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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Who's Out at CNN?


The rumors are flying around Mr. Zucker and who's in and who's out.  Here's what we know as of now:

According to the Washington Post Mark Whitaker, who joined CNN in 2011 as executive vice president and managing editor, responsible for editorial content, is quitting.  In a memo to staff today he said ' with a new leader who has his own “forceful ideas,” he thought it best to step aside'.

Erik Erikson wrote at Red State that he's leaving CNN. While he writes that it was a difficult decision we're not sure it was really his decision to make. 

Power couple James Carville and Mary Matalin are also out, according to FishbowlDC sources. So are Bill Bennett and Maria Cardona, although CNN Espanol will keep Cardona on staff.

TMZ is reporting that Ann Curry isn't being courted by Zucker, despite all those rumors people have been quoting for weeks now.

That's it for this hour, stay tuned........

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34 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really hope CNN will continue to get rid of all the annoying pundits especially Roland Martin. The best female contributor and best male contributor are definitely Gloria Borger and David Gergen. CNN will keep a few others, but will hopefully get rid of the majority, that way viewers can make up their own mind. Why does CNN need pundits when they have the brilliant minds of Candy Crowley, John King, and Jake Tapper to contribute as well? They don't give their opinions but rather let viewers make up their own opinion.

Anonymous said...

Now if they would only get rid of Don Lemon.

Phebe said...

I disagree about Don Lemon, he's a keeper in my book. Also disagree about David Gergen, he used to be relevant but has turned into such a negative Nellie since the Obama Administration came to power. I'm still waiting to hear the fate of John King, if CNN doesn't resign him I'm going to be very disappointed.

Anonymous said...

I think that The Situation Room and State of the Union both need to be renamed. Why were they ever named that? I wouldn't be surprised if the upcoming Jake Tapper program from Washington is titled "The Oval Office with Jake Tapper".

I really do think that the Situation Room should be renamed considering once the new studio was built, the program doesn't have it's own corner set, The entire studio is being shared with other programs allowing viewers like myself to wonder "why is Reliable Sources and State of the Union being broadcast from The Situation Room?"

Anonymous said...

Erin Burnett's OutFront repeat at 11:00PM normally does better than its current 7:00PM time slot. Even though I'm not a big fan, they should have her move LIVE to 11:00PM and not mornings. Other comments in previous posts suggest for CNN to have Robin Meade co-host with Chris Cuomo. That there is a morning show I would definitely watch.

Anonymous said...

I wish only the best for Ann Curry but the truth is that having her host a prime time show on CNN would not save CNN. She is likable but I don't think she could win over CNN prime time.

It makes me wonder why we heard so much about Jeff Zucker wanting her to come to CNN. Last we heard was that Anderson Cooper threatened to leave if replaced by her. Could all those headlines be true? Did Anderson freaking out play a part in Jeff Zucker changing his mind? That is if all that gossip was true.

Anonymous said...

Here! Here! on both the 5:00 and 5:53 comments. Totally agree. Go ahead and add Soledad to that "out" group. She only knows the word 'snarky' and how do do minority documentaries.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Phebe in part.
I too, like Don Lemon. He's fresh and entertaining, but see no reason why John King needs to go.
He's great politically and he's a hard worker.
David Gergen is old hat, and yes, very negative against the Obama Administration.
He hasn't given Obama credit for one thing and the rest of the pundits seem to follow his lead whenever he's on.
I give Jeff Zucker credit for trying new things and shaking things up. At least he's trying.
Interesting!

Anonymous said...

Jeff Zucker might just call Anderson's bluff...if it's true about his reaction to Ann Curry in primetime.
Where would HE go?
Fox, MSNBC?
Why he'd have to actually give an opinion and not ask a pundit and really try to keep some people honest, like himself.
And Fox and MSNBC already have stars all lined up, with really fat contracts.

Anonymous said...

Frankly, I wish they'd can Gergen, Borger and Ari Fleischer. Don Lemon is a little strange to me, but I don't mind if they keep him. Having the New York Times Charles Blow has been a good change from seeing Roland Martin on the various shows. I'm not a fan of Tapper, he was a bad hire for CNN, imo.

Anonymous said...

Soledad needs to STAY. She is the only person on CNN who has consistently challenged those conservatives who think they can spew out lies and talking points and get away with it. That is a JOURNALIST.

Phebe said...

I just realized that some might misunderstand what I was saying about John King. I was saying CNN needs to re-sign him, not that he should resign. John King tops the list of my favorites on CNN.

Anonymous said...

If all else fails for Anderson, he has his work continuing on 60 Minutes and I wouldn't be surprised to see him fully work at CBS.

Anonymous said...

I totally have to agree with 8:11's comment...I love Wolf Blitzer but it may be time for The Situation Room to come to an end. He is not always in that studio too. He may be outside some where and it's odd when he says "Im Wolf Blitzer outside here at the National Mall, and you're in the Situation Room".

I think that once the new schedule lineup is set and all the new shows begin in March/April, that "The Situation Room" should revert back to "Wolf Blitzer Reports" which is what he hosted before.

