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CNN Skypes, Egypt explodes

CNN, the network the gained national recognition for its in-depth coverage of the first Gulf war, has spent the first three days of July going wall-to-wall on the George Zimmerman trial, even as Egypt erupts amid military demands that President Mohammed Morsi step down. Today, things hit rock-bottom when they aired a Skype interview that got interrupted by other callers.

The response has been devastating: From Bill Grueskin, Dean of Academic Affairs at Columbia Journalism School:

CNN just hit its nadir, worse than when it blew the ACA ruling. As Cairo erupts, they're focused on a bad Skype call in [the Zimmerman trial].

From Jay Rosen, New York University journalism professor:

A trial like the Zimmerman case in Florida is like a TV mini-series in which the writers and actors don’t get paid. Meanwhile, epochal world events - the kind CNN is supposed to dominate the coverage of - unfold in a little box on the lower right. ... CNN has a sister channel, Headline News, which specializes in lurid or flashpoint trials, but that’s not good enough for its new president, Jeff Zucker. He wants everyone in his company to know what the priorities are: Mini-series in the center, world events off to the side.

And from HuffPost Media, which had these two gems:

CNN host: 'court is in recess...so let me fill you in on what is happening in the rest of the world, including our own country. It took CNN about 8 or so minutes to run through the news in the rest of the world and the United States. Now they're back to Zimmerman.

Really, this shouldn't surprise anyone: As I explained last week and again yesterday, the Zimmerman trial will likely be a ratings boon for all cable networks, including MSNBC and Fox News, which have also been heavy on the courtroom coverage. CNN's domestic outfit understands the same way Time Magazine does that most Americans don't know much about world events, and don't care to -- John King even admitted as much last year.

The truth is, CNN's programming decisions aren't a reflection of CNN so much as a reflection of the American people, more of whom care about a domestic court trial than about the historic events taking place overseas. Right now, CNN International is broadcasting wall-to-wall coverage from Egypt. The fact that CNN's domestic channel isn't should tell you what executives there think about the American people's interests. And sure, CNN could take the lead and cover what they think the American people should care about, but that's not necessarily a great business strategy.

Oh, and if you want to know why I'm harping on CNN and not Fox News or MSNBC, it's because CNN is supposed to be the cable network that actually provides boots-on-the-ground news coverage. If I had a nickel for every time a CNN executive has told me that Fox and MSNBC "don't do news," I'd have enough to pay Jeff Zucker for a full hour of uninterrupted news from Tahrir Square -- something he can't seem to afford now, despite the fact that CNN makes $600 million a year.

UPDATE (12:53 p.m.): About time...

W/ all the breaking news out of #Egypt, I'll be anchoring our @CNNnewsroom 1PM ET hour coverage. — Wolf Blitzer (@wolfblitzer) July 3, 2013