Ocean State Libraries

"The wild inside story of the birth of CNN and dawn of the age of 24-hour news. How did we get from an age of dignified nightly news broadcasts on three national networks to the age of 24-hour channels and constantly breaking news? The answer-thanks to Ted Turner and an oddball cast of cable television visionaries, big league rejects, and nonunion newbies-can be found in the basement of an abandoned country club in Atlanta. Because it was there, in...

This insider's account, written by the first president of CBS News, documents the meteoric rise of television news during the 1950s. From its beginnings as a novelty with little importance as a disseminator of news, to an aggressive rival to newspapers, radio, and news magazines, television news became the most respected purveyor of information on the American scene despite insufficient funding and the absence of trained personnel. Mickelson's fascinating...