CNN Corrects Audio After Allegations Of Left-wing Bias In AC:360 Ad
After reports yesterday about an ad for AC: 360 that apparently had a woman touting the merits of the show while describing herself as a “lifelong Democrat,” we picked up the story as an apparent shift in strategy for CNN.
But CNN tells us the reason for the confusion was a problem with audio – which has been corrected – and changes the tone of the promo completely. Watch the full ad below.
CNN tells us the promo had audio dubbed in stereo, rather than a mono track. The spot has been remixed and is now more clear.
So what does the ad really say? Well for a 30 second spot, it’s actually rather complicated. A woman’s voice and a man’s voice are speaking simultaneously throughout much of the ad. While the woman says, “I’m a lifelong Democrat,” a man is saying, “I’m a lifelong Republican.” As it continues, there is more overlapping audio. She says, “The issue that matters most to me is the economy,” while he is saying, “The issue that matters most to me is national security.”
More, from the script:
WOMAN: I really like “Keeping Them Honest” – because whenever one of those Right Wing politicians plays with the facts… they’re held accountable.
MAN: I especially like “Keeping Them Honest” – because whenever one of those Left Wing politicians plays with the facts… they’re held accountable.
Michael Scherer‘s Time post on the topic, which we linked to, now includes a big correction and update with the new info.
So where does that leave us? Well for one, this is not CNN’s push to get Anderson Cooper to compete with MSNBC for a liberal audience. And this further serves the CNN storyline that they are the only network to present a news-driven prime time. But it also reveals something else – the very clear recognition that the country is divided, and at least a tacit admission the network that claims to play it down the middle has to reach both these segments of America to compete.
It’s not about finding the viewers who want their news down the middle. They need to speak to all those ‘lifelong Democrats’ and ‘lifelong Republicans’ who are busy talking over each other right now.
Here’s the ad (via CNN Observations):
