CNN: A third less coverage, all the time!

Tonight, as I flipped channels to compare coverage of the Democratic National Convention, I was struck by how close to the chest CNN plays its cards. Sure, they're on 24/7, but that's just to make up for how little they actually show you. I could barely make out the head and shoulders of each keynote speaker above the sewer of graphics. Disgusted, I bellowed for my intern to fetch a tape measure. The results? On our 20-inch TV, the CNN wall-to-wall visual garbage obscured THE ENTIRE BOTTOM 6 INCHES OF THE SCREEN. There could be anything going on under there.

So for the most part, we kept it on PBS, which used only a discreet, 1-inch logo in the bottom righthand corner (all they could afford). Who cares that the audio was piped from the bottom of a well—or that Jim Lehrer kept track of his roving reporter via a 50-foot tether. I want substance, not sequins.