Has CNN's All-News Strategy Become Old News?

In an era when Americans increasingly turn to laptops, smartphones, or iPads for routine news and headlines, CNN continues to rely on the business it virtually invented on cable: covering breaking stories.

Events like the O.J. Simpson trial, the Japanese tsunami, or the weeks of protests over the killing of Trayvon Martin by a neighborhood watch volunteer can be counted on to receive blanket coverage on the network. “Our bread and butter is in-depth coverage of breaking news,” says CNN Worldwide Managing Editor Mark Whitaker. “We have faith that will help us with the ratings.” More than rivals Fox News and MSNBC, CNN relies on “the story” to drive its audiences, rather than opinions or personalities, says Whitaker. It’s a strategy that works well when news breaks. When the big news stories subside, however, CNN slumps back down to third place in the ratings. Fox News surpassed CNN as the overall No. 1-rated cable news station in January 2002 and has held the crown since. MSNBC’s prime-time lineup has topped CNN in the 25-to-54 audience for three consecutive years.