CNN LOOKING FOR FRESH DECAPITATION STORIES
August 2 2008
Atlanta, GA – The bizarre and tragic death of 22 year old Tim McLean on an Edmonton, Alberta bound Greyhound bus has brought a shocked reaction from around the world. New agencies from across the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa have had the startling murder splashed across print and web publications, broadcast on news programs. Rarely has one isolated murder captured the world’s attention in such a way before, and advertisers have taken notice.
From blogs, to YouTube celebrities, it seems everyone has taken notice of the story; On Digg one submission alone received over 3000 diggs. The story has taken on a life of its own and is drawing attention no matter where it is published.
CNN was one of the first international broadcasters to pick up the story and have been running regular updates both on their website and television broadcast, a scoop which garnered the network a healthy rating boost. The effect on advertising potential has not been lost on the network, which has positioned themselves to be the leader in decapitation stories.
“CNN is the world news leader and we make it our priority to seek out the most important stories out there,” said network spokesperson Camille Hamill. “We are also the leader in viewer reporting with our I-Report segment. Want we would like from our viewers and readers are their personal decapitation stories. We found with this story that grotesque murders, specifically beheadings, seem to have an incredible ability to grasp the public’s attention. We want to ensure that we are delivering the absolute top level of news delivery to the public.
When the network was asked about the potential for someone to actually commit a murder in order to have it aired on CNN, the spokesperson replied “Whether our viewers simply report news or create it, it is our responsibility to pass that on.” 
Rival network Fox, which has also seen a massive boost in ratings with the story, has taken the challenge to a whole new level. “We are actively looking for decapitation stories no matter where they might occur,” said a spokesperson for the network. “But we’ve also seen that murder garners great ratings no matter where it’s from. We are so used to Americans killing each other that we’ve perhaps become a little inured to whole phenomenon, or at least in the methods of murder. Americans kill each other with guns, but as we’ve seen here there are so many other ways to commit murder. The world community is experimenting with all types of graphic and grotesque ways of killing one another and we see it as a priority to seek out those stories.”
The two networks have been locked in an ongoing battle for ratings supremacy for years. CNN had no comment on the Fox news plan, but did say that so far they have received very enthusiastic responses from their ‘I-Reporters’.
No word yet on similar plans from other networks.
William Ashford, Business Correspondent
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