Record-Breaking Memorial Weekend 2013! ‘Fast & … 
SAG-AFTRA Sued For Witholding Foreign Residuals And … 
Zach Braff Ends $3+M Kickstarter Campaign 
Fox Unscripted TV Czar Mike Darnell To Exit 
NBC Sets Oklahoma Tornado Benefit Concert For May 29 
Cannes: Directors’ Fortnight Honors ‘Les … 
SHOCKER: Tom Cruise Exits ‘Man From … 
A+E Rebuild: BBC’s Jana Bennett To Run Bio And LMN … 
RATINGS RAT RACE: ‘Hannibal’ Hits Low, … 
‘Katie’ Shakeup: Rachel Miskowiec Replaces … 
Hammond On Cannes: French Hero Jerry Lewis On His Return To … 
Cannes: Another Jewelry Heist? $2.6M Necklace Missing After … 
Hammond On Cannes: Leo DiCaprio’s Moon Trip Tops … 
Specialty B.O. Preview: ‘Before Midnight’, … 
2012-2013 Season Network Rankings: CBS Sweeps In Final … 
Full 2012-2013 TV Season Series Rankings 
TOLDJA! Paramount Pocketing $190M From Disney For Marvel … 
‘Good Morning America’ Hits 19-Year Viewership … 
MGM Buys ‘Modern Family’ Producer Ben … 
‘Fashion Police’ Writers Chant On Picket Lines: … 
Universal Makes Seven-Figure Deal For ‘The School For … 
CNN is a ratings mess right now, and the cable news channel is bringing in the guy who talent-scouted Glenn Beck, Nancy Grace, and Joy Behar to fix it. It’s getting its clocked cleaned by Fox News, and TPTB finally are doing something about it. But is it too late? CNN today announced that 6-year president Jonathan Klein is being replaced by sister channel HLN’s Ken Jautz, who now becomes the EVP of CNN/U.S. At one time known as Headline News, HLN is now the scandal channel — and ratings have surged. What this portends for bland and boring CNN I don’t even wanna predict. Chief marketer Scot Safon will take over HLN.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
Loading ...
If the promos for the new Parker/Spitzer show are any indication where CNN is headed, Ted Turner should flip them all the finger. Kathleen Parker on the Chris Mathews Show looks like a grandmother
sitting on a porch in South Carolina playing with her great grand-children. CNN gives you the impression she is one hot middle aged
southern belle..out courgaring around “K” street. Spitzer? Where do you start with this guy? Of all the people available to match with Parker Spitzer? He has baggage a forklift could not pick up.
The first thing that comes to mind is him standing at an ATM machine. Smart guy..but is he someone you really want representing you on TV in this day and age. If CNN is chasing Fox I am going to turn them off and listen to POTUS on xm radio.
I think Mickey Kaus just wet himself in excitement.
I am so happy that Jon Klein is OUT. I have been watching CNN since its debut with Ted Turner at the helm. Over these past few years or so, I have become disappointed in the programming as well as some anchors too. So after all these years of dedication and loyalty to CNN, I am ready for change and it starts at the top.
The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer needs a complete overhaul.
When Larry King leaves, I go. I will not tune in and watch Piers Morgan. I’m done with that timeslot of CNN.
John King needs some tweaking of his show and alot of experimentalization going on right now with his show.
Candy Crowley is super fantastic. I like anything she is on.
Rick Sanchez is great with Rick’s List. Very good so keep him.
American Morning – Keep John Roberts and find a new co-anchor.
Anderson 360 is fine in its timeslot and he does great work.
Sanjay Gupta is so great in all his shows, etc.
Don Lemon needs a better show. He does really well on his weekend show.
TJ Holmes, Tony Harris, Soledad Obrien, all are fine.
Fredricka Whitfield needs to get out and do reports more often and given a rotational break from the long-winded weekend stretches like TJ Holmes too. CNN needs to add more anchors to cover weekends and let the regulars get more time off.
Jeanne Moos – more stories and reports.
Weather team with Chad Myers and his team are outstanding.
CNN add a Sports division again and get some variety in programming.
Bring back Miles O’brien with a Science and Space division.
CNN should be about variety and not so much politics. Make it something for everyone under Ted Turner’s leadership.
I hope that the new leadership will be a progressive, forward thinking innovator to counter-attack the right-wing agenda of a competitor cable network and the right-wing in the morning and left-wing in the Primetime “can’t-make-up-their-minds” who they really are or what they really are competitor cable network.
CNN, just be yourself again and get back to the originalities of the quintessential leader, Ted Turner.
Oh how I miss Ted Turner! He is the original, the standard-bearer of cable news!
They need to either get rid of Kyra Phillips or send her to report. I don’t think she’s all that great as an anchor, but fares better as a reporter.
Zucker and then this, in the same day. Wow, there is justice in the world.
CNN better get with the program. You can report the news without an unbiased opinion WHILE making it enjoyable to the audience. The anchors are BORING. Liven up the shows and change up the sets. Have programs where someone “calls out” BOTH fox news and MSNBC, someone like Jon Stewart, maybe not him exactly, but someone with his personality.
This isn’t rocket science.
I agree. I heard that the woman who started the daily show was going to join CNN but hopefully Jon Klein, whose idea it was, is taking her with him. You can’t always blame the JK’s of the world. Who is pulling his strings? I used to be glued to CNN…. It is now propganda tv, as is all of the news except the comeday central news… so get a grip people.
Glenn Beck and Nancy Grace are disgusting. It’s a shame. Sounds like CNN is ready to sell its soul, self-lobotomize, and shed it last vestige of dignity in order to compete with a channel that caters to vast audience of hateful, unhappy, fear-mongering morons.
It will be interesting to see if they can sink low enough to actually draw a larger share of idiots while being bipartisan (i.e. the clownish Rick Sanchez), or if they will have to go lower by programming shows that skew hard left and right.
Might be better if they pull the Band Aid off quick, rather than watching their credibility bleed away as they dumb down programs (Anderson 360) and compromise staff. Will the real journalists jump ship?
Too bad it’s about money and not the news.
You took the words right out of my mouth. It’s a crying shame. Unfortunately, no one under a certain IQ percentile really cares about raw news anymore, unless it comes from a talking head with an extremist opinion on everything.
I hope this means the end for Rick Sanchez as well. He’s a catastrophe, and must go.
You are too kind to Sanchez. I cringe when he is on..its not reporting its acting. And the modulation in Tony Harris’s voice what is that all about? God awful station when I think about it.
Yes, there are some good ones…far and few between. Obrien I love..even Howie on Reliable Sources brings something to the table. When it comes to the political round tables, I am waiting for wheel chairs to be used. Can Gloria B. be more extