CNN in the News

Just a few links pertaining to CNN to start your day:

Dr. Laura points the finger of blame directly at CNN concerning her 'N' word controversy on this morning's Today Show.

Mixed reviews for Piers Morgan Tonight are being reported on TVNewswer and Mediaite.

DC Fishbowl is reporting that Ed Henry is teaching an 'off the record' class at George Washington University called "Both Sides of the Podium”.

And we'll leave you with two Tweets former CNN president Jon Klein made last night about Piers Morgan Tonight.

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Catastrophic Failure

We don't often do opinion here at All Things CNN, that's not what we're about. But we're making an exception today because of recent events and a few shocks yet to come.
We were saddened this week to learn of John Roberts departure from CNN. He, like so many others who moved on this past year, could have helped CNN to return to its former glory, if they had been used properly and appreciated more. Do you realize how many fine journalists left CNN in just the past 365 day? It's rather shocking when you see it presented in list form.

December
John Roberts
Tony Harris
Karl Penhaul
Jamie Kraft, producer
Larry King

November
Abbie Boudreau

October
Cal Perry
Rick Sanchez

September
Jon Klein

July
Campbell Brown
Octivia Nasr

March
Christine Amanpour
Betty Nguyen

February
Gerri Willis

January
Susan Lisovicz
Erica Hill
Eliane Quijano
Nicole Lapin
Heidi Collins
Abbi Tatton


We know it's not the viewers job to fix the problem but ultimately you. the CNN viewer, will be the decider (to quote our last President). CNN needs to get its act together and fast. They can't survive another year, both in terms of talent loss and ratings failure, like 2010.

We'll leave you with a classy but subdued Tony Harris as he signed off CNN for the last time.







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CNN NYE Ratings Hit

CNN image John Nowak

CNN Top’s Fox News Channel on New Year’s Eve by 60% in the Key Demo 25-54 from 11:00 pm – 12:30 am


CNN New Year’s Eve with Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin (11:00 pm – 12:30 am)
811k demo 25-54
1.805 million total viewers

FNC’s All American New Years (11:00 pm – 12:30 am)
506k demo 25-54
1.738 million total viewers

MSNBC did not air New Year’s programming.

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Your Views on the News, October 30, 2010

CNN has switched the lineup for the weekend because of the mid-term elections on Tuesday. Take note you Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper fans the America Votes special is live both Saturday and Sunday evenings.

SATURDAY, October 30, 2010

BALLOT BOWL – Airs LIVE Saturday 1:00PM – 6:00PM

CNN will again provide live, unfiltered coverage of significant recent and live campaign events. Members of the Best Political Team on Television will report from events around the country to include Alaska, Nevada, Ohio, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC.

AMERICA VOTES 2010 – Airs LIVE Saturday 6:00PM – 7:00PM and (replays) 10:00PM

Lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer and anchor Anderson Cooper, along with the Best Political Team on Television, provide the latest news on the upcoming midterm elections.

WHAT THE WEEK –Airs Saturday 7:30PM – 8:00PM

Pete Dominick distills a week’s worth of news into a smart and fun wrap of everything you need to know.

BOILING POINT: inside the tea party – Airs Saturday 8:00PM – 9:00PM, 11:00PM

CNN’s Shannon Travis has followed the political movement proven to be the most energetic and provocative of this campaign season, the various groups that self-identify with the Tea Party movement. Reporting from California, to Delaware, to Alaska, to Florida and beyond, Travis interviewed conservative talk radio personality and former Tea Party Express chairman Mark Williams, former Alaska governor and Fox News contributor Sarah Palin, and Mary Rakovich, considered by some to be “the godmother” of the Tea Party movement – about their goals and the messages they want delivered to the corridors of power in Washington. http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2010/10/26/seg.boiling.point.alaska.cnn

restoring the american dream: a FAREED ZAKARIA GPS special - Airs Saturday 9:00PM – 10:00PM, 12:00AM

