More CNN Carelessness: Anderson Cooper Sits Next to Giant Misspelled Four-Letter Word

January 4th, 2007 11:39 AM

Someone at CNN needs to buy a dictionary, or at least visit dictionary.com once in a while. Just a couple of days ago, as MRC’s Scott Whitlock noted, 'American Morning' had a major graphic gaffe, showing a headline asking “Where’s Obama” as the anchors talked about the hunt for the most-wanted terrorist Osama bin Laden, not the Senator from Illinois.

Last night on 'Anderson Cooper 360,' as the anchor introduced a tabloid item on the ongoing spat between Donald Trump and Rosie O’Donnell, a giant graphic over Cooper’s shoulder carried the headline “SAME FUED, DIFFERENT YEAR.” If that misspelling of “FEUD” was meant as some kind of an inside joke, Cooper didn’t say a word about it. More likely than not, it was just another embarrassing example of the need for all of the 24-hour cable news networks to slow down just enough to double-check their work.

Incidentally, Cooper’s angle seemed to be that the Rosie vs. the Donald F-E-U-D was a play for ratings: “Rosie O'Donnell goes back to 'The View' on Monday. And call it cynical, but a new season of Donald Trump’s 'The Apprentice' starts this coming Sunday. Coincidence? You decide.”

Which begs the question: Why is Cooper’s '360' mimicking 'Entertainment Tonight' by following the F-E-U-D so closely? Could that also be a cynical ratings-based decision? You decide.