Wedemen live from Cairo
• Tease - New Obama immigration executive order's effect on Mexican immigrants

4th segment :28-:30

• Item #6 - Mexico's reaction to Obama's executive order announced on Friday, live hit by Juan Carlos Lopez of CNÑ from DC (phew - not the America's Choice 2012 left-vs-right shoutfest that I dreaded)
• Tease - an item on Rwanda, related with the legacy of the genocide

5th segment :33-:43

• Item #7a - Closure of village tribunals in Rwanda, which processed minor participants of the genocide, and related human legacy. Featuring a report filed by Suzanne in Rwanda about reconciliation between two people belonging to the then-opposing tribes.
• Bridge - a (rather self-congratulatory IMO) note of Jim Clancy's 1995 doco on Rwanda being recognised
• Item #7b - an in-depth chat on the topic with Michael Holmes (who covered the genocide)
• Tease - photos of the day

6th segment :45-:47

• Item #8 - China's first manned space docking (1-minute voiceover)
• Item #9 - Candid moments around the world (1-minute voiceover using three Getty photos)
• Tease - High fashion in Pakistan

7th segment :50-:55

• Item #10 - a report on a report by Vice Magazine on high fashion in its infancy in Islamabad, including a chat with one of their correspondents who's in London
• Tease: Bono meets Aung Sang Suu Kyi

8th segment :59-:00

• Item #11 - Bono presents an Amnesty International award to Aung Sang Suu Kyi
• Item #12 - Twitter trend worldwide (Korean Air app gaffe - "primitive")
• Seamless transition into NewsRoom at 1p ET

Overall comments: Noticeably more laid-back than CNNI newscasts, but certainly much more solid content-wise than the average NewsRoom newscast [Comparing the way Suzanne introduces the Greece item at 12p and 1p; also Christine Romans was brought in at 1p but not at 12p]

Edited by kk_kev, 18 June 2012 - 05:11 PM.

[kk_kev]

Actually sort of live-blogged the first NewsRoom International in the post above - so what do you guys think about the show?)

[kk_kev]

If they're planning to cover international news the CNN Newsroom way, this show will be a complete trainwreck and they will eventually use it as a "proof" Americans don't care about foreign news. Hate to be so negative before I see something, but when most of us agree how dumbed down "CNN Newsroom" is these days, the only thing that comes to mind is that "CNN Newsroom: International" will be yet another dumbed down show, albeit with international perspective. I guess it's good they didn't decide to launch something like "Erin Burnett OutFront - International". And don't get me wrong, flexing the international muscle is not a bad idea at all, it's the format that I'm worried about.

Not as dumbed down as I'd feared actually, having managed to watch the whole hour without really cringing (something not even AC360 could do on some of its worst shows)

[newser]

^^Watched it as well and I agree, it was probably the most refreshing hour of CNN daytime.

I'd probably arrange the rundown somewhat differently, i.e. Paul McCartney's birthday wouldn't be mentioned before elections in Greece (in fact, it wouldn't be mentioned at all!) and I wouldn't have a segment about global trends on Twitter, but overall the show wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. It was actually quite good and above average for CNN daytime standards. Even the Pakistan fashion segment wasn't fluffy.

Suzanne was good, she always seemed like someone who can handle international news smoothly. It's an advantage not many other Newsroom anchors have, which could cause some awkward moments in future, when Suzanne takes a week or two off.

On the negative side, Brianna was really struggling while attempting to explain what Russian war ships are doing in the Mediterranean. And the question I kept asking myself was how many commercial breaks can they take, but that's business as usual on CNN Newsroom.

Long story short, it wasn't a trainwreck, but I'm not sure my comments would be so generous if it aired on CNNI.

[Solar System]

If Hala wouldn't have tweeted that she will be speaking to Suzanne Malveaux at noon, I never would have tuned in. I guess the CNN promotional budget was eclipsed when Cleopatra arrived in Tarsus (I mean when Erin Burnett arrived at CNN).

Anyhow, I'm not a big fan of Suzanne's anchoring - she seems to sleepwalk through her programs. But today was a pleasant surprise, she put a bit of effort into her presentation. But there has to be more than that, the viewers have to believe that Suzanne as well as her team will continually dig for international news. Not just the top stories or the big headlines, but daily international news. This show truly needs to belong to the internationals. CNNI truly has the best correspondents. But, also the correspondents from CNN Espanol really need to have a daily part in this program too.

As soon as Suzanne mentioned the Paul McCartney bit, I said to myself "here we go with the nonsense," but to my surprise they returned to news. That negative thought immediately came to mind because, I truly have lost faith in CNN/USA as a viable news source. Make us believers again and stick to the serious international news during the beginning and in the midst of the broadcast. Nothing wrong with ending the broadcast with a fluff piece, it's actually nice.


I'll hold off giving my opinion of the show until the end of the week. Don't want to get my hopes up just in cast they start focusing less on international stories and start adding the unnecessary U.S. news. Though one thing this show has already done... I'm back to watching CNN Domestic (even if it is only an hour a day).





Newser, as usual, you bring up excellent points... Who will cover for Suzanne when she is off? Natalie Allen truly needs to be considered.

KK_Kev, excellent post.

[excel99]

Actually sort of live-blogged the first NewsRoom International in the post above - so what do you guys think about the show?)

I'll try and watch tomorrow but from your live-blog that content doesn't seem too bad. Credit were it is due for some effort being put in.

