Post-it note: CNN T-shirt Index
June 25th, 2008I rationalise my patronage of CNN. I tell myself that as someone in public relations, I have to be up-to-date on the trends in the mainstream media. But it’s lies, really.
I liken CNN to rubbernecking an accident on the highway: I shouldn’t look, but I…just…can’t…help…it.
So when CNN started selling T-shirts with headlines on them two months ago, I waited excitedly for the opportunity to purchase some horrible headline emblazoned on a shirt branded with CNN’s logo. Unfortunately, it was not to be.
CNN reserves its shirts for only the most quirky, offbeat headlines that find their way onto the site.
So while CNN’s headline shirts have been around for a while now (longer than I expected actually), it’s only recently that I found that they serve an important purpose. As CNN’s most outrageous and gimmicky headlines are the ones “shirt-worthy”, the number of shirts featured on the CNN home page is actually a pretty keen barometer of CNN’s credibility as a news source.
So without further ado I propose the CNN T-shirt Index, together we can document CNN’s precipitous slide toward tabloid journalism. Hold on to your Blitzers!
Current CNN T-shirt Index: 3
