More importantly, the unapologetically right-wing Fox News is speeding ahead, leaving CNN trailing.

Ellen Shearer, Bureau Chief of Medill School of Journalism’s Washington Program, told RT: “CNN is trying to be more opinion oriented, yet still keep its hard news focus. And as it is trying to do both, I think maybe it is deluding itself and leaving viewers a little bit confused.”

CNN says it is lagging behind because of its attempts to be less opinionated and more objective.

However, CNN’s reputation has also suffered from criticism aimed at its international channel. On a number of occasions the network was accused of inaccurate reporting in its global coverage.

During last year's Five Day War in South Ossetia, the channel reported that Russian air forces were bombarding the Georgian town of Gori, but the footage used to illustrate that turned out to be recordings of destruction across the border in South Ossetia.

Aleksandr Zhukov, RT cameraman, recounts: “When I saw pictures, which I shot when Tskhinval was bombed and which channel CNN posed as if Russia had bombed the Georgian city of Gori, I knew that was a lie.”

Last year's unrest in Tibet could serve as another example of a CNN blunder. The network labeled the Tibetans' March 2008 protests as “peaceful”, but footage of riots involving hundreds of locals proved the opposite. Consequently, the network has been accused of not being balanced enough in its reporting.

In the American market ratings are being won on the back of opinion and controversy, all the while CNN clings to its claims of objectivity. At home such tactics are losing them viewers, and their audiences abroad are not buying it anymore either.