While the criticisms of CNN’s approach to Malaysia Airlines 370 are by now familiar, I want to explore the possibility that CNN’s coverage is actually—albeit unintentionally—meaningful. With its reliance on speculation, dependence on simulation, and occasional swerves into absurdity, it indexes the incomprehensibility of this disaster, marked by the failures of so many systems that seemed to promise safety, visibility, and order. To be clear, I do not mean to exonerate CNN, which is rather unabashedly utilizing this as a ratings grab. Nonetheless, their coverage vividly captures the essence of this disaster.

Some measure of qualified guessing is expected, even necessary, in any coverage of an unfolding disaster; CNN’s coverage is distinguished by its continued recourse to hypothesizing, but also the amount of latitude it gives to conjecture, as when it reported, in a way that many found insufficiently incredulous, that some people believed zombies had hijacked the plane. Criticizing such reportage is important, surely, but also eclipses its significance, as CNN’s speculation starkly illuminates the enormous epistemological gap created by the plane. It also reflects the failure of the rational and technologized systems designed to track aircraft during flight or locate them afterward. The imagined world governed by those devices (organized into grids of latitudes and longitudes, synchronized time zones, and orderly networks of predictable flight paths) cannot countenance the possibility of something like this.  But CNN’s coverage shows us how far we have strayed from that map.

This departure is amplified by the visual elements of its coverage. The now-infamous use of a toy plane as a prop surely risked trivializing the disaster; likewise its reliance on flight simulator cockpits and computer-generated images that hover around its “virtual studio.” Even as it spectacularizes the disaster, however, simulation also resonates uncannily with it. All the visual modes of searching have failed to locate the plane: satellite images, aerial surveillance, maps of ocean topography. The utterly perplexing and apparently absolute disappearance of the plane, whereby all that is solid does not melt into air but vanishes into the sea, is the sort of thing that we, with expectations that our most advanced machines will function perfectly and our acculturation to being monitored at all times, can scarcely imagine. In that context, a holographic plane is only marginally more unreal.

The only signature element of CNN’s coverage that has not yet been widely lampooned is its attention to the stories of bereaved families and friends, many of whom give interviews in which they profess hope that their loved one will be found alive. Stories like that of the daughter who has been devotedly tweeting her crew-member father, steeped in poignant absurdity, would not find much purchase in a more staid outlet. One man, Pralhad Shirsath, in an April 23 interview, asserted that the paucity and poor quality of the information from the Malaysian government indicates that they do not have enough “data” about what happened, and, by extension, to convince him that his wife is truly lost. Necessarily, the journalist pressed him, citing conclusive evidence about the fate of the plane, but the potential widower remains undaunted. CNN, by creating this universe that defies the conventions of journalism (and the sometimes cruel boundaries of common sense), has provided these mourners with a space where their bewildering grief might be articulated. Given the likelihood that it will be months, or years, or longer before the plane is found (if it is found at all), CNN’s lingering on the story mimics the looping returns of sadness in the perseverating endlessness of grief.

Although CNN’s vigil is often self-interested and carnivalesque, the clamor against it is problematic, too. It endeavors to sanitize our visual field by expunging the traces of the logically unknowable, the empirically invisible, and the affectively unpalatable in defense of all that they threaten to destabilize. To partake of CNN’s vision of the disaster is to acknowledge that it was, and remains, both tragic and incomprehensible, and to allow those two dimensions of the event to dictate the disorderly and unpredictable terms by which it appears.

1) Granted, you probably didn’t miss our top story, as the news of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos purchasing the Washington Post for $250 million was all over the media. It is important to note this is a personal buy, as the Washington Post will be a part of Bezos’s personal portfolio unaffiliated with Amazon.com. The large reaction to the story stems both from the possible creation of a new media tycoon as well as the history of the Washington Post, a family-controlled newspaper with a storied history of investigative journalism, most notably the Watergate scandal. While Bezos has said he will take a hands-off approach in the day-to-day operations, tax incentives and write-offs could force him to take more direct control. With Rex Sox owner John Henry buying the Boston Globe, you might be thinking of buying your own paper; however, The New York Times wants you to know they are not for sale. And from the tales of “Be Careful What You Read,” Chinese government-run news agency Xinhua claimed Bezos purchased the Washington Post by accident while browsing the web, a ‘story’ appearing in The New Yorker’s satirical Borowitz Report.

2) Next, our report from the front lines in the never-ending war between Time Warner and CBS over retransmission fees leading to Time Warner’s decision to blackout CBS in New York, L.A. and Dallas which could extend into September. TWC threw a PR strike, claiming they offered a new a la carte option for customers wishing to get CBS, an offer CBS CEO Leslie Moonves called a “public relations gesture,” a “well-wrought distraction,” and finally, a “sham.”  Another TWC letter raises issues with what it calls CBS’s policy of “coercive bundling” with premium channel Showtime, as well as blacking out access to CBS.com from TWC internet users. The casualties of the blackout for CBS, according to analysts, could range around a loss of $400,000 per day, not bad enough for investors to run away. TWC, on the other hand, is feeling the hurt in the PR war, as their perception score on BrandIndex fell after initiating the blackout. But what about us, the people and our beloved CBS shows, the collateral damage? Well, a class action suit has been filed by TWC customers in Southern California who are seeking recovery of fees paid for missing Big Brother, Dexter, Ray Donovan, and the PGA Championship. But other would-be victims rise above in times of media strife, as piracy of Under the Dome has seen an increase since the blackout. KEEP CALM AND PIRATE SHOWS. (NOTE: The writer of this post and the folks at Antenna do not condone piracy. This is a joke in the vein of the above wartime metaphor.)

