Mystery men: CNN pol. director Tom Hannon, Kerry contributor Jeff Bewkes

[DeepModem Mom]

I've tried from time to time since I've been at DU to find out if anyone knows anything about CNN's "political director," Tom Hannon, and why his operation works in the insidious way it does. He's apparently been at CNN a number of years.

And there's another person of interest, I think. While the Chairman of Time Warner, which owns CNN, Richard Parsons, shows up on fundrace.com as a Bush contributor, Jeffrey L. Bewkes, Chairman of Time Warner's Entertainment & Networks division, which includes CNN, shows up as a $2,000 Kerry contributor. Riddle me that.

Newsguyatl has posted the names of the people he says wield real power at CNN. If he reads this post, I wish he would share those names, and their positions, with us again, and maybe some information about them.

I don't know if any of this information would help in any way, but the TV media, and CNN in particular, damages our party and our candidate as the election approaches. Knowing more could lead to something that might help our efforts to combat their influence.

[DeepModem Mom]

1. Maybe some of our Dem Congresspersons could request a meeting...

with some of these people. When Walter Isaacson came in as head of CNN (since departed), he went immediately to Capitol Hill to meet with Republicans and reassure them of "fair" coverage from CNN.

[displacedtexan]

2. I googled "Tom Hannon and CNN" and found this little gem...

Story last updated at 7:35 a.m. Friday, January 30, 2004

CNN considers cutting poll questions as it questions polls
Los Angeles Times

MANCHESTER, N.H.--Comedy Central's Jon Stewart joked Monday about the "latest Reuters/ MSNBC/Zogby/Harris/bathroom poll" with "a margin of error of completely wrong." At least one news organization is beginning to think the comedian may be onto something.

CNN, one of the pioneers in 1988 in the use of news media-commissioned voter tracking polls is thinking of giving them up this fall because there are just too many of them.

--snip--

As the polls have proliferated, they have taken up an increasing amount of air time. Hannon, worried about what he called an "increasing susceptibility to journalism by polling," a couple weeks ago challenged two CNN reporters to get through the day without referring to poll numbers, which he called "journalistic crutches."

more... (registration: use cypherpunks/cypherpunks)

http://www.charleston.net/stories/013004/wor_30poll.shtml

[DeepModem Mom]

3. That IS a gem, considering CNN's attention to, and delight in, Gallup's

post-Convention polls!