Aaron Brown

Aaron Brown left CNN in late 2005 but his contract has just expired and now he's speaking out about his time at CNN and the way he left. He says he's currently working on a pilot for NPR.

TVNewser Interview Part 1 and Part II (Part 3 and 4 to come)

On Paula Zahn's show:

Brown thinks Paula Zahn's show is symbolic. "Whatever competence she has, and whatever skills her producers have, it wasn't clear to me what the program was," Brown said. "It has never had a clear definition. In some ways, I believe the network is [similar]."

On FOX news:

Immediately after Hurricane Katrina, Fox's reporting was terrific, Brown said. He specifically mentioned Shep Smith's reports. And then..."In my mind, when it became clear that the story had become the incompetence of the administration, that did not fit their view, so they walked away. They pulled troops out," Brown said.

On Anderson Cooper and his move to Aaron's old spot:

At one point, Brown's whole staff was moved to the 7pm hour. "I was left without a producer or a staff, and I thought okay, I get it. I think they wanted his production people to be producing whatever the new effort was."

On November 2, Klein chose fire, and Brown walked away. NewsNight became 360, and Brown didn't even say goodbye on the air."I would not quarrel with the argument that I was replaced by a younger, more handsome model," Brown said, adding that he meant "model" in the car definition, not in the fashion definition.

Here's another interview with Brown on Variety.com

We wish Aaron the best. Personally, I was always a fan of Aaron and as much as I love Anderson Cooper I was sad to see Aaron pushed out of CNN. I'll always watch 360 put I sometimes long for the days of Newsnight.