‘Clash Model’ Not Working for CNN

Hollywood Reporter: “Despite its down-the-middle news brand, the network trails rivals Fox News and MSNBC in viewers and weathers daily attacks from the White House as critics bemoan a ‘clash model’ of staging partisan debates that’s now outmoded.”

“CNN’s ‘clash’ model is dependent on the pro-Trump contributors for whom the network has become famous. Jeffrey Lord, the first person the network cast in the role, was ousted last summer for using a Nazi salute — he says he did it mockingly — in a Twitter debate. CNN never said why it parted ways with former Missouri Republican Party Chairman Ed Martin, but he described some of his fellow CNN contributors as ‘black racists’ on his radio show. Other contributors and commentators have gone too far but kept their jobs.”