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OK, please don’t take this as a horrifying burst of naivete, because it’s not. Let it be clearly stated: I am fully aware of the near collapse of U.S. television news, and print journalism, in the last half-decade. I’ll say it again: I am fully aware of the near collapse of U.S. television news, and print journalism, in the last half-decade.

I don’t really watch Aaron Brown’s show on CNN anymore, not since the election anyway. He’s always been a bit of a mixed bag – actually does hard news / often lashes out jingoistically or repeats the idee recue of the day. Not a great program, by any means, but a little better than the usual stuff.

But I flip over to Brown’s show tonight, and what do I find. Here are the big stories of the night:

1) Rise of poker on television and the internet
2) "After three days of intensive hearings, the FDA says three pain
medications are safe enough to use despite their links to heart risk."
3) "The Marines are investigating the death of a West Virginia boy who drowned at boot camp at Paris Island.  His parents want answers, understandably, after they saw the tape of
what preceded their son’s death, pictures shot by CNN affiliate WIS in
Charleston, South Carolina and reported by our Jason Bellini." (OK – this one was pretty good…) Leads into allegations of sex abuse in the military (US on US, of course, not Gitmo / Abu G. style)
4) Endless two segment-long interview with NBA commisioner David Stern (???)

What’s going on here? Feels as though (though I have no real evidence) Brown’s taken a ratings nosedive and the powers that be have asked him to straighten up and Zahn-ify his show… Wonder if that’s what’s happening?