3) Turning to CBS predecessor Viacom, showing that cooperation can be done as they have struck a new tentative deal with Sony for an Internet-TV service. The deal would allow content on an in-development Sony service that streams live television, which could launch as soon as the end of the year. The deal would be a boon for Sony, who is launching their new gaming system, the PlayStation 4, this holiday season in direct competition with Microsoft’s XBox One, with its own slew of television-related content. Analysts are seeing this as a possible start to a new era in competition for cable and satellite providers, as consumers are given another option for content, but this time with access to it live.

4) In international news China will resume payments to U.S. film studios from Chinese box office revenues after a dispute over a WTO-violating tax hike. MPAA chairman/CEO Christopher Dodd made the announcement, signaling the end to the dispute as well as the beginning of payments owed by the Chinese government for over a year. So while China is paying U.S. movie studios, there is no word on when the U.S. will start paying China back for that $1 trillion or so from our debt…

5) Speaking of U.S. politics, GOP chair Reince Priebus threatened to deny 2016 debates to both NBC and CNN after it was announced both networks were planning to air programs (a miniseries and documentary, respectively) about Hillary Clinton, he stated in letters sent to both Robert Greenblatt and Jeff Zucker (and reposted to the GOP website). After neither channel budged, the GOP officially voted to ban 2016 primary debates from NBC and CNN, later releasing the text of the resolution. In a related story, it is currently the year 2013.

A shameless reference to my South Carolina Gamecocks

6) After the NCAA dropped its licensing deal with EA Sports over inclusion in its yearly college football video game, three of the biggest conferences in college sports (SEC, Big Ten, and Pac-12) have announced plans to do the same. Each school, conference, and of course the NCAA itself make personal deals for licensing of team logos, names, and other trademarked material, so although each can make their own decision, many are following the NCAA’s and conferences’ lead. The moves not to license come as the NCAA and individual schools face mounting litigation from former and current student-athletes over the use of likenesses without compensation, a cost that seems to outweigh the income from licensing.

7) Another quick story from the world of video games, as American Express and popular online game League of Legends  have announced a partnership that will see the release of prepaid credit cards that not only feature imagery and characters from the game, but allow a user to gain in-game currency (called Riot Points) by activating and loading money onto their card, essentially encouraging use of the cards to better one’s abilities within the game.

8) A new research report has found an increase in the rate of cord-cutting, noting the “numbers aren’t huge, but they are statistically significant.” Cable operators Comcast and Time Warner have been hit hardest by deserters as pay-TV subscribers have been shrinking overall. Recent financial results from Canada show the trend happening ‘up North,’ as well.

9) Following in the footsteps of After Earth and White House Down, Jerry Bruckheimer’s The Lone Ranger will join the list of bombs of 2013’s summer as Disney is expected to lose up to $190 million on the blockbuster, despite coming out ahead of predictions in overall earnings for the quarter. What makes this news particularly interesting is that stars Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer, as well as Bruckheimer have blamed critics for the film’s failure, implicitly making the bold claim that people actually listen to critics, despite Grown Ups 2′s financial success/critical panning.

10) StePhest Colbchella, the annual music celebration on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report hit a snag when scheduled performers Daft Punk cancelled only a day before their scheduled appearance due to a contractual exclusivity agreement with fellow-Viacom channel MTV to (secretly!) appear on the Video Music Awards next week. While some questioned whether this was planned all along, Colbert addressed the controversy with notable aplomb.

11) Finally, a silly story with a headline so perfectly descriptive, I will let it speak for itself: U.S. Battling Dictator’s Son for Michael Jackson’s Glove.

1) Neill Blomkamp’s Elysium will become the first Sony film mixed both for Dolby Atmos and for Barco’s rival Auro 11.1 format. Meanwhile, the British theater chain Vue said it is currently “testing” Atmos in its select Xtreme auditoriums, while Barco signed a 15-picture deal with DreamWorks Animation. The two companies are hoping that their products will coexist in theaters so as to avoid an all-out format war.

2) DreamWorks also announced a potentially controversial coproduction with its Shanghai based Oriental DreamWorks and the state-owned China Film Group to adapt the popular Tibet Code adventure novels for the big screen. Jeffrey Katzenberg, however, denies any political motivation behind the project. The Indiana Jones-esque films will begin production after King Fu Panda 3.

3) Quentin Tarrantino’s Django Unchained will get another chance at the Chinese box office after officials pulled the film from theaters within minutes of its initial release on April 11th. The film will re-open on May 12 with several sexual and violent images likely removed.