As the nation languishes in the Great Recession, CNN and TIME magazine’s Fareed Zakaria talks to four of the most creative and respected business leaders for their insights on what must be done to restore the America’s economic prosperity. Lou Gerstner, former chairman of the board & CEO for IBM Corporation; Muhtar Kent, chairman of the board & CEO for The Coca-Cola Company; Eric Schmidt, chairman of the board & CEO for Google, Inc.; and Klaus Kleinfeld, chairman & CEO for Alcoa, Inc. discuss how technology, globalization, and the recession brought about American’s unacceptable unemployment rate…and how America can leverage the keys to bringing good jobs back to America – education and innovation.

SUNDAY, October 31, 2010

SANJAY GUPTA, MD – Airs Sunday 7:30AM – 8:00AM

CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta returns to Haiti as reports emerge of an outbreak of cholera in the already earthquake-ravaged nation. He interviews aid workers and local residents about how the disease is impacting the status of the recovery.

STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY – Airs LIVE Sunday 9:00AM – 10:00AM, NOON – 1:00PM

Topic: Tuesday’s Midterm Elections Preview: Republican Strategy

Guest: Michael Steele, RNC chairman

Topic: Tuesday’s Midterm Elections Preview: Democratic Strategy

Guest: Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Majority Whip

Topic: What to Expect in Tuesday’s Midterm Elections
Guest: William Bennett, CNN political contributor; national talk radio host

Guest: Bob Kerrey (D), former U.S. Senator; former Nebraska Governor

Anchor: Candy Crowley, anchor and chief political correspondent

restoring the american dream: a FAREED ZAKARIA GPS special - Airs Sunday 3:00AM – 4:00AM, 5:00AM, 10:00AM, 1:00PM

As the nation languishes in the Great Recession, CNN and TIME magazine’s Fareed Zakaria talks to four of the most creative and respected business leaders for their insights on what must be done to restore the America’s economic prosperity. Lou Gerstner, former chairman of the board & CEO for IBM Corporation; Muhtar Kent, chairman of the board & CEO for The Coca-Cola Company; Eric Schmidt, chairman of the board & CEO for Google, Inc.; and Klaus Kleinfeld, chairman & CEO for Alcoa, Inc. discuss how technology, globalization, and the recession brought about American’s unacceptable unemployment rate…and how America can leverage the keys to bringing good jobs back to America – education and innovation.

RELIABLE SOURCES – Airs LIVE 11:00AM – NOON

Topic: Jon Stewart Rally

Guest: Arianna Huffington, co-founder, HuffingtonPost.com

Topic: Jon Stewart Rally

Guest: Paul Farhi, Washington Post

Guest: Michael Medved, Radio talk show host

Topic: Midterm Elections Become Media Game of Predictions

Guest: John Avlon, TheDailyBeast.com

Guest: Jim Geraghty, National Review

Guest: Julie Mason, Washington Examiner

Topic: Fox News; Tea Party; Media’s Take on President Obama

Guest: President Jimmy Carter

Host: Howard Kurtz

BALLOT BOWL – Airs LIVE Sunday 2:00PM – 5:00PM

CNN will again provide live, unfiltered coverage of significant recent and live campaign events. Members of the Best Political Team on Television will report from events around the country to include Alaska, Nevada, Ohio, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Washington, DC.

