CNN Spending Spree: Parties, Holograms, Gizmos, & Talent

Along the way, CNN sponsored seven debates (by contrast, CBS, the Tiffany network, threw exactly none). In the run-up to the election, it piled up a roster of all-star political pundits, in a free-agent signing frenzy that would make George Steinbrenner blush. Throughout the campaign, it unleashed an array of new audio-visual technology, some of it culled from the world of military defense contractors.

CNN introduced the first Jefferson Han-designed, multi-touch screen. When Fox News and ABC News added "magic walls" to their coverage, CNN snapped up a second unit. Mobile control room? Check. YouTube collaboration? Yes, sir. SkyCam? Did it in Denver. Audience reaction meters? Indeed.

The fireworks display hit a crescendo on election night when Wolf Blitzer interviewed a hologram of musician will.i.am (who somewhere along the campaign trail seemed to become a part of the CNN brand), touching off a frenzy of Star Wars references, journalism school hand-wringing and nerdy explanations about why the 3-D digitally composite images shot from 35 HD cameras simultaneously was not (NOT!) actually a hologram.

"When you have the wind at your back in the form of a very profitable streak, then you've got the wherewithal to try things, to embrace innovation, to not cringe," Mr. Klein told The Observer on Monday morning....

And whereas, say, MSNBC is tied to the sinking fortunes of a broadcast news division, CNN is free to reinvest its bounty back into its news coverage and into ... well ... whatever else seems appealing. Recent splurges have included building a new international hub in Abu Dhabi; launching a wire service that will eventually compete with the Associated Press; and kicking off a weekend comedy-news show hosted by comedian D. L. Hughley.

At times, it seems like CNN's guiding philosophy is, why the hell not?

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