Anonymous said...

You guys do know that Ann Curry will not be on CNN in prime time . It's a same that CNN set Soledad up for failure. Putting her on a morning show with pundits was never going to work. Not only that they kept Christine Romans around who was among the worst trio that CNN went with of Ali Velshi, Carol Costello and Christine Romans.

CNN is also setting up Chris Cuomo by paring him with Erin Burnett. Her replacing Soledad will be like Novillle coming on the Today Show. There will be chemistry and credibility issues. Another CNN fail.
With Erin Burnett the ratings will be lower than Starting Point.

Anonymous said...

Once things begin to look different at CNN this Spring, I hope that every program is renamed. It's obvious now that the morning programs will be all new with new names. I hope dayside programming changes from CNN Newsroom to something else. Jake Tapper will have a new show. I love the idea of bringing back Wolf Blitzer Reports (or something else for Wolf) to replace The Situation Room. OutFront is a goner. Anderson Cooper 360º needs to end. Hopefully Anderson can host a new show that's not boring. Seriously, his show has changed so much. It's very dull and I no longer see it as my favorite CNN show. I barely watch it anymore. And finally Piers Morgan Tonight should change to The Piers Morgan Interview and have him move to weekends.

Anonymous said...

Erick Erickson and Carville and Matalin and Bill Bennett all OUT. GREAT news for CNN.

Anonymous said...

According to the New York Post, Soledad O'Brien has been promised a role in prime time.

Anonymous said...

The world is very different now and CNN is dreaming if they think the can create a new Today. GMA is now the top dog. Jeff Zucker is going to bring in his own management team and that should surprise no one. I hope that Chris LIcht is on his list for CNN president. The man is doing some innovative things at CBS. Take a
look at the ratings for Jan 2013 and you will see cable news will take huge ratings hits if they continue with the same ancient ideological politically themed news that is not really news but noise. Who wants to watch that ? The world is very different now. News, information and content are way more important than empty opinions.. Better start engaging your viewers CNN by treating them like they are in the room and not insulting their intelligence.

Anonymous said...

I actually watched a little of Early Start & Starting
Point this morning. IMHO there were a couple
of things that CNN got right.

1] Jon Berman had a fascinating interview with
Sloane Stephens , the teen who beat Serena
Williams in the Australian Open. Revealing
interview. Made me think that CNN should
launch a new segment that can be featured on
CNN all day long if possible. Call it Reveal.
Set it up with something called the Background
so that viewers will know who this person is
sitting down with CNN. You don't need the
anchor to set it up just roll the background
intro and have the interviewer say I am sitting
here with __________, who you have just been
introduce to. They can be already sitting down
or walking in for the sit down. All of the fine
journalists at CNN could do this it could be
Jon Berman, Soledad, Anderson interviewing
the surfer last night on 360. Would have been
perfect for the Hillary Clinton interview too.
Yes, throw music in the mix the some nice
edits and creative conversational writing.


2} Soledad premiered the new Mercedes ad that
will run during the Super Bowl. CNN ran the
ad from beginning to end. It made me think.
CNN should do this all of the time.CNN needs
to be the network for the unveiling. No matter
what. It can be music,art, short films,poetry,
animation, whatever. Let be unlimited and
open source. Who ever was the brains behind
this : brilliant. This is what CNN should be on
a daily basis. Called it something like YGK,
meaning you gotta know. Let it flow without
unrestricted time limits.


That is how CNN could create buzz. How many
people will go out and say I saw that on CNN this
morning. It made me go to You Tube and watch
the ad more than once just to see if I missed
anything.

Anonymous said...

Keep an eye on those demo ratings for AC 360 and ED. Looking at the data on TVN, 360 has been moving
up while ED appears to be moving in the opposite direction when it comes to demos. 360 topped ED on Monday. Let's see who is ahead at the end of the week.
360 has been on a good roll lately. Enjoying the show
again these days. Thank goodness for the alternative to
BOR, Nancy Grace and ED. I don't like angry people
who yell at me. That's just rude.

Anonymous said...

Whitaker's departure was obvious.

The big question is whether Jautz will also go ASAP, or whether Zucker will spread things out to stop a panic among managers.

And it's hard to see the two big egos of Maddox and Zucker getting along. Any bets on whether Tony Maddox will still be with CNN in 2014 ??

Anonymous said...

According to TV Newser, TSR is the topped rated CNN
show with viewers while 360 had the top demo.

I missed the original intent of TSR. Can they bring
back the 2 internet reporters and drop pundits.

Lets see folks from Quartz News, Business Insider,
Rolling Stone, New Republic, Mashable, Endgaget,
Hyeprvocal, Buzzfeed, Vanguard reporters, Vice
reporters, Onion,etc.

Anonymous said...

I think Maddox and Jautz should be fired immediately. Go ahead, incite a little panic, maybe then they will look alive on camera. I am glad whitaker left by why just him? More heads need to roll. CNN's troubles aren't about on-camera talent but the news they choose to cover and how they cover it. If Zucker can fix that, he'll be a legend. Right now, he is shuffling chairs on the Titanic.

