Yesterday the world got a premature look at the CNN apocalypse video, cable news' very own requiem for Planet Earth. There's been some curiosity over how seriously employees treated the tape, but according to former employees, an ex-CEO, and a CNN archivist, they've all been trained to use the tape.

Thirty-four years ago, at the launch of Ted Turner's Cable News Network, the founder made a grandiose and specific promise about his newly created round-the-clock operation. "Barring satellite problems, we won't be signing off until the world ends," Turner declared. And in anticipation, he prepared a final video…