CNN has built a reputation for broadcasting everything from disasters to wars to presidential elections – all around the clock to most countries of the world.
But back in the ‘80s at the height of the Cold War and amid the possibility of a nuclear attack by the Soviet Union, CNN creator Ted Turner vowed to keep the news network operating until the very last possible moment before the end of the world. “Barring satellite problems, we won’t be signing off until the world ends,” Turner was quoted as saying.
“We’ll be on, and we will cover the end of the world, live, and that will be our last event. We’ll play the National Anthem only one time, on the first of June [the day CNN launched], and when the end of the world comes, we’ll play ‘Nearer My God To Thee’ before we sign off,” he added.
Now a former CNN intern has posted a video online that is purportedly the official doomsday broadcast that the news channel was going to put on air at the very end.
The video, which former intern Michael Ballaban says he acquired from an unnamed source, features the U.S. Army Band performing the religious hymn Nearer My God to Thee – the same song said to have been played as the Titanic sank.
Ballaban wrote on his blog Jalopnik.com that the video had long been archived at CNN under the name “TURNER DOOMSDAY VIDEO.”
A few years ago, the BBC doomsday broadcast message was also unveiled:
“This is the Wartime Broadcasting Service. This country has been attacked with nuclear weapons. Communications have been severely disrupted, and the number of casualties and the extent of the damage are not yet known. We shall bring you further information as soon as possible. Meanwhile, stay tuned to this wavelength, stay calm and stay in your own homes. Remember there is nothing to be gained by trying to get away,” the official statement said.
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