WTF CNN, Part II

A billboard for CNN is shown Monday, Feb. 1, 2010 in New York. Time Warner, which owns CNN, says it reversed its losses in the fourth quarter, as its cable channels and movie studio boosted revenue. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

OK, seriously, so what gives with CNN anchor Don Lemon? His coverage of the missing Malaysian jet this week would be comical if it wasn’t about such a tragic event.

It’s looking more likely this morning that the plane crashed in the ocean when it disappeared almost two weeks ago. Yet Lemon has spent the last several days exploring every crazy conspiracy theory on the internet, like something out of InfoWars or an Art Bell broadcast.

On Sunday, he brought up the possibility that “the supernatural” was somehow involved in the disappearance. On Monday, he floated the idea that the plane could be hiding in North Korea. But last night, he really outdid himself, asking a former U.S. Department of Transportation inspector general whether the airplane was somehow sucked into a black hole. Yes, a black hole.

“I know it’s preposterous,” he said to her, “but is it preposterous?”

She handled it deftly, and you can watch the whole exchange for yourself. But it was another embarrassing moment for the network that could use fewer of them.

Latest Editors' Blog
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: