Cable News Network (CNN) is a cable television network that was founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. It is currently owned by AOL Time Warner. CNN is widely credited for introducing the concept of 24 hour news coverage.
CNN's global reputation was greatly enhanced in 1991 during the Gulf War, where its saturation coverage was carried around the world. It obtained much of that coverage through close cooperation with the US government, which led to accusations that it did not attempt to get accurate coverage and was serving as a propaganda outlet.
CNN now provides several editions of its news service, presumably in response to foreign demand for its service and a desire for less US-centric news from those foreign customers. It uses local reporters in many of its many news-gathering centres, though they cover stories from an international (many would still say US) perspective.
Within the United States, CNN has been criticized by conservatives for having a liberal bias, and has lost market share to Fox News, which has taken a talk radio approach to news broadcasting.
Bias Allegations
It has also gained substantial notoriety in many parts of the world for its shameless use of spin doctors and very liberal attitude towards truth.
The USA military experts for propaganda are known to have taken part in editorial policy of CNN, more precisely US Army's 4th Psychological Operations (PSYOPS) Group, according to reports in the Dutch newspaper Trouw (2/21/00, 2/25/00) and France's Intelligence Newsletter (2/17/00).