'The Best Political Team on Television'? Says Who?

The day of the New Hampshire primary was a big deal for CNN—so big that network honchos apparently couldn't resist forcing on-air talent to repeat their marketing slogan—“the best political team on television”—more than 50 times, by Jack Shafer's count. The cranky Slate media critic says the mind-numbing repetition damaged CNN's credibility, insulted its audience, and annoyed him to no end.

“Like a human tape loop,” the slogan was repeatedly inserted into the coverage, citing no authority yet asserting the “network’s bestness as fact.” Repetition is a terrible way to promote a perfectly decent effort, Shafer says; it calls into question “the earnestness of the whole enterprise” and reminds viewers that CNN “thinks they’re idiots.” Couldn’t Wolf Blitzer and company just report, and let us decide?