BOILING POINT: inside the tea party – Airs Sunday 2:00AM – 3:00AM, 8:00PM, 11:00PM

CNN’s Shannon Travis has followed the political movement proven to be the most energetic and provocative of this campaign season, the various groups that self-identify with the Tea Party movement. Reporting from California, to Delaware, to Alaska, to Florida and beyond, Travis interviewed conservative talk radio personality and former Tea Party Express chairman Mark Williams, former Alaska governor and Fox News contributor Sarah Palin, and Mary Rakovich, considered by some to be “the godmother” of the Tea Party movement – about their goals and the messages they want delivered to the corridors of power in Washington. http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2010/10/26/seg.boiling.point.alaska.cnn

AMERICA VOTES 2010 – Airs LIVE Sunday 9:00PM – 10:00PM and (replays) 12:00AM

Lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer and anchor Anderson Cooper, along with the Best Political Team on Television, provide the latest news on the upcoming midterm elections.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 2 – ELECTION NIGHT IN AMERICA

SPECIAL COVERAGE: ELECTION NIGHT IN AMERICA – Tuesday beginning at 7:00PM

CNN’s Best Political Team will add new technology to its arsenal in order to better explain the complex story of the midterm elections as it unfolds on Tuesday, Nov. 2. Lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer, joined by Anderson Cooper, Candy Crowley, John King and Soledad O’Brien will headline Election Night in America, beginning at 7 p.m. and continuing into the following day. From Delaware to Nevada to Alaska, CNN will dispatch correspondents across the country to check in throughout the night and report on the crucial races impacting the balance of power in Congress.

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Your Views on the News, September 8, 2010

We don't usually do a 'Views on the News' midweek but I found this Q & A that Piers Morgan and Jon Klein did with the Hollywood Reporter and thought it a must read for CNN viewers.

Q&A: Piers Morgan on replacing Larry King, Fox News and Reality TV
by James Hibberd & Matt Belloni | September 8, 2010

Finally confirmed as replacing veteran talk show host Larry King, CNN's new primetime talent Piers Morgan spoke to THR after last month's Emmys and again Wednesday morning, along with CNN president Jonathan Klein, about what viewers can expect from their new show. Along the way, Morgan declared his intention to get CNN back to No. 1 in the ratings, praised and criticized Fox News and revealed who he wants as his first guest.

THR: You have a tougher interviewing reputation than Larry King. Do you plan to bring that to CNN?

Morgan: I've always disputed that Larry is in any way a softball interviewer. In his very stylish crafty way, he's always been brilliant at getting stuff out of people, so I've always admired him hugely. Although I'm a different kind of interviewer, we share the same thing -- a fascination about people, and that's what I want to replicate, a love of the guests and enthusiasm for what they do. Unlike Larry, who comes from a radio background, I come from a newspaper background. So I bring a journalistic rigor to the way I do things that will be a little bit different and hopefully quite surprising and exciting for an American audience.

THR: “Larry King Live" is also known as a friendly forum for people to tell their stories.

Morgan: I still would like to do that. I’d like to be myself. To me, Larry King is irreplaceable, he really is. He's a one in a million that has interviewed every president, every leader. The guy’s a legend. I'm not going to try and replace Larry King. I’m about trying to just do my thing, and I think that’s the reason I got the job, at least in my view.

THR: Who would you like to be your first guest?

Morgan: Well, I would like to interview the president. I think Obama is someone who is going through a pretty tough time. Outside of America, people love him … I think he's an amazing charismatic figure who's going through a tough time at the moment, and the midterm elections are coming. It’s going to be a tough period for him and I'd love to sit down with him an have a frank interview. Having said that, there's all sorts of people in the world of entertainment. I'd love to be the first to interview Mel Gibson or Lindsay Lohan or whoever is in the news who is relevant and current. Today CNN had the first interview with [Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man behind the proposed Islamic community center and mosque near Ground Zero], I would love to do that interview. I have no problem doing him one day, and Mel Gibson the next.

THR: What about Simon Cowell?

Morgan: I did Simon in Britain for "Life Stories" and he said it was the best interview he's ever given. I've already reached out to him for the CNN show and I'm getting pretty positive feedback. I think Simon sees it as like the old feudal days, when you'd have two guys on horseback jousting.

THR: CNN has ratings challenges, what do you think of top-rated Fox News and their hosts, like Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly?

