Some 31 years after Ted Turner officially launched CNN, which you can watch above, the then-revolutionary network has lost its mojo.

In an increasingly “partisanized” media world, perched between liberal MSNBC on the left and conservative Fox on the right, CNN has become so middle-of-the-road it’s having trouble finding its sweet spot and holding a steady audience.

“It’s easy to forget that CNN was once revolutionary," New York magazine reminds us. "Founded in 1980, back when the idea of watching a channel other than ABC, NBC, or CBS seemed exotic (Fox would not start for another six years; Fox News not till 1996), it was, in terms of cultural impact, the Google of its day.”

Time TV critic James Poniewozik notes that when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Baja, CA, on Easter Sunday, only CNN was covering it at 8 p.m. Both MSNBC and Fox stayed with regular entertainment programming and won handily over CNN in the period’s ratings. Still, sadly, reporting the news isn't always enough.Continue reading...

A new day of infamy will go down in the history books, July 3, 2009, the day Sarah Palin announced her resignation as governor of Alaska, and began her ascendancy as perhaps America’s biggest personal brand since Oprah.

Less than one year later, Palin is a national industry with a commerce mechanism as noisy as her political rhetoric. If you're as fascinated as we are by Palin brand, you won't want to miss this week's New York magazine.

The cover story offers a fascinating look at her rise to national international prominence, and how a former governor, with the briefest of vice-presidential candidacies, seized a junior political record and alchemized it into commercial gold. As you might expect, not all of it's pretty.Continue reading...

In what surely will continue to be one of the most compelling stories of this U.S. political season, the mainstream news media and Democratic politicians appear to be linking arms to paint the Tea Party movement as a group of extremists who are intent on nothing less than violently overthrowing the U.S. government and doing as much other physical damage to the left as possible along the way.

While this characterization of the Tea Party brand has been building for a while, it reached its crescendo last week when Tea Party protests cropped up all over the country on Tax Day, April 15. Despite slings and arrows from the left, including national media outlets and the White House, the populist movement is gaining momentum.

A newly formed national federation is helping to unify its message and clout in Washington. And whether you agree with the movement or not, it's done a remarkable job establishing its brand and generating buzz, from the grassroots up to the Hill.Continue reading...

What's the difference between a one-term politician hockey mom and a millionaire media brand? The answer is not lipstick. It is branding. While Sarah Palin may not have a deep grasp of legislation or an impressive understanding of international affairs, it is now clear she is a master brander.

Palin has taken a loose set of identifying characteristics and molded them into a wildly marketable brand. She has done this using the simplest lessons from Branding 101. However, is she missing one brand value vital to permanent success?

In a piece titled "How Sarah Palin Became a Brand," The New York Times notes, "After her failed bid for the vice presidency, she was more or less told to head back to Alaska to serve out her term as governor — a kind of metaphorical kitchen." Of course, Palin didn't go back. Instead, she quit her job and began the process of turning herself into a "one-woman national media empire," releasing a book, touring the nation as a speaker, and now hosting a Fox News show.Continue reading...

As the surge to create online news brands continues, GlobalPost is an emerging contender. In its second year of operation, it has achieved several significant milestones: 750,000 unique visitors monthly, an audience from 230 countries, and more than 4 million visitors since launch in January 2009. Internet metrics of success aside, GlobalPost has proved detractors wrong: There is a healthy online audience for quality international news – and making money while doing so is a viable possibility.

Headquartered in Boston, MA, GlobalPost has assembled a team of over 70 correspondents from 50 countries. They’ve also created a network of partners including PBS, CBS, AOL, Huffington Post, Reuters, WorldFocus, Fox News (The O’Reilly Factor), NewsMax, and more.Continue reading...

In a development that surprised no one, Fox News announced that Sarah Palin, the former governor of Alaska and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, will join the right-leaning network as a “contributor.”

Despite some predictable partisan reaction, the move makes sense for both the Fox brand as well as Brand Maverick, according to commentary from sources ranging from the Christian Science Monitor to MarketWatch. Though her political memoir, “Going Rogue,” won’t be pried off the bestseller lists anytime soon, the initial publicity blitz has waned, and despite boasting a Facebook page with 1.2 million fans, Palin needs her brand to remain relevant, at least until the 2012 election cycle begins.Continue reading...

Vitrue's second annual ranking of social brands, which studies the "share of voice" of particular brands, was recently released. The survey's methodology involves measuring Internet conversations over a spectrum of social networking sites, blogs, photo and video sharing sites, and other online media.

The top ten "social" brands (in order) are iPhone, Disney, CNN, MTV, NBA, iTunes, Wii, Apple, Xbox, and Nike. Of course, there are several interesting observations, and even more questions, that arise from an examination of the results. (The full list is available at Vitrue's site.)Continue reading...

AT&T not at fault for poor service, but Apple technology. Allegedly. [Consumerist]

21 ways to commit brand suicide. [Econsultancy]

Apple is the Brand of the Decade. [AdWeek]

Fox News asks Glenn Beck to clarify his status as a paid endorser for Goldmine. [Mediaite]