Apologies for the sporadic blogging during the course of the past month and a half. Regular observations should commence from now - touch wood. Here's a rough list catching up on some of the bigger stories we've missed during our absence.


- CNN's health care ruling debacle  ...  How CNN got it wrong  ...  CNN memos promise internal investigations

- CNN reveals the recipients of the Second Annual CNN iReport Awards

- ICN explores CNN's ratings woes and latest programming changes

- John King says goodbye to ‘John King USA’

- CNN experiences 21-year ratings low in second quarter 

- CNN launches 'Newsroom International' during 12pm hour

- CNN is undisputed #1 international news channel in EMS Middle East survey

- Politico's Dylan Byers writes: "What’s wrong at CNN"

- Kyung Lah moving from Far East to West Coast

CNN announced yesterday that Ashleigh Banfield is moving to the 11 AM ET airing of CNN Newsroom, while Kyra Phillips is moving to host her own show on HLN later this summer.

As previously reported, John Berman will be getting an Early Start, taking the place of Ashleigh Banfield as co-anchor with Zoraida Sambolin.

TVNewser has the internal memos from HLN Executive Vice-President Scott Safon and CNN Domestic Executive Vice-President Ken Jautz.

CNN en Español has announced its coverage plans of the 2012 London Olympics. Details from CNN below.

CNN Press Release: CNN en Español broadcasts special coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games

Starting Monday, July 23th through Monday, August 13rd, CNN en Español will broadcast special coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games. Anchor Elizabeth Pérez will report live from the Olympic park in London and will cover the preparations, rehearsals and competitions, and will have interviews with the participants in this grand event, which will be featured during CNN en Español’s daily shows.

Sports anchors Luis Gerardo Bucci, Diego Bustos and Marcela Trucios will deliver analysis with daily summaries and statistics of the main sporting events and its athletes from Atlanta.

Moreover, starting this month, Encuentro, Directo USA, Panorama Mundial and CNN México: Perspectivas will include daily segments with complete coverage on the Olympics that will continue to air through the games.

CNN en Español’s special coverage will bring the latest information of the sporting events. In addition, the network will broadcast specials with some of the most important participants. There will be chronicles and anecdotes from their country of origin in special programs like “Tras el oro.”

CNN en Español’s viewers will learn about the different sporting disciplines, records and expectations of the contestants. At the same time, special guests, such as former athletes, will comment during the competitions.

This special coverage will count on an important web component on CNNEspanol.com and the network’s social media, giving information on the most important events, the behind the scenes, emblematic images and the curiosities around this historic competition.

Starting June through Monday, August 13, CNN en Español will dedicate its programming to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

'Winning Post' is about to become a regular fixture on CNN International with the network upping the horse racing feature to a monthly program. 'Winning Post' originally started airing as a series of regular specials last year. CNN's release below.

CNN Press Release: WINNING POST’ GOES MONTHLY ON CNN INTERNATIONAL 

CNN International today announced that ‘Winning Post', the network's flat racing strand is expanding beyond its existing coverage of major meetings, to a dedicated monthly programme. 

Already a successful element of CNN's ‘World Sport' programming, ‘Winning Post' in June embarks on an exciting development as CNN's global audience will be able to enjoy all the coverage of a major Group 1 meeting in a special monthly show.

Few sports can match the elegance and history of horse racing. Where ancient tradition meets cutting-edge technology, CNN takes viewers inside the track; getting the stories from the top trainers, jockeys and owners in the business, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the fashions and the fortunes that go hand-in-hand with the most glamorous sport on the planet.

Jamie Donald, Director, CNN International Productions, said: "Winning Post' presents an insider's view of racing not seen before on an international scale; from the refined thoroughbreds to the logistics involved with training, feeding and transporting these magnificent athletes all over the world. We are delighted that a flat racing show now joins CNN's growing sports portfolio, alongside ‘Living Golf', ‘MainSail', ‘Open Court', ‘The Circuit' and ‘Winning Post'."

Presented by racing insider Francesca Cumani, the first monthly programme invites CNN viewers to two of the most glamorous events in racing: the Prix de Diane and Royal Ascot. 

The Prix de Diane is France's most stylist race meeting, held annually at the picturesque Chantilly Racecourse. Expect the fashions off the field to be as impressive as the fillies on it. Also known as the ‘French Oaks', the Prix de Diane is the nation's premier race for 3-year-old fillies and is counted among France's "Classic" races. 

Royal Ascot is arguably the world's most recognisable race meeting: think enormous hats and ‘My Fair Lady'. But it also brings together some of the best racing in the world, all taking place under the watchful eye of HM Queen Elizabeth II, who will arrive every day by carriage from Windsor Castle. This year the two best horses in the world, Frankel and Black Caviar, will be among those racing in the five-day meeting.

CNN en Español tonight kicked off the first of its special coverage of the California and New Jersey primaries. CNNe has scheduled coverage through until Wednesday. Details from CNN below.


CNN Press Release: CNN en Español broadcasts special coverage for the 2012 California and New Jersey primaries

Starting Monday, June 4th through Wednesday, June 6th, CNN en Español will broadcast a special coverage of the California and New Jersey primaries, hosted live by anchor Juan Carlos Lopez, New York correspondent Rafael Fuenmayor and Los Angeles correspondent Karina Dalmas, collaborating with CNN throughout the coverage.

During the California primary, 169 delegates will be chosen for a total of 172 delegates to attend the national convention. At the same time, the New Jersey primary will send 50 delegates to the national convention.

Throughout the coverage, there will be a comprehensive analysis of the electoral candidates with an emphasis on the importance of the Latino vote and its growing population in the United States.

This special presidential primary coverage will cover issues of immigration, the economy, education, and the job industry, among other topics, which are important to the Hispanic community in the United States.

CNN en Español will broadcast the special coverage of the California and New Jersey primaries, starting Monday, June 4th through Wednesday, June 6th.

David Carr takes a look at CNN's hiring last week of Anthony Bourdain.

CNN, the former cable news leader, is at loose ends, having recorded its lowest ratings in 10 years in April. The channel still makes a lot of money, an expected $600 million in operating profit this year. But nothing — not the lift of an election year, the switch-out of Piers Morgan for Larry King or firm edicts from Time Warner management — has moved the needle on viewership.

Even as profits pile up, CNN is in danger of becoming a niche channel. Perhaps signing a proven niche player — according to Nielsen, Mr. Bourdain’s show draws about 450,000 viewers on a channel that lives far down the dial — is a small part of the answer.

It’s not as if Mr. Bourdain is a television lightweight: He and his production company, Zero Point Zero, which will continue to produce the show, have won Emmys for programs on Haiti and Laos, and the crew was nominated for an Emmy for an episode shot in Beirut during Israel’s 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Mark Whitaker, managing editor of CNN Worldwide, has been working to decrease the network’s reliance on politics, where its middle-of-the-road approach often suffers in comparison to the edgier, more partisan offerings of Fox News and MSNBC. He began talking with Mr. Bourdain back in March in the belief that the chef’s penchant for traveling to far-flung places like Thailand and Saudi Arabia was a fit with CNN’s international credentials. More important, Mr. Whitaker wanted CNN’s first move out of its lane to come with a ready-made audience attached. CNN has no trouble attracting eyeballs, it just has trouble persuading them to stick around when the world is not on fire.

“Tony is appointment viewing and sticky in a way that we need to be,” Mr. Whitaker said on the phone. “We are big fans of what he does and what he stands for, which is global and smart, but he goes beyond politics and war coverage. We need to be broader than that and we are looking hard to make that happen. Tony was the first person that came to mind.”

 You can read Carr's full piece here.