Morgan: I've watched them, they're incredibly watchable, that's why they're proving to be popular. They're obviously very right wing, much more than I am. They're very messianic in the way they go about what they do. What I find really amusing about all those cable hosts in the 8-9 p.m. hours is the level of self indulgence, the way they talk about themselves and their rivals hosts ad nauseam. I'm not entirely sure that serves the viewer very well. Nor am I convinced that it's right for CNN to go down that path. If I sat with you for a drink I'd have lots of opinions about lots of things. But when it comes to my TV interviews, I don't like to be part of them. I like to be journalistically rigorous and get the truth out of them, not force my opinions down the viewers' throat. I want them to be electrified by the combat between me and the guest.

THR: So if CNN shouldn't have more pointed opinions like CNN and MSNBC, what should it do to be more competitive?

Morgan: You're never going to be more left wing than Rachel Maddow; you're never going to be more right wing than Glenn Beck -- I don't think there's ever been anyone in history more right wing than him. You need to be aware when you join a network like CNN they may have a short-term ratings concern, but look at the brand, look at the reputation. “Larry King Live” aired in 212 countries, it's not just about America for me. I want this to be the most credible and popular interview program in the world. I want to create headlines and get ratings up -- particularly in America. I'd like to get CNN back to No. 1. Everything else I've done on television has been No. 1.


THR: There's a quote of you saying it’s irritating when celebrities are doing interviews just to plug products, but that's a big part of landing names in the U.S.

Morgan: You're going to get people who are on the circuit. What I find irritating is the programs themselves that pander to just being a plug-a-thon. It doesn't matter if they're promoting a book as long as the interview itself is really good. What I don't like is watching boring pat interviews with people who've done 30 interviews that week and they're just going through the motions.

THR: John, what's the theme that we should be taking from all the recent primetime lineup changes on CNN?

Jonathan Klein: Fearlessness. It's about primetime anchors, weighing right in there with tough questions for public figures. That's true of Eliot Spitzer, Kathleen Parker, Anderson Cooper and now Piers Morgan. Viewers deserve that, they want answers to the questions. They want an equal opportunity offender, if you will, holding everybody's feet to the fire, and viewers sense they get a stacked deck at the other networks.

THR: You say "this is what viewers want," but what are you basing that on? When you look at the numbers, [opinionated pundits] is what it seems that people want.

Klein : That's what a couple million people want, but this is a nation of 300 million. Why aren't they watching? We want to get them.

THR: Was there any concern that most Americans associate Morgan with reality TV?

Klein: Never had a doubt from the moment we met Piers that he was a perfect fit for CNN. He's one of us. He's a journalist through and through. He's got an appetite for life and for what's going on in the world and he loves nothing better than to talk to people and surprise us with the revelations that he can unearth.

Morgan: By the way, being responsible for finding great undiscovered American talent [on NBC's "America's Got Talent"] or winning a business competition run by Donald Trump [on NBC's "Celebrity Apprentice"] are hardly badges of dishonor, are they? Both shows I took part in have great qualities. The qualities I bring as a judge for that -- wanting to get the best out of people, to find the best -- well those are exactly the sort of things I'll bring to my TV show.

Klein: Brutal honesty makes for a great TV show.

THR: Speaking of reality, as the judge of the summer's top-rated reality show, what do you think of Fox apparently picking Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez as new "Idol" judges?

Morgan: Well, I guess they couldn't afford me.

THR: Is that a joke or did Fox really go after you?

Morgan: Obviously, if you're losing the snarky Brit it's no great secret there's another one on "America's Got Talent," the No. 1-rated show in the summer. If I was "Idol" I'd certainly put a few calls in, but I think they realized CNN beat them to it.

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Your Views on the News, August 6, 2010

Lots to read, digest and discuss in this article from the September issue of Vanity Fair.

