extensions

Making a particularly bad choice of roll-out timing, so close to the recent ABC news debate that caused an uproar in the blogosphere, CNN yesterday unveiled what we can only assume to be some brilliant executive’s brainchild: T-Shirts based on their news headlines.

You read that correctly.

It’s been noticed and mocked accordingly, by Wired, by bloggers, including those who discovered you can hack the headlines. And Gawker, not to be outdone, is hosting a “Win an Offensive CNN T-shirt” contest.

Mocking aside, it’s a troubling development, another reason for people to lose faith in the news media, and another reason why citizen journalism efforts such as Off The Bus seem so necessary.

But perhaps CNN’s message here is something of a refreshing bit of honesty — television journalism is only a business. It’s all about the bottom line.

News. T-shirts. Whatevs.