CNN is an American news company. The letters stand for Cable News Network. It began as a television channel that ran news all day and all night — that felt new at the time — and it now sends news by TV and online to many countries. When something big happens, you will often see CNN on in airports, hotels, and offices. The voices are mostly American, and the channel is known for live pictures and for people talking in a studio while a story is still going on. Though actually CNN is not “the news” itself: it is one company, with its own choices about what to show, and other countries have their own big news names. Students like it because the English is clear and the stories are happening now. People almost always say the letters, not the full name.