<![CDATA[Breaking the News: CNN and the Birth of Chaos Media]]>June 1, 1980. Ted Turner flipped a switch in a cluttered Atlanta control room and launched CNN — the world's first 24-hour news network. "We won't be signing off until the world ends," he declared.

Forty-five years later, CNN's fate is uncertain, trust in media has collapsed, and the line between news and noise has all but disappeared. How did we get here?

Breaking the News is an independent podcast project from Bookmark Media that traces the arc from Turner's audacious vision to the fractured media landscape of today — through decades of corporate mergers, digital disruption, the rise of partisan echo chambers, and the political weaponization of the press.

This feed features our Deep Cut conversations — in-depth video-podcast interviews with the journalists, executives, and thinkers who lived this transformation from the inside. Our guests include former CNN executives, award-winning correspondents and anchors, bestselling authors, and leading voices on media trust, polarization, and the future of journalism.

Hosted by John Hashimoto and Bill Smee — both CNN veterans who spent years inside the network during its rise — each conversation pulls back the curtain on what really happened behind the scenes and what it means for how we get our news today.

Our full documentary series, Breaking the News: CNN and the Birth of Chaos Media, is currently in production. These conversations offer an early look at the reporting, questions, and through-lines driving that project.

New episodes drop regularly. Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Learn more and support our independent production: breakingthenews.org

]]>breakingthenews.orgRiverside.fm (https://riverside.com)Thu, 30 Apr 2026 18:26:46 GMTWed, 11 Feb 2026 20:56:31 GMT60john hashimoto<p>June 1, 1980. Ted Turner flipped a switch in a cluttered Atlanta control room and launched CNN — the world's first 24-hour news network. "We won't be signing off until the world ends," he declared.</p><p>Forty-five years later, CNN's fate is uncertain, trust in media has collapsed, and the line between news and noise has all but disappeared. How did we get here?</p><p>Breaking the News is an independent podcast project from Bookmark Media that traces the arc from Turner's audacious vision to the fractured media landscape of today — through decades of corporate mergers, digital disruption, the rise of partisan echo chambers, and the political weaponization of the press.</p><p>This feed features our Deep Cut conversations — in-depth video-podcast interviews with the journalists, executives, and thinkers who lived this transformation from the inside. Our guests include former CNN executives, award-winning correspondents and anchors, bestselling authors, and leading voices on media trust, polarization, and the future of journalism.</p><p>Hosted by John Hashimoto and Bill Smee — both CNN veterans who spent years inside the network during its rise — each conversation pulls back the curtain on what really happened behind the scenes and what it means for how we get our news today.</p><p>Our full documentary series, Breaking the News: CNN and the Birth of Chaos Media, is currently in production. These conversations offer an early look at the reporting, questions, and through-lines driving that project.</p><p>New episodes drop regularly. Watch on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.</p><p>Learn more and support our independent production: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://givebutter.com/breakingthenews" target="_blank">breakingthenews.org</a></p>episodicjohn hashimotojohn.hashimoto@gmail.comno<![CDATA[If Everything is Breaking News, Nothing is Breaking News: A Deep Cut Conversation with Rick Davis]]>Rick Davis, former CNNer who was the longest-serving executive in cable news history, reflects on the dangers of polarization, the challenges of the slow news day, and why media mergers always seem to misfire. Rick joined the network at its launch in 1980 and spent more than four decades in a variety of roles. He was EVP of Editorial Standards and Practices when he retired in 2021.

]]>2bc14349-8e9c-42c0-a0c9-2c9fb0a55db3Thu, 23 Apr 2026 21:55:09 GMT<p>Rick Davis, former CNNer who was the longest-serving executive in cable news history, reflects on the dangers of polarization, the challenges of the slow news day, and why media mergers always seem to misfire. Rick joined the network at its launch in 1980 and spent more than four decades in a variety of roles. He was EVP of Editorial Standards and Practices when he retired in 2021.</p>no00:41:3414If Everything is Breaking News, Nothing is Breaking News: A Deep Cut Conversation with Rick Davisfull<![CDATA[With CNN's Fate in Flux, What Would Ted Think?: A Deep Cut Conversation with Bill Burke]]>Bill Burke, former Turner executive and co-author of Call Me Ted, reflects on Ted Turner’s original vision, CNN’s uncertain next chapter, and the unintended consequences of the 24-hour news revolution.

