CNN Article On Buying A Guitar

[JMW01]

I thought it was interesting to see guitar recommendations on CNN…

https://www.cnn.com/cnn-underscored/...eginner-guitar

[Wellington]

Interesting I haven't played the newest rendition of the cd-60, I'm surprised it wasn't a Yamaha FG800 as the top recommendation.

[Don Lampson]

Originally Posted by Wellington

Interesting I haven't played the newest rendition of the cd-60, I'm surprised it wasn't a Yamaha FG800 as the top recommendation.

The article was obviously "puff" from Fender, and used to fill up CNN's hectic 24/7's news cycle...

What's surprising, is the overall quality of beginner guitars these days! For a few hundred bucks, several offerings today could satisfy someone on their guitar journey for years, possibly decades - If they don't become infected by GAS!

Don

[BluesKing777]

Well, you were lazin’ around at the guitar factory and then.....CNN ran this story!

You would probably expect to be working overtime and double shifts if you work on making the Fender CD-60S......

(I have never seen or heard one.)


BluesKing777.

[edgrissom]

We have a beginner guitar program the high school where I teach. We have 20 of the Fender CD60S and they hold up pretty well.

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by Don Lampson

The article was obviously "puff" from Fender, and used to fill up CNN's hectic 24/7's news cycle...

I think you might be on to something there. Firstly, the article uses only one industrial source and one "man on the street" source. A few years ago that wouldn't have been tolerated in the newsroom because it would have unmasked the scant nature of the article's actual sourcing. The editor would growl, "Get out there and get more sources!" at the cub reporter. Secondly, the article is, indeed, a regurgitation of information they've been fed with very little analysis, to the point where it is clear that no objectivity has been attempted.

And that was what multi-sourcing was all about - creating and maintaining objectivity and giving the appearance of objectivity. THAT is what CNN has abandoned. It started in their political sphere as a broadly-announced philosophical editorial change and now everything appears to be slapped together from readily available material. There's a term for that: "Repackaging." The biggest sources for repackaging stories are wire services such as AP and UPI. Companies subscribe to them and slightly rewrite the wire stories to fit their own character. Failing that, a lazy company will go to the PR department of a large corporation and ask for them to supply a brief that they can give a light touch and use to fill space.

Meanwhile, news has undergone a major transformation over the years. We've gone from organizations dominated by experienced writers and a few cubs to get the crappy assignments, to more lightly-funded organizations with only a handful of experienced writers and a whole lot of cubs covering much more substantial subjects. The reserve acquired by experience has been largely replaced by the zeal of youth. Philosophically, they've gone from reporting some generally-agreed-upon version of the truth to trying to change the world. Then there is the Woodward-Bernstein syndrome: trying to become the next celebrity journalist.

I fall back on Mark Twain for wisdom: "If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper you are misinformed."

Bob

[Jamolay]

What is a newspaper? [emoji6]

[Mr. Paul]

The CNN "Underscored" thing is paid promotion.

[vintage40s]

I saw that article when it came out on CNN.com and remember being surprised that it steered beginners to electric guitars because acoustic was too hard to play.

I wonder how many beginners go down that path and never get to flat picking and finger style. It seems better to get a foundation on acoustic and then see about electric. Clarence White and Billy String's first years were on acoustic, then they spent some years on electric, before returning to acoustic.

[Rev Roy]

Originally Posted by Mr. Paul

The CNN "Underscored" thing is paid promotion.

Bingo. This isn’t journalism. It’s advertising/sales disguised as journalism.

From the small print heading: “Content is created by CNN Underscored’s team of editors who work independently from the CNN newsroom. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn a commission.”

[Rudy4]

I don't go to CNN for my guitar purchasing advice and I don't come to Acoustic Guitar Forum to get the latest news cycle stories.

[CharlieBman]

Yep. CNN would definitely be my go-to reference when I'm thinking of buying a guitar.

[lar]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I think you might be on to something there. Firstly, the article uses only one industrial source and one "man on the street" source. A few years ago that wouldn't have been tolerated in the newsroom because it would have unmasked the scant nature of the article's actual sourcing. The editor would growl, "Get out there and get more sources!" at the cub reporter. Secondly, the article is, indeed, a regurgitation of information they've been fed with very little analysis, to the point where it is clear that no objectivity has been attempted.

And that was what multi-sourcing was all about - creating and maintaining objectivity and giving the appearance of objectivity. THAT is what CNN has abandoned. It started in their political sphere as a broadly-announced philosophical editorial change and now everything appears to be slapped together from readily available material. There's a term for that: "Repackaging." The biggest sources for repackaging stories are wire services such as AP and UPI. Companies subscribe to them and slightly rewrite the wire stories to fit their own character. Failing that, a lazy company will go to the PR department of a large corporation and ask for them to supply a brief that they can give a light touch and use to fill space.

Meanwhile, news has undergone a major transformation over the years. We've gone from organizations dominated by experienced writers and a few cubs to get the crappy assignments, to more lightly-funded organizations with only a handful of experienced writers and a whole lot of cubs covering much more substantial subjects. The reserve acquired by experience has been largely replaced by the zeal of youth. Philosophically, they've gone from reporting some generally-agreed-upon version of the truth to trying to change the world. Then there is the Woodward-Bernstein syndrome: trying to become the next celebrity journalist.

I fall back on Mark Twain for wisdom: "If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper you are misinformed."

Bob

Agreed. And you don't see any news stories on how bad the news really is. They don't cover that .

[zoopeda]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

I don't go to CNN for my guitar purchasing advice and I don't come to Acoustic Guitar Forum to get the latest news cycle stories.

Bingo. No single site has the whole truth—news or guitars. AGF is worth reading. CNN is worth reading. But neither are gospel. Read widely, especially from sources that challenge your worldview. Take them as some of many pieces to the puzzle. And realize which forum you’re on before you post.

[abn556]

I don’t listen to anything else CNN says. I’m not likely to take guitar advice from them - especially from a paid for promotional piece.

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