English Class Essay: September 5 2001
Summer Reading Analysis

Reese Schonfeld's book, Me And Ted Against The World, is a perfect example of superb story re-counting, fascinating use of detail, and intelligent analysis. These three aspects, and others, are the foundation for a magnificent retelling of the Cable News Network's founding. These aspects also help to place the book in the nonfiction category.

A nonfiction work is based on fact. The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as "prose works other than fiction." It provides information and analysis, and often times reflects on past situations. This is precisely what Me And Ted Against The World does on every page. In each chapter, he details a situation, complete with initimate details and a bit of analysis.

Schonfeld's purpose in writing the book is to relay his version of events and to retell the stories surrounding the founding of CNN. In the prologue, Mr. Schonfeld writes that his reason for writing the book is to "put on the record the difference between what CNN is now and what I dreamed it was going to be" (Schonfeld xx). He wants to tell his story of CNN and thinks that "twenty years is a good time to look back and see what I did" (xx).

One of the main topics of the book is how Schonfeld's vision of CNN conflicted with other executive's ideas and technology itself. He discusses news events such as the Reagan shooting, political convention coverage, the MGM fire, the Persian Gulf war, and other events where CNN was present and, in some instances, changed the world. By providing a wide variety of specific details, Schonfeld affirms his message that CNN then was better than CNN now. He spells out his vision in a number of ways: "The unpredictable is never dull...The best way to keep viewers interested is to keep them guessing about what's happening next" (78-79). "What I saw was opportunity, and opportunity coupled with experience leads to success" (5). "If a tree falls in a forest, and there is no one there to see it, did the tree fall? ...CNN needs to have a camera there when the tree falls. We see it, we hear it, and we feel its repercussions" (6). At the very least, the author's vision is very clear and understandable.

Schonfeld's attitude toward the subject is reflected in the way he portrays certain characters and events. "...Ted said he fired me because "he was making all the decisions, and most of the journalistic decisions, and really trying to do too much, rather than do the kind of delegating needed." But my decisions were working...It's a strange time to be fired, right in the middle of a winning streak" (292). At other times in the book, he is sure to point out the relatively lousy ratings that CNN and the other cable news networks recieve -- and he presents graphs that show how his later upstart local news network, News 12 on Long Island, continually beats CNN in the ratings. Titles of some later chapters -- chapters after his firing -- seem to be more hostile: "You Don't Know What You're Talking About," "Is Ted Going Wacko?," and "Can This Network Be Saved?" are three such examples.

When an author's goal is to give the readers a sense of what happened -- plus why it happened, and how, and who was involved -- nonfiction is the only route to choose. Nonfiction is used when the purpose is to state the facts and reflect on their results. Me And Ted Against The World is a perfect example.