Though what CNN/US really needs to do is improve the content of all hours. One lone hour with half decent content isn't going to make a huge difference to the overall situation. 5-10 minutes (on average) of 'solid, hard' international news in every hour of Newsroom might be a better way to go about it. And last week at least Richard Quest was on in the 1pmET hour every day. Will that still be the case - or is his 'slot' being moved into the 12pmET, meaning less international news at 1pmET, and potentially more 'fluff' instead?

Also if anyone wants an update on domestic US news in the 12pmET hour - well it's Fox or Fox (MSNBC not being in news mode in this hour). An 'all or (almost) nothing' approach isn't any good for viewers who want to switch on CNN and get fully updated on all types of news. Arguably CNN/US are trying CNNI's appointment to view strategy here

One noticeable thing is that the launch has been done on the quiet (not even a press release that I can find) and the hour retains Newsroom branding. Very easy to reverse the hour back into a normal newsroom. Useful if there is a major domestic story that can not be ignored in the hour, but also useful to easily drop the international format without much embarassement. I wonder if they low key launch means it is a trial?

Credit for the effort, but issues and questions still remain

(And a side note here. While TV Newser list Hala, Michael and Richard as joining Suzanne for the hour, I hope other CNNI anchors are involved from time to time too)

Who will cover for Suzanne when she is off? Natalie Allen truly needs to be considered.

If it is just part of the Newsroom shift, then probably any of the usual Newsroom fill-ins

[Charles]

I'll be sure to watch today, and I'll make a highlight reel if it's different enough to warrant making one.

From the rundown that kev posted, it looks promising for Domestic. It would have been nice if they could have made a joint Domestic-International simulcast (perhaps a Domestic-produced iDesk with Hala?), but knowing the mistakes they've made in the past with things like that and the state of CNN these days, that probably would not have ended well.

If it's good, I hope they keep it. The noon hour has on occasion been a slot for experimental programs in previous summers (Anybody remember Ballot Bowl or Issue #1?) so I hope they don't phase it out in the fall.

[ginnyfan]

At first I thought this would be co-anchored by Hala. Surprised it's not. Charles, looking forward to your video.

It's a step in the right direction for CNN US.

[newser]

Today's show seemed a bit weaker. I thought the biggest WTF moment was when they brought in Reza Sayah to talk about Pakistani pop singer instead of the prime minister's removal from office by the supreme court there. But still, the show wasn't that bad compared to the usual content of CNN Newsroom.

[excel99]

Watched most of the hour today. A few thoughts:

1. Not a very fast pace. Could probably have covered most of the stories in just half an hour. It seemed to 'drag' a bit
2. Quite a few 'lighter' stories today. One day alone isn't enough to judge fairly of course
3. I didn't catch very much of Richard Quest's appearance today, but the little bit I did catch had him talking about the US military presence in Asia - not his area of expertise. I may be taking this out of context, but it makes me wonder if Richard, Hala and Michael are appearing in the hour not because they are the best people to report on their stories, but so they remain familiar faces to US audiences. Time will tell. I'm all for CNNI anchors doing segments on CNN/US, but only when there isn't someone else better placed/informed to report on a story. A segment for the sake of a segment isn't the best use of time or talent

So as I said said yesterday credit were it's due, but there are issues and questions with this hour

[Solar System]

Day 2, for me I came away a bit impressed.

Was wondering if CNN/USA would report on the African migrant deportation in Israel. Have been following this story on Twitter and on AJE. So when they covered it on Newsroom International, I was shocked. Also, a story from South America- This neglected region deserves more attention, it's a very interesting place.

As for the pace, I do agree it was a bit slower, but isn't that due to the ebb and flow of the news cycle? The main stories on the show today seem to be the continuing saga of yesterday's big stories. And the stories covered were pretty much the same main stories on France 24 and RT, only difference being of course the perspective and the images.

I'm not expecting Newsroom International to be of the caliber of EuroNews, but at least they can strive to be.

[Solar System]

Day 3, can we keep the focus international?

I hope those involved in gathering the daily news items for this program truly take into consideration... A story making headlines in the U.S. doesn't necessarily mean it will be of interest to an international audience or those tuning in to get internationally based stories.
A story that will no doubt be saturated on all of the Newsrooms and the primetimes shows, does it really need to be covered in this program?

[MLB1510]

They got wayyyy off track today with Suzanne live in Florida and taking Mitt Romney's speech really limited the International news.

[Solar System]

In the days wherein it has become downright embarrassing to be a known CNN fan... this show may give us hope.
I think the overall thought is that Newsroom International is a good idea. But the wait and see attitude is also there and rightfully so. Time and time again CNN Domestic has let their viewers down. CNN Domestic has shone itself to be a very lazy news organization. There usually is nothing to be gleaned from watching CNN which offers little in the area of actual news; henceforth, the skeptism even with what appears to be a good idea.
Will this team get on track and stay on track? That remains to be seen because those working on this show are going to have to do something that currently isn't being done (effectively), gather, produce and air continuous news.

[Solar System]

Am I saying this? What a great freaking show today. Full of interesting stories, lots of information and I even found myself chuckling a few times.



Not to break up the party atmosphere but... was the Romney speech cut in really necessary? Was there any new information gleaned? Was this a special event? My guess is no, no and no again.

Airing the speech last week I think was a strategic and savvy decision, always a new target audience to reach. But today, nothing gained.

Edited by Solar System, 26 June 2012 - 06:18 PM.

[Solar System]

Another great show today. Still can't believe we are treated to an international news program on CNN/USA again.

[Houston]

As a pretty much cynic about anything CNN US does I have to agree this is a good show. I'd give it a great show, but they keep bringing that other anchor on.