Style over substance?

The New York Daily News’ Richard Huff takes a dim view of the way CNN is operating its new Atlanta HD set…

CNN changed its onscreen look this week.

After watching for a few days, I’m certain that someone there must own stock in Dramamine.

That’s because it’s hard to watch CNN for any length of time without getting seasick.

Almost every segment starts with the camera taking a long shot of the anchor, then zooming in and occasionally swirling around the side and over the anchor’s shoulder. None of this is smooth, either.

Factor in the changing backdrops – the weather folks work the map, while the camera is moving in and out – and the result is like riding a Tilt-a-Whirl with a bad stomach.

Call this “we have a new set syndrome”. It’s a malady that sometimes infects TV news execs when presented with a new set to play with. Something similar happened with “The Situation Room” when it debuted and MSNBC when it moved to 30 Rock. Like the common cold, “we have a new set syndrome” is a temporary affliction which goes away after a while.