Wednesday, November 23, 2005
CNN Explains the 'X' Hex on Cheney
A technical glitch – and not political bias – caused a large black X to appear briefly over the image of Vice President Cheney on CNN while he was giving a speech Monday morning, the network said.
The X appeared for only one-eighth of a second, but the fleeting image provided plenty of ammunition for conservative bloggers on the Internet, the New York Sun reports.
The bloggers hinted that the X could have been a deliberate subliminal message. But CNN spokeswoman Christa Robinson called it a "very, very insignificant" technical glitch.
"Upon seeing this unfortunate but very brief graphic, CNN management immediately investigated," the network said in a statement. "We obviously regret that it happened, and are working on the equipment to ensure it is not repeated."
The statement stressed that the incident was a "technical malfunction" and was not linked to a human error, where political bias could come into play.
On the air Tuesday, a CNN anchor and a technician said the X graphic was called a "switcher” and was used in the control room to cue tape. CNN could not explain exactly how the glitch occurred.
It came shortly after 11 a.m. during a live broadcast of a speech by Cheney at the American Enterprise Institute.
The vice president was promoting the Bush administration's policy in Iraq.
A technical glitch – and not political bias – caused a large black X to appear briefly over the image of Vice President Cheney on CNN while he was giving a speech Monday morning, the network said.
The X appeared for only one-eighth of a second, but the fleeting image provided plenty of ammunition for conservative bloggers on the Internet, the New York Sun reports.
The bloggers hinted that the X could have been a deliberate subliminal message. But CNN spokeswoman Christa Robinson called it a "very, very insignificant" technical glitch.
"Upon seeing this unfortunate but very brief graphic, CNN management immediately investigated," the network said in a statement. "We obviously regret that it happened, and are working on the equipment to ensure it is not repeated."
The statement stressed that the incident was a "technical malfunction" and was not linked to a human error, where political bias could come into play.
On the air Tuesday, a CNN anchor and a technician said the X graphic was called a "switcher” and was used in the control room to cue tape. CNN could not explain exactly how the glitch occurred.
It came shortly after 11 a.m. during a live broadcast of a speech by Cheney at the American Enterprise Institute.
The vice president was promoting the Bush administration's policy in Iraq.