]]>fce5218e-7bf7-4cc6-a82e-9b97ea63b497Tue, 17 Mar 2026 14:30:00 GMT<p>Bill Burke, former Turner executive and co-author of Call Me Ted, reflects on Ted Turner’s original vision, CNN’s uncertain next chapter, and the unintended consequences of the 24-hour news revolution.</p>no00:22:5813With CNN's Fate in Flux, What Would Ted Think?: A Deep Cut Conversation with Bill Burkefull<![CDATA[Journalism and Science Under Pressure: A Deep Cut Conversation with Miles O'Brien]]>This month’s conversation features Miles O’Brien, a former CNN anchor and correspondent who has spent the past decade reporting on science, aviation, and technology as an independent journalist and filmmaker for PBS News Hour, NOVA, and Frontline.

We spoke with Miles in January while he was aboard a scientific research vessel in Antarctica, just miles from the Thwaites Glacier—one of the most consequential and closely watched indicators of climate change on the planet. From that literal edge of the Earth, Miles joined us to reflect not only on what science is telling us but also on what journalism must do when evidence collides with politics, polarization, and a media system built for speed and clicks rather than getting the story right.

]]>5adfef33-244c-4af0-af98-d833e4934dbaWed, 11 Feb 2026 21:07:51 GMT<p>This month’s conversation features <b>Miles O’Brien</b>, a former CNN anchor and correspondent who has spent the past decade reporting on science, aviation, and technology as an independent journalist and filmmaker for PBS News Hour, NOVA, and Frontline.<br /><br />We spoke with Miles in January while he was aboard a scientific research vessel in Antarctica, just miles from the Thwaites Glacier—one of the most consequential and closely watched indicators of climate change on the planet. From that literal edge of the Earth, Miles joined us to reflect not only on what science is telling us but also on what journalism must do when evidence collides with politics, polarization, and a media system built for speed and clicks rather than getting the story right.</p>no00:25:4212Journalism and Science Under Pressure: A Deep Cut Conversation with Miles O'Brienfull<![CDATA[The CNN Origin Story, Revisited: A Deep Cut Conversation with Lisa Napoli]]>Our first conversation features Lisa Napoli, former CNN journalist and the author of Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of 24-Hour News, the definitive account of CNN’s improbable rise and enduring influence.

Lisa is a journalist and author whose career spans radio, television, print, and digital platforms. She is the author of Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of 24-Hour News (Abrams, 2020), the definitive book on CNN’s creation and early years. Her other works include Radio Shangri-La, a memoir about her time helping to start Bhutan’s first youth-oriented radio station, and Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie, a group biography of the women of NPR. Napoli began her career at CNN’s New York bureau on the day the network launched, giving her a firsthand perspective on Ted Turner’s bold experiment.

Lisa serves as a series advisor for the Breaking the News podcast series.

]]>3a5c72fd-9c53-4021-90db-4e44caff2d81Wed, 11 Feb 2026 21:05:06 GMT<p>Our first conversation features <b>Lisa Napoli</b>, former CNN journalist and the author of <i>Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of 24-Hour News</i>, the definitive account of CNN’s improbable rise and enduring influence.<br /><br />Lisa is a journalist and author whose career spans radio, television, print, and digital platforms. She is the author of <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://a.co/d/dPqfw1P" target="_blank"><i>Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of 24-Hour News</i> (Abrams, 2020)</a>, the definitive book on CNN’s creation and early years. Her other works include <i>Radio Shangri-La</i>, a memoir about her time helping to start Bhutan’s first youth-oriented radio station, and <i>Susan, Linda, Nina &amp; Cokie</i>, a group biography of the women of NPR. Napoli began her career at CNN’s New York bureau on the day the network launched, giving her a firsthand perspective on Ted Turner’s bold experiment.</p><p>Lisa serves as a series advisor for the <i>Breaking the News</i> podcast series.</p>no00:27:4211The CNN Origin Story, Revisited: A Deep Cut Conversation with Lisa Napolifull