The Gray Lady of Cable News
Many think Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S., has lost the cable-news war to Fox. But CNN has racked up record profits by being bland.
Article for Vanity Fair by Michael Wolff•Illustration by John Cuneo

Jon Klein is an extremely affable broadcast-news executive, a chinos-and-Docksiders 52-year-old whom almost everybody in the TV-news business likes and believes is not only responsible for CNN’s ignominious ratings decline—it has lost in every prime-time slot for most of the last five years—but also for the collapse of broadcast journalism itself.

Among the inside-baseball television-news diaspora—network-news alums who have lost their jobs and been scattered as the television-news industry has been flattened—Klein and his stewardship of the network rise to a level not just of confounding mismanagement but of moral void in which the best lack all conviction and the worst are full of passionate intensity. In this example of the existential crisis of modern life, not only is CNN being beaten year after year by Fox, but it’s precisely its well-intentioned earnestness that is responsible for the rise of ideological television.

“CNN’s inability to evolve has given the game to Fox and us,” says MSNBC president Phil Griffin.

Read more »

Your Views on the News, June 19, 2010

There was a good read in Newsroom Magazine this week comparing CNN to Goldman Sachs.

"Goldman Sachs sought out the brightest talent, developed the longest reach, and amassed the most power of any financial services firm in history. Over the same period, CNN sought out the brightest journalists, made itself the premiere world-wide news producer, and developed the longest reach of any journalistic endeavor in history. Fast forward a bit."

Read more »

Happy Anniversary Wolf

Fishbowl DC is reporting 'Last week, thirty-nine of Wolf Blitzer's closest colleagues including David Bohrman, Candy Crowley, Jill Dougherty and John King toasted to Wolf's twenty years and solid ratings at CNN. The dinner, held at Cafe Milano was kicked off with remarks by CNN/U.S. president Jon Klein and wrapped when Wolf's wife Lynn shared personal reflections of Wolf's time at the network.
A bright spot for the network, The Situation Room's ratings are up year-over-year, beating MSNBC in both the 5 and 6 PM hours.

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CNN Launches Belief Blog

CNN.com today announced the launch of the Belief Blog, which explores the faith angles of the day's biggest stories – from breaking news to politics to entertainment to foreign affairs.
Aimed at covering a subject matter that will inform, inspire and delight the CNN.com audience, the Belief Blog fosters a global conversation about the role of religion and faith in the news – and in users’ lives. Found online at www.CNN.com/belief, the blog is co-edited by award-winning religion blogger, author and CNN Wire news editor Dan Gilgoff and CNN producer Eric Marrapodi, who is pursuing a master’s degree in religious studies from Georgetown University.
“A topic as personal and global as faith is woven into the daily news cycle in so many compelling ways,” said Meredith Artley, vice president and managing editor of CNN.com. “CNN.com's Belief Blog will be newsy and conversational, hitting hard topics and also having some fun. We're looking forward to the smart thinking and discussions that our talented editors will bring to this important beat, along with our deep bench of guest bloggers, producers, correspondents and iReporters."
Uniquely leveraging CNN’s global news gathering resources, the blog presents fresh looks and multiple perspectives at how faith drives the news, from the arrest of Baptist missionaries in Haiti to the debut of the first known Miss USA to be Muslim. Going beyond the news, each week the Belief Blog also will feature different influencers in the faith community, from Joel Osteen to Deepak Chopra. Additionally, Stephen Prothero, the New York Times bestselling author of Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know, and Doesn't, will be a regular contributor to the Belief Blog.
CNN also is inviting users to share their perspectives on faith by submitting photos and videos through iReport, the network’s user-generated online news community. The blog’s first iReport assignment asks users to share the often eye-catching, offbeat or controversial messages featured on signs in front of their hometown churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship. The “Church Signs” assignment can be found at this link.Twitter users also can keep up with the blog’s latest postings by following @CNNbelief.
CNN.com is the No. 1 destination for online and wireless news according to Nielsen, garnering the greatest audience in online video, total minutes and page views and the most mobile usage among current events and global news sites. Launched in 1995, CNN.com draws from the resources of CNN Worldwide and its many partners to provide consumers with the most enriching, immediate interaction with news anywhere, seamlessly combining articles, videos, images, interactive features and user-generated content. CNN.com’s news video offering – both live and on-demand – is unparalleled on the Web. CNN.com’s recent awards include a Peabody Award, two EPpy awards, four CableFAX Best of the Web awards, a National Headliner award, and the 2009 Edward R. Murrow award for best website.

