CNN: The Monopoly is a Memory

In the article " The monopoly is a memory " by Elizabeth Jensen we read how CNN was able to provide coverage of the Gulf War in 1991 to many people, not to mention the exclusive showing of the bombing that was taking place. This though is a different war and CNN doesn't have that privilege. The first Gulf War put CNN on the map as a credible news network, not to mention how it help make it millions of dollars. CNN states that since the first war it is doing well for itself as a company, " CNN International channel reached a mere 10 million households outside the U.S. in 1991; today, CNN International is in 170 million homes. " (page 2) Though there are laws against monopolies in the U.S., it would be tough to say or even prove that CNN has one right now. This is to CNN 's displeasure because we have other networks providing us the news and people also have access to international news. We should give credit to CNN for being a pioneer in this area, since then other networks have grown. One example of this would be "French President Jacques Chirac proposed a government-financed ' French CNN ' .....the idea was dropped because of its high cost. " (page 2) This could have created a problem because a government-financed company might not be able to be bias. We also read how Al Jazeera wanted CNN to become a minority stakeholder in its company and they declined. Did CNN turn them down because it felt it could have a negative association with them ?