• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, December 5, 2006

For cable news networks the game plan these days appears to focus on strong context. Of course, you have to be tuned to the right context.

Strong, opinionated news programming made the Fox News Channel what it is today. Now, at long last, CNN has taken up the scent. But CNN is hedging its bets. It isn't going to run its mouth ragged on its longtime-established CNN network. Instead, it's using these efforts on its smaller outlet, Headline News.

Headline Prime, as it's now called, features contentious former prosecutor Nancy Grace, and, more recently, Glenn Beck, a frank-talking former conservative talk-radio host. Beck doesn't pretend to follow any long-term traditions in TV news: "I'm not a journalist," he says.

Increasingly, cable TV news schedules are now being filled without journalists--but with intense prosecutors, ex-PR officials, and career talk-radio hosts. Why? Cable executives want a "different outlook" on events.

Network executives such as Kenneth Jautz, the CNN executive in charge of Headline News, calls its approach "from news to views."

Why? Few TV viewers can really make up their minds on current events, or seemingly don't care about news stories. They can't figure out what position to take when looking at mostly objective news stories. It's almost as if news producers are following the lead of reality TV show producers--building strongly one-sided stories, clearly identifying the bad guys and good guys. In short, manipulating your emotions, not your brain.

The other day someone said to me about a specific news event: "How should I feel about this news event? Am I for it, or against it?" This person was looking for a short cut.

Hotly debated news stories and intense opinionated discussions are the secret drug of news producers, in the effort to draw big ratings. Other news shows on less popular networks, such as MSNBC, have tried this--and have made some small gains. "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" has seen some ratings hikes over the last several months. Nancy Grace has seen even bigger ratings gains during her stint on Headline News.

All this is a lesson learned from the Internet. Bloggers have known this for years. Don't offer up news, start with opinion. Facts aren't all that necessary. People respond more to shouting. On TV, when you are see veins popping on TV guests' foreheads, so much the better.