'Parker Spitzer' boots Parker: Unfair?

From ThisWeek.com

'Parker Spitzer' boots Parker: Unfair?

Kathleen Parker gets dumped from the CNN show she co-hosted. Was she responsible for the show's low ratings or is she just taking the fall?


Kathleen Parker bids adieu Friday night to CNN's sinking ship, "Parker Spizer." Eliot Spitzer remains on as the show goes in a "new direction."

Best Opinion: Huff. Post, Hollywood Reporter, Gothamist

Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative columnist Kathleen Parker has left the struggling CNN show "Parker Spitzer," which she co-hosted with former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat. Rumors about her departure began circulating in January, just three months after the political talk show launched. With ratings lagging, CNN plans to take the show in a "new direction," keeping Spitzer on, and relaunching the program as "In the Arena." Was Parker unfairly blamed for the failure of the critically panned "Parker Spitzer"?

Yes, this reeks of sexism: "Let's face it, CNN has a women problem," says Amy Siskind at The Huffington Post. Seven anchors left the cable news network last year, and five were women. And now we're supposed to believe that Parker, and not her "obnoxious," spotlight-hogging, prostitution-scandal-plagued co-host, was the one holding back their flailing show. Parker's apparently forced exit has "the stench of sexism."

CNN had to make a change: The bottom line is "Parker Spitzer" didn't work, says Lacey Rose in The Hollywood Reporter. The ratings were dismal, and the duo "failed to gin up the sort of buzz the news operation longs for." Now Parker can get back to what she does best — writing — and CNN can try finding a formula that clicks.
"Kathleen Parker out at CNN's 'Parker Spitzer'"

Parker should count herself lucky: "Parker Spitzer" was one of those lousy ideas that never should have been greenlighted, says Jen Chung at Gothamist. Now that Parker has put herself out of her Spitzer-induced "misery," she can get on with her life. Plus, Parker now gets the pleasure of watching her "hooker-loving" former co-host sink on his own.



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It's Official

CNN executive vice president Ken Jautz announces “In the Arena” ensemble program at 8:00 pm. Below are statements from Ken, Kathleen Parker and Eliot Spitzer.


NOTE FROM KEN JAUTZ TO STAFF:

I want to share with you some news today regarding our 8pm show. Kathleen Parker has decided to leave the program to focus on her writing, and we have decided to take the show in a new direction. We will be adopting an ensemble format with several newsmakers, guests and contributors joining Eliot Spitzer each night. The new program will be called, "In the Arena," beginning Monday. E.D. Hill and Will Cain will join the program as well others within and outside the CNN family.

We have been pleased with how the 8pm hour has become a centerpiece of substantive, policy-oriented conversation, and we are looking forward to building on that with this new format. Simply put, the new program will look beyond the headlines to analyze and discuss the most important stories of the day. The program will provide context and analysis through balanced and thoughtful discussions and interviews with a wide range of guests and newsmakers who cumulatively represent various points of view.

Kathleen will continue to appear on CNN occasionally to provide her insights and commentary. We thank Kathleen for her hard work and all that she has done to help us launch our new 8pm program. We respect her as a colleague and appreciate her perspective and contributions.


Statement from Kathleen Parker:

After bringing viewers a new 8pm show on CNN, I have decided to return to a schedule that will allow me to focus more on my syndicated newspaper column and other writings. While I am extremely proud of the show we created, and the subject matter and level of discourse Parker Spitzer promoted every night, it was a difficult decision to scale back my column a few months ago and, with the show going in a new direction, it is a good time to move on. I want to thank the viewers who have been so kind with their comments and support. I will continue to appear to contribute and analyze occasionally on CNN and look forward to continuing my relationship with CNN and the many talented individuals I have worked with here.


Statement from Eliot Spitzer:

I wish Kathleen all the best in continuing on with her spectacular career. It has been a joy working with her as a teammate, and I continue to be a huge fan of the wisdom that jumps from her written work and the wit, charm and insight she brings to all that she does.

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Is the Gossip True for Parker/Spitzer?

photo courtesy of The Wrap

Brian Stelter of the New York Times tweeted today that Parker/Spitzer could soon be in for a change. He sites two sources that say Kathleen Parker is out and also added "CNN's silence on this matter has been deafening for several hours. We are trying hard to gain comment from CNN, Spitzer, and Parker." To follow Brian on Twitter just click on this link.

