CNN

CNN, short for Cable News Network, is an American television news organization that helped make continuous news coverage a defining feature of modern public life. Launched on June 1, 1980, it was the first television channel in the United States to provide news coverage around the clock. Founded by businessman Ted Turner and Jewish-American journalist Reese Schonfeld, CNN changed the way news was produced, distributed and experienced by audiences in the United States, Israel and many other parts of the world.

CNN's significance went beyond broadcasting for more hours. It created a global news operation able to move rapidly from scheduled programming to live reporting, connecting correspondents, bureaus, studios, local affiliates and digital platforms. Over time, the organization grew from an American cable channel into an international news brand whose CNN International service reached viewers in more than 212 countries and territories.

The 24-hour news revolution

CNN went on the air on June 1, 1980, following an introduction by Ted Turner. David Walker and Lois Hart anchored the first newscast, while Burt Reinhardt, the network's executive vice president, recruited much of its initial workforce of roughly 200 people. That group included Bernard Shaw, who became one of the most recognizable journalists of CNN's early years.

The new model required CNN to create a continuous flow of information rather than wait for an evening newscast. Stories could be updated throughout the day as facts emerged, correspondents reported from the field and events developed. This approach helped define cable news and provided a template later adopted in different forms by networks including the BBC World Service and Fox News.

After its debut, CNN expanded through cable and satellite providers, local stations and international partners. It developed major operational centers in Atlanta, London and Hong Kong, while its affiliate system distributed news and features to more than 900 local stations through CNN Newsource. In 1982, CNN2 was launched as a companion service; it later became CNN Headline News and then HLN, offering another form of continuous news programming.

From the studio to the scene

CNN's public influence grew most visibly through live coverage of major events. Its reporting on the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in 1986 and the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989 demonstrated the power of bringing images and updates to a large audience as events unfolded. During the 1991 Gulf War, CNN reported from Baghdad, including Peter Arnett's dispatches after other television crews had left. The coverage strengthened the network's reputation for reporting live from difficult and dangerous locations.

The network's coverage also mattered to viewers in Israel. During the Gulf War, Israelis received real-time updates about developments in the region, and CNN became an accessible source of international news for many households. On September 11, 2001, CNN went live within minutes of the first plane striking the World Trade Center's North Tower and continued to provide rolling coverage as the scale of the attack became clear. Such moments demonstrated the value of continuous broadcasting during crises, when the public needs information immediately and the story changes from one minute to the next.

International expansion and the digital transition

In 1985, CNN launched CNN International, extending its reach beyond the American market. Over the years, the CNN name appeared in local versions and licensed partner channels in countries including Spain, Turkey, India, Indonesia, Japan, Brazil, Chile, Portugal and Romania. Alongside news channels, the organization developed production centers, documentary programming and shows covering politics, culture, the arts, science, health and travel.

On August 30, 1995, CNN launched CNN.com, initially known as CNN Interactive. The website helped move news from fixed broadcast schedules to information available whenever audiences wanted it. CNN later added streaming video, podcasts, RSS feeds, mobile updates and participatory journalism initiatives. CNN iReport, for example, allowed users to submit photographs and video, giving members of the public a more active role in the collection and circulation of news.

The digital expansion extended CNN's influence far beyond television. CNN Digital became one of the world's most widely used news operations, while the organization developed YouTube channels, audio services, video products and experiments with aerial imagery and 360-degree video. In 2012, CNN created CNN Films, a division devoted to producing and distributing documentaries. That work connected daily journalism with longer-form storytelling and brought major social, political and historical subjects to wider audiences.

CNN in Israel

CNN opened a Jerusalem bureau in September 1980, only a few months after the network began broadcasting. It signed an agreement with Jerusalem News Studios, which served as a base for coverage of Israel and the Middle East, and placed journalists, producers, camera crews and editors in the city. The bureau's activity expanded during periods of intense political and security developments, including the First Lebanon War and the First Intifada.

CNN broadcasts became available in Israel in 1989, after cable television was legally introduced. Matav was the first cable company to carry the channel, followed by other cable providers, HOT, yes and additional television platforms. CNN's live coverage of the Gulf War contributed to its popularity in Israel. The network also worked with Partner Communications to deliver news, financial information, sports and weather updates through GSM technology and, later, third-generation mobile services.

In 2008, CNN and Radio Haifa entered a cooperation agreement under which the station supplied news services to CNN and received reports from the network's correspondents around the world. Radio Haifa became the first radio station in the Middle East to establish this type of cooperation with CNN. CNN substantially reduced its activity in Israel in 2012, and in 2015 Talit Communications, owned by producer Yehuda Talit, was appointed as the network's representative in Israel. In 2019, CNN participated in a campaign presenting Israeli initiatives serving communities in Africa.

People, programs and institutions

Over the decades, CNN became a professional home for generations of journalists and presenters. Larry King built his live interview program into an international media brand. Christiane Amanpour, Peter Arnett, Anderson Cooper, Dana Bash, Becky Anderson and Israel correspondent Jerrold Kessel were among the journalists associated with the network's international, political and regional reporting. Programs such as Anderson Cooper 360° and Inside Politics, together with CNN's documentary productions, showed that the network's work extended beyond headlines to analysis, interviews and human stories.

CNN's success also reshaped the business structure of news media. In 1996, Turner Broadcasting System merged with Time Warner, bringing CNN into one of the world's largest media groups. Ownership later passed through WarnerMedia, and in 2022 WarnerMedia combined with Discovery to create Warner Bros. Discovery. These changes reflect the transformation of television news from a single broadcast service into a global system of channels, studios, websites, audio services and digital platforms.

A legacy of access, speed and documentation

CNN's central contribution to information culture was making continuous news a normal part of public life. It brought distant events closer to local audiences, enabled Jewish and Israeli communities to follow developments in the Middle East and around the world, and helped make international events part of everyday public conversation. Its distribution of content to local television stations, websites, radio partners and mobile devices reached audiences far beyond those of a conventional television channel.

That legacy can also be seen in the professional and technological practices developed around the network: live reporting from the scene, a broad international bureau structure, documentary production, audience-submitted material, and simultaneous work across television, the web and mobile devices. CNN therefore became not only a news channel but a communications institution that helped shape how the world sees, hears and interprets events as they happen.

Why this legacy belongs in Moreshet

CNN merits inclusion in Moreshet because it brought about a documented transformation in the information infrastructure that supports public life in Israel and throughout the world. The role of Reese Schonfeld, a Jewish-American journalist, in founding the network, together with CNN's early and continuing connection to Jerusalem and coverage of Israel, gives it a meaningful place in the history of Jewish and Israeli media. The Gulf War, Middle Eastern developments and global crises reached Israeli homes through CNN in real time.

CNN's importance lies not only in its audience size or geographic reach. It lies in the creation of a journalistic and technological model adopted internationally, the training and employment of generations of media professionals, the delivery of information during wars and disasters, and the expansion of public conversation beyond national borders. For these reasons, CNN is a valuable subject for preservation and study on Moreshet.com: its history documents the rise of modern news media and the way continuous information became part of Jewish, Israeli and international life.