Why CNN still matters

The prime-time schedule kicks off with an hour of Campbell Brown, who is a better interviewer than Brian Williams, a more “relatable” presence than Katie Couric, and hotter than Diane Sawyer. Last night, anchoring coverage of the explosion at Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia, she was as sharp as the pins on her tasteful earrings, urgent but never breathless. At the top of the 8 o’clock hour, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann was noisily spoiling for a fight about John Paul Stevens’ replacement on the Supreme Court—a prospective nominee who, not even being yet on deck, is thus far an imaginary friend. Meanwhile, Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly was blathering about media bias, effectively covering coverage of coverage. Campbell, however, elicited facts and context from a former assistant secretary for mine safety, a local reporter from WCHS, and a senior executive of the National Mining Association. I love it when an interviewer solicits a clarification by saying, “You’re gonna have to forgive my ignorance.”