Tag Results for Jon Klein

Why would anyone at CNN think it was a good idea to give a prime-time talk show to former New York governor Eliot Spitzer and Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker? There is only one reason anyone thinks Spitzer will be a ratings winner, and it's not his non-existent journalism background or even his sharp analytical mind.

I'm not going to rehash what I've said before about CNN; you can read it here if you like.

Briefly, though, CNN touts itself as a profitable, news-driven alternative to the ideological talk shows on Fox and MSNBC. So why act as though your every programming decision is based on ratings?If CNN is truly in a different business from Fox and MSNBC, then what does it mean to say CNN comes in "third"?

Given that there is almost no way CNN can have an impact at 8 p.m. against the O'Reilly-Olbermann juggernaut, Jon Klein and company should have tried something radical. Like news. How about an hour of CNN International, which everyone who has traveled overseas tells me is exponentially better than what's on the three U.S. cable nets?

Position sought: Blustering, xenophobic curmudgeon seeks anchor position at like-minded cable news network. Self-starter capable of formulating theories on issues such as leprosy and Mexican territorial ambitions independent of "facts" or other crutches. References available.

CNN anchor Lou Dobbs made a surprise announcement last night that he had been released from his contract at CNN and that he was leaving immediately.

"Some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond my role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem-solving, as well as to contribute positively to a better understanding of the great issues of our day," Dobbs said.

Dobbs' career at CNN spanned more than 30 years, dating back to the network's inception in 1980. He did not say specifically what he would be doing next, although there has been some speculation that he could move to the struggling Fox Business Network, where his conservative views on free trade and immigration would be more in the mainstream.

Tensions between the anchor and CNN had been rising recently after a string of controversial statements by Dobbs about immigration and other topics. Things got downright wacky when Dobbs recently suggested that his enemies had shot at his rural New Jersey home - an incident New Jersey State Patrol investigators said could just as likely have been local hunters.

CNN wasted no time in announcing that chief national correspondent John King would be taking over at the 7 p.m. slot, replacing Dobbs' controversial views with more conventional news and balanced commentary.

"The program will reflect what CNN is all about: straight facts from our anchors and the widest range of opinions from across the political spectrum," CNN president Jon Klein said in a statement this morning.

Personally, even though this move was becoming more inevitable by the day, it's still a good one for CNN. I always got the sense that CNN was keeping Dobbs around in a lame attempt to siphon off some of Fox's conservative audience, but all it did was undermine CNN's other, more balanced programming. If CNN is going to take the middle road between the conservative meat-eaters at Fox and the liberal vegans at MSNBC, it should commit to the strategy and let the chips fall where they may.