CNN was founded in 1980 and was the first 24-hour cable news network in the US. It gained a reputation for providing breaking news coverage of major events like the Challenger explosion, Gulf War, and 9/11 attacks. This "CNN Effect" influenced public opinion and government diplomacy. However, CNN's definition of "breaking news" has become overused and their reputation was hurt by a lack of on-the-ground coverage of the Iran elections in 2009 and the Gulf oil spill. CNN now relies more on unedited user-generated content from iReport to fill news coverage but has seen declining ratings in recent years.