The New York Post writes (edited, please follow the link for the entire article):

Eliot Spitzer is telling friends his CNN co-host Kathleen Parker "will be gone within a week." Relations between the ex-gov, who once called himself a "[bleep]ing steamroller," and his conservative co-host are at an all-time low. A source said, "Spitzer thinks she's holding him back. The ratings surged when she was out sick, and he anchored alone during the turmoil in Egypt. Only very few anchors have the power to wipe out a co-host, and Spitzer thinks he has it. CNN bosses are high on Spitzer, and he might get his own show. Kathleen has been weighing her options. There's this sense of dread among middle management." We've reported that Parker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, could be dumped due to lack of chemistry with Spitzer. But our source said, "She's putting up a fight." CNN President Ken Jautz recently said, "There have been lots of press reports that I am contemplating changes, but I'm not going to engage in any speculation." A CNN rep declined to comment.

The Wrap reports:

Kathleen Parker, the co-host of "Parker Spitzer," CNN's four-month-old, ratings-challenged primetime show, is being dropped from the program, according to sources inside the CNN newsroom. Eliot Spitzer, her co-host, will remain.

A representative at CNN did not return an email and phone call requesting comment.

The move has been rumored for some time now. Spitzer hosted the show earlier this month while Parker was reportedly sick, and the show saw a 68 percent jump in 25-54-year-old viewer

The 8 p.m. show was announced last fall, as a replacement for Campbell Brown, with former CNN president Jon Klein's seal of approval. The roundtable format -- with Spitzer, the former New York State governor and Parker, the conservative columnist -- marked a shift to opinion-based programming for CNN, which had shunned the ideological fare favored by Fox News and MSNBC.

And the ratings for "Parker Spitzer" simply never materialized. In its first week on the air, "Parker Spitzer," had an average audience of just 465,500 viewers for its debut week; disgraced former CNN host Rick Sanchez's "Rick's List" averaged 468,000 total viewers during its brief run in the same time slot. (It even lagged behind HLN's Nancy Grace, who averaged 550,000 total viewers during the "Parker Spitzer's" first week.)

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Parker/ Spitzer

We noticed last night that the little 'live' bug was in the bottom corner of Parker/Spitzer. That's a change that we read more about today, in addition to the speculation that continues to swirl about Kathleen Parker's possible replacement.


The New York Post reported:

Network honcho Ken Jautz announced yesterday during a morning meeting that the show, which had previously been taped, would now be aired live, one insider said.
"He ended the conversation saying, 'That's all I have right now,' " the source said.

As The Post reported yesterday, Parker, a Pulitzer prize-winning columnist, could be dumped any day now due to a lack of chemistry with the disgraced former governor and dismal ratings."[Parker] is being pushed out," an insider said. "But she's putting up a fight because she's been hung out to dry."

Although CNN has considered possible replacements for Parker such as former Fox anchor E.D. Hill and National Review writer Will Cain, this week's switch to live television may be a last ditch effort to keep Parker on board.

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Lose the Parker in Parker/Spitzer?

For those of you who just can't get enough Parker/Spitzer news this was posted on dailyfinance.com yesterday. It was written by Jeff Bercovici

JEFF BERCOVICI

See full article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/cfyoBu

To say Parker Spitzer, CNN's new prime-time show starring former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and conservative writer Kathleen Parker, failed to win over critics from the start understates the matter. Go here or here for a survey of the reviews, which mostly focus on the forced chemistry between the two hosts and the jarring lack of flow between segments.

Of course, the critical response would be irrelevant if the show were attracting viewers, but at least on its first night, it didn't.

CNN, of course, says it's happy with the show and confident in its prospects, but there's reason to think the network is already quietly lining up the fire trucks next to the runway in expectation of a flameout. The major reason is the dismissal, two weeks ago, of network President Jonathan Klein who developed Parker Spitzer and also recruited British TV interviewer Piers Morgan to succeed Larry King.

Another Swing and Another Miss

I noted that the timing of Klein's ouster, coming before his newest shows had a chance to prove themselves, was curious, but CNN Worldwide President Jim Walton had an explanation: "We felt it was important to go ahead and make the move before we launched the new programs because we felt it was important not to have any disruption once the programs were on the air nor any seeming of dissatisfaction with the programs."

Maybe. Or maybe, once Parker Spitzer went from concept to execution and Walton got his first look at the result in the days leading up to the launch, it became glaringly obvious that Klein had swung and missed yet again and it was past time to give someone else a shot. After all, the two hosts were chosen and announced without so much as a screen test being performed.

That's just a guess. Here's another one: It will be weeks, not months, before Klein's replacement, Ken Jautz, makes a significant change to Parker Spitzer's format. Several critics have said the dual-host thing is awkward and that Spitzer, the bigger name of the two, might fare better with a show of his own. (MSNBC's Morning Joe, which seems to be the loose model for Parker Spitzer, is built around a similar dyad, but it's clearly Joe Scarborough's show.) Don't be surprised if that's the direction Jautz takes it.










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Spitzer/Parker

Wasn't it just yesterday morning we said to expect the announcement about the new Spitzer/Parker hour very soon? Well today's the day:

In case you don't have time to watch the video the premiere is Monday October 4th at 8PM.


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