Anonymous said...

@1:57AM - I hope it's true and that I get to see Soledad in prime time. If so, her show should be called "In America with Soledad O'Brien"

Anonymous said...

Jeff Zucker is new to how things work at CNN so he has to keep some of the old management team around until he comprehends the apparatus. We have all come to this blog talking about the lack of news and content on CNN. Maybe that was Mark Whitaker;s job. How much of the problems at CNN can be attributed to a lack of leadership from Jim walton ? Will Zucker permit shows to have creative and format freedom ? Ken Jautz never mad sense to be at CNN. Look at what he did to HLN.
HLN needs a management change too. Let's see if we hear names like Rome Hartman, David Neuman, James Goldston, Chris Licht, Victor Neufeld, Patricia
Shevlin, and Bill Wolff or Pete Cashmore from Mashable. Pete has some ideas about journalism
that are refreshing .

Anonymous said...

I agree - KEEP SOLEDAD!!! PUT HER IN PRIMETIME!! Zucker needs to just dump that mistake Burnett. She has a contract for primetime?!?! If they pay that girl more money to move to the morning they are throwing good money after bad. Cut your losses CNN. And fire the idiot that signed a contract that locks Burnett in primetime. That is management malpractice!

Anonymous said...

I too, would like to see Soledad in primetime.
CNN needs a woman of ethnicity and she is smart and talented and can be perky, although, she does have that serious side to her, which works very well when needed.
She'd know what to ask someone like La Pierre, President of the gun toting NRA, and she doesn't care what anyone thinks.
CNN needs to place an articulate well educated, Afro-American woman in primetime and that is just what Zucker intends to do.
And Piers Morgan is doing quite well. He's found that his opinion on gun control brings in ratings and he's not afraid to speak his mind, unlike some anchors who are afraid of their own shadow.

Anonymous said...

Jeff Zucker was a Katie Couric's mentor from way back.
He knows the score and she was just picked up for a second seaon.
He isn't just interested in the demos.
HE KNOWS that older adults watch the news and they "consume things."
In fact, they now have MORE BUYING POWER THAN EVER BEFORE.
So yes, he is on to something and he will make the necessary changes that bring in the ratings for older adults who VOTE.
CNN is a news network first and foremost and some anchors are entertaining when they deliver the news and some are just not.

Anonymous said...

CNN should form a partnership with Story Corps. For those who don't know what it's all about. It's a website
that uses animation to tell life stories for everyone. It
can be about the life story of Ronald McNair, one of the astronauts to die in in the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, people who lost loved ones on 9/11, to just ordinary people with life stories.

Vimeo also comes to mind when speaking of CNN coming the place for premieres. Vimeo has great content. Many projects from film schoolers .

I actually have learned about these things from Strombo. Yes he would be a welcome addition to CNN. The story about the East Village community taking on 7-11 is amazing. A community of poets,
filmmakers, hipsters coming together to say no to 7-11 eleven because they love the uniqueness of East Village. Also, gotta love the world's most fashionable dog that is actually about menswear. I see Soledad will the the kid president on Starting Point. Strombo had it sooner.

CNN can be for everyone by becoming the worlds largest new source, there are different styles of news. Content is king the more you have the better.
Television is a visual medium. It was never meant to be talk radio. The evolution : now the web and mobile are taking us into a whole different revolution. Go Pro cams give you POV like nothing out there. It makes you wonder with all of the resources and technology available to all of us, why is journalism so bad. It should be better.

I hope Jeff Zucker creates a team of writers, producers,editors who will have the job of keeping CNN fresh. Realtime is also what CNN needs to try
and do. Drop the crawl and crate an app the pops up
during the day of news hits. Do you know there is a website that lets you see the front pages of newspapers from all around the world.

Anonymous said...

Heads up guys. Hollywood Deadline says that
CNN has a new series from director Ridley Scott called
Crimes Of The Century. That makes 4 new weekend
shows. Anthony Bourdain, Morgan Spurlock, Rachel
Nichols and now acclaimed director Ridley Scott. It
was reported yesterday but I have not seen the news
anywhere else.

Anonymous said...

Lot's of Soledad fans here, but I don't share that view. I was glad the article said that it's possible she would have a role in prime time and not a program. I think her talent lies best with her documentaries and not as an anchor; and that should be her future (and only) role at CNN. If she anchors a prime time program of her own, I won't be watching. I don't like when she subs on AC360; she sounds like a school teacher speaking to first graders, IMO. I'm an adult, not a child. CNN focus group tested Soledad in prime time prior to giving her SP and she failed.

I think CNN's bright spot in daytime is Ashleigh Banfield. She could handle a prime time program with ease.

I agree that much of CNN's management needs to go - Jautz was a huge mistake and CNN suffered and continues to suffer under him.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully the woman who does the morning stock reports will be gone. Her voice is incredibly grating - reminds me of my ex wife- like a yappy little dog.
She obviously hasn't any financial reporting chops.

Anonymous said...

CNN needs to balance itself. Right now it's the pro Obama network no matter what he does. If they want viewers they need to criticize Obama as much as they do Republicans.