The GDELT Project

CNN Makes Heavy Use Of Cisco's Webex For Interviews During Pandemic

What's a 24/7 cable television news station to do during a pandemic when all of its guest interviewees can't come into the studio? If you're CNN, you connect your guests via Cisco's Webex video conferencing software. From sports commentators to the Governor of Michigan, CNN uses Webex to bring them live on the air, with a telltale "Via Cisco Webex" credit at the top right or left of the screen, as seen in the image at the top of this page. In all, CNN relies on Webex for around 3 hours of its footage a day – around an eighth of its daily airtime!

The timeline below shows the total daily airtime mentioning Webex in the onscreen text on CNN from January 25 and MSNBC, Fox News and BBC News from April 11. Immediately clear is that CNN began crediting Webex on March 9 and that of the four stations it is the only one displaying "Webex" onscreen in any meaningful way.

Live Version.