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'In America's' New Executive Producer

Award-winning producer Geraldine Moriba has been named executive producer of CNN's "In America" unit, the network's newly created division, which will extend the “In America” franchise anchored by Soledad O’Brien. The announcement was made today by Bart Feder, senior vice president for current programming, CNN/U.S.
With more than 20 years of journalism experience, Moriba will be responsible for leading the editorial direction of the "In America" unit, working with CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien and a team of producers, generating “In America” series which will run within CNN's weekday programming, as well as long form primetime documentaries.
"Geraldine is a fantastic choice to lead the ‘In America’ unit in its reporting on communities across America,” said Feder. "Her years of award-winning production work and management experience give her the background to expand CNN’s commitment to long form journalism that reflects all aspects of the American experience.”
Moriba comes to CNN after 16 years at NBC News, where for 12 years, she served as a producer for Dateline NBC. Most recently she has served as senior producer for Broadcast Standards, monitoring news reports on all NBC News platforms. During this time, Moriba also served as an executive and senior producer on various multiplatform projects including: Obama’s America 2010 with Chris Matthews and Tom Joyner, an MSNBC special town hall on race; About Our Children with Bill Cosby, a two-hour MSNBC special on education; Making Your Vote Count, an election unit covering election fraud and irregularities in the 2008 elections; and the critically acclaimed Father’s Promise with Al Roker and Tiki Barber about the crisis of absent African American fathers. While at Dateline NBC, she produced numerous breaking news reports, as well as an investigative report on a NYC Child Services, various 9-11 stories, and an in-depth report tracing the lives of students in a 1982 fourth grade class photo to determine the impact of crime, poverty and broken homes.
Said Moriba, "It is an honor to join CNN and the “In America” team. I’m excited as I realize the magnitude of CNN's field of vision, and my mission is to continue CNN’s tradition of telling underreported news stories first. I hope to raise the bar by delivering even more untold stories from underrepresented communities in new and innovative ways.”
While at NBC News, Moriba was appointed a prestigious Visiting Ferris Professorship of Journalism position at Princeton University. During her tenure she developed and taught a seminar on how to use digital journalism skills to get more untold stories on the air. She was also the co-chair for NBC News’ Diversity Committee developing diversity programs to support leadership development and diverse content across NBC News programming.
Before joining NBC, Moriba was a researcher at ABC’s PrimeTime Live. She was also a producer for As It Happens, the news and current affairs broadcast of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Canada, covering stories ranging from the LA Riots to the Gulf War.
Moriba has won five Emmy Awards, including most recently in September 2009 for Outstanding Coverage for a Breaking News Story Long Form, NBC News Decision 2008 Election Night. She’s won a Peabody Award for a Tom Brokaw special report she produced on the Supreme Court case against the University of Michigan’s affirmative action admissions policy. She has also received an Alfred I. DuPont, the National Association of Black Journalists First Place Award, two New York Association of Black Journalists Documentary Awards, the Radio-Television News Directors Association First Place Unity Diversity Award, the Newswomen’s New York Front Page News Feature Award, the US Films Video Festival Silver Screen Award, two National Headliner Awards, the “Chris” Award of the Columbus International Film and Video Festival, a New York Film Festival Finalist Award and a Nancy Susan Reynolds Informational Documentary Finalist Award.
Moriba received her honors bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Women’s Studies from the University of Western Ontario. She is married with two children. The second of four children, Moriba grew up in Toronto, Canada. *

*text quoted directly from Turner Press Release

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