WorldView is . . . World News is . . . Not much broadcast time is devoted to self-characterization. They tell the stories, but do not tell us about themselves. However, there are times when presenting a self-image is what they do. CNN was started in 1980. In 2000 they celebrated their first twenty years with CNN20 -- a daily moment with each remembering one point in that twenty years. Most of the moments were about the stories they had told, but on several occasions they talked about themselves. The one self characterization that was regularly emphasized in the news was "we are here first" -- the scoop. And both news programs had advertising spots that were largely self characterizations.

The self-characterization -- whether a CNN20 moment or a commercial -- is self-characterization for an audience. They present themselves to the audience, and in that self-presentation they show the audience to which they aspire. In this respect self-characterization is similar to choices of sets and choices of stories; it tells us who the broadcasters hope to reach.

CNN20: Celebrating 20 years

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Two of the originals remember CNN as a young, struggling network. They worked with modest resources. They struggled to obtain respect. Then they made it. And making it was their coverage of the Persian Gulf War. It brought instant respect and, we can assume, resources. After that it got easier, according to Jeff Barron, and growth in size, stature, and respectability has followed.

As they talk about the success, images of special stories are displayed on the screen: the Persian Gulf War, Tienneman Square, rescue of a small child, the Wall, The Columbia, Princess Diana's wedding, Nelson Mandela, Sister Teresa, the Simpson chase, and the Persian Gulf War. The implicit point in showing the images is -- our stories and the images from our stories are so famous that they do not have to be identified. We do stories that all of the world recognizes -- on sight.

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When they write about CNN they write about the vision driving it -- in the person of Ted Turner [Flournoy and Stewart, and Kung-Shankleman]. The vision is the imagined CNN future, and in this CNN20 moment the vision and the future are global news -- more and better. We are already doing it, Hessing said, we are doing it better than anyone else. And Ted Turner said, more bureaus around the world and improved quality.

Again they show the iconic images -- images so famous that they need not be identified. The audience will recognize these images without prompting.

They told one other story that tells as much about themselves and how they understand themselves as it does about the event they recount. The story is -- Muammer Ghadaffi calling.

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The punch line is "I watch CNN," but the revealing point of the story about CNN is almost the first line. "Someone calling himself Muammer Ghadaffi called saying he wanted to tell the world about his plan for preventing the Persian Gulf War." To tell this story is to say -- through CNN you can communicate with the world or, at least, the important part of the world that is shaping global affairs. By doing global news more than and better than anyone else you also play a role facilitating communication among the global elites of the world. As far as we know President Ghadaffi's plan held sway over neither the Bush nor the Sadaam administrations. But that does not tarnish the image of CNN as a domain in which political actors can address each other.

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A self commercial aired in January 2000 makes many of the same points about the breadth and depth of their coverage of world affairs.

Being There First

The additional point made in the commercial is being there first. They had the only pictures of the Indian airline hostage release. They had the first interview with the just appointed acting president Putin of Russia. Yeltsin stepped down and CNN was the first to cover the story. These are not the only instances of CNN being there first. They were the first network to enter North Korea. When President Khatami of Iran wanted to talk to the world he was interviewed by CNN in a thirty minute interview. CNN was the first to interview the president of Sierra Leone when conflict broke out in the country. Scooping the competition has a long history in the world of journalism. CNN plays the scoop on a grander stage.

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BBC has a worldwide staff as well, and they have no interest in being left behind when it comes to being there first. In the war against the Taliban, in Afghanistan, BBC reporters were reporting from all of the hot spots. These are three instances of the BBC reporters being there first. Gadais, Jalalabad, and Kabul are spots too remote for even the most knowledgeable until there is war and war reporters.

What is the news story when the BBC world affairs editor walks into Kabul? The explicit message is -- the Taliban has retreated and it is now safe for the un-Taliban. The implicit message is -- we will go anywhere, face almost any danger to get the story. And if we can do it first, so much the better.

Scoop the rival news organization, which is an honored tradition in the news business. WorldView and World News have globalized the reach of scooping. It is no longer enough to be in Washington or WhiteHall first. You have to be in the most remote spots around the world -- first. Who is the audience for scoops? A common claim is that when you walk into any international affairs office in any country around the world you will find CNN poring out of the TV. Foreign affairs officials are the obvious audience for scoops. Their need to know is high. And they are in a hurry to know. WorldView and World News help them know and help them know with little delay. The rest of us are a bit more relaxed about our news of international affairs. But the scoop rubs off. If it is good enough for the experts then it must be good enough for me. Reputation is one of the magics of audience attraction. And being there first is a good reputation for a news organization.

BBC World News -- Making Sense of it All

In September of 2001 the World Trade Towers were destroyed. In October BBC World News began an advertising campaign for themselves.

The ads began with the words "BBC news correspondents in their own words" in white text against a black background. What follows, the words say, is not something cobbled together by an ad agency or even the network bosses. The talk that follows, as the camera switches from one correspondent to another, never says "the world is our venue." The global focus of the network is assumed in the talk -- though it shows up in the walk.

The images of the ads -- apart from the text -- say our beat is the world. One correspondent is pictured against the background of the news room. One image is the picture of an African with a bag of some commodity pictured on a TV screen. The rest say the world -- in a variety of images. Perhaps they are iconic images for regular BBC viewers, but for us they are close to being a mystery. Why these? What government building is it? What is the ship? Is that looking out across the channel? Where is the destruction? The pile of rocks must be iconic, if you were only in the know. They are not one place, not one country. What they do add up to is -- around the world. The global focus is in the background images. The important message is in the foreground of the talk.

Our task is making sense of it all, which is the final image of the ads.

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The first line: we are not in the business of exploiting violence and war for impact. Last line: it is a voice of reason and honesty in a world that does not have enough reason and honesty in it.

Being wrong is the worst sin of all.

Cool, measured, reasonable is the stance. We are going to show you violence. We are going to show you the best of human nature in the worst of situations. But we are going to do it in a measured voice with our highest commitment a commitment to accuracy and honesty.

The destruction of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001 is not in the images nor it is in the talk. However, it is difficult to read these messages apart from the context of that event. In the face of the most horrific acts of man against man we will be detached enough to present the events with accuracy and honesty.

The Audience

Who is the audience? Who recognizes the images even when they are not labeled? Who needs the news as quickly as possible? Who is interested in news that is global rather than national or local? Who will want to watch the news broadcasts after watching these ads?

WorldView and World News provide a self image that appeals primarily to the hard core international affairs aficionada. If you do not want to learn about international affairs you will not find these programs attractive. Their self presentation will turn you off rather than turning you on. What a bore! Who wants to watch 10 minutes on Israel-Palestine when you could be getting political party, sports and entertainment news in that same 10 minutes? Only if you are really interested in international affairs will you be attracted by these self characterizations.

We know that the number of people who are interested in international affairs is very small in every country. If the broadcasts are to be successful they must understand themselves as serving a small, global, niche audience. It may be a very influential audience, but it will be the few. In their self characterizations this is who they say is the audience to which they aspire.

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Flournoy, Don M. and Robert K. Stewart (1997) CNN, Making News in the Global Market, University of Luton Press.

Kung-Shankleman, Lucy (2000) Inside the BBC and CNN; Managing Media Organisations, Routledge.