4) In streaming news, Amazon.com announced it will soon release a set-top box to compete with Roku and AppleTV. Netflix is adding the option for a single account to stream up to four videos at once.  The current limit is two simultaneous streams. Netflix also unveiled nine new posters for their upcoming season of Arrested Development.

5) NBC renews five of its dramas for next season, including Revolution and Grimm. Meanwhile once-popular shows like The Office and Fox’s American Idol hit all-time ratings lows this past week.

6) In cable news, CNN is in talks to add Stephanie Cutter and Newt Gingrich to its reboot of the network’s once-popular Crossfire debate show. CNN also topped Fox and MSNBC in the 25-54 demo during the Watertown manhunt on Friday.  However, Fox bested all of cable programming in total viewership during the week of the Boston bombing, edging out USA 2.87M to 2.62M.  CNN placed third with 1.99M and MSNBC placed 19th with only 923k.

7) Reddit general Manager Erik Martin admitted he deeply regrets how some of the Boston marathon discussions on his site “fueled online witch hunts and dangerous speculation which spiraled into very negative consequences for innocent parties.” Some media outlets have been critical of the way the website was handling the ongoing investigation, though others were more defensive of Reddit’s involvement.

8) In twitter news, the AP’s twitter feed was hacked with claims of two explosions at the White House, causing the Dow to see momentary drop of about 130 points. The Onion‘s twitter feed responded in form, and has had more than 1,000 re-tweets since its posting. None of this seemed to deter Former President Clinton from officially joining the social media site, nor from making the announcement on The Colbert Report.

9) Disney’s slated film adaptation of Stephen Sonheim’s Into the Woods is inching toward including Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp as leads. The company’s theme parks in Florida and California will also stay open for 24 hours on Friday, May 24th in order to offer visitors an all-nighter to celebrate the beginning of summer.

10) iTunes celebrates its 10-year anniversary, and though some journalists called the online music store an “instant revolution,” analysts suggest it is now losing significant market share to streaming services like Spotify.

In the clip, Costello points out that Nye has recently become The Controversial Science Guy for his statements on climate change. Costello, with a wry smile that suggests she’s about to make trouble, asks Nye about the political ramifications of his statements and asks him to “defend” himself. Nye notes the multitude of weather-related records broken in recent years, including the tragic fires that have consumed Colorado in the last two weeks. Costello then interrupts him, presumably to hold his feet to the (wild)fire, countering that experts have suggested that mismanagement of Colorado forests might be to blame. (Of course, there isn’t a single cause for the forest fires in Colorado. It’s not an either/or situation. I suppose one could also blame forest fires on the unfortunate fact that forests are made out of firewood). Costello’s problem isn’t her strange inability to entertain the idea of multiple contributing factors, however. It’s that she is obligated to keep the conversation going by any means necessary, a way to make minutes go by until the next commercial break. And in the case of Costello, the ultimate goal—having something to talk about—is cloaked in what appears to be the style of journalism that would make Aaron Sorkin proud: confronting a public figure (in this case, the bowtied cheerleader for science education) with some “uncomfortable facts.”

What Costello is actually doing, however, is fueling what rhetorician Leah Ceccarelli has called a “manufactroversy,” which she explains as:

• A manufactured controversy that is motivated by profit or extreme ideology to intentionally create public confusion about an issue that is not in dispute.
• An effort that is often accompanied by imagined conspiracy theory and major marketing dollars involving fraud, deception and polemic rhetoric.

Ceccarelli is largely talking about the religious opposition to evolutionary biology and the opposition to climate science that has emerged from the GOP, fueled by deep-pocketed, oil-stained donors with a huge financial stake in the debate. It is worth pointing out, however, that cable news networks are not merely one medium by which such manufactroversies grow and spread, but they also stand to benefit from their perpetuation. Manufactroversies, like all controversies, give the talking heads something to talk about. All of this talking, however, hasn’t stopped the planet from warming. In fact, it may have made the situation worse. As the infamous 2003 Frank Luntz memo outlining the GOP’s communication strategy on the environment made abundantly clear, the best way to do nothing about climate change is to debate the science and keep the conversation going as long as humanly possible.

Debate is good. Deliberation is good. Conversations—even long, heated ones—are the heart and soul of public life and the essence of political action. The problem with Carol Costello and other purveyors of manufactroversies is not that they are engaging in debate about climate change. The problem is that they’re debating the wrong thing. Agents, even unwitting ones, of the manufactroversy over climate change are like magicians, in that they excel in the art of misdirection: they stall the debate on what ancient rhetoricians would call the stasis of conjecture (what is) rather than the stasis of policy (what we should do). Arguing about what we should do is what politics does best, to paraphrase Hannah Arendt’s The Human Condition. To paraphrase Arendt again, Between Past and Future this time, arguing about facts is what politics does worst.

“Let’s talk about the political aspects of this,” Costello demands of the avuncular Science Guy, who admirably attempts to defend himself and the Science for which he speaks. But what Bill Nye should have said was, “Thanks, Carol, but let’s not. There are people who are suffering from heat exhaustion right now on the East Coast. Crops are failing. The ocean is rising. Let’s not debate why. Let’s talk about something else. The planet is getting hotter. Let’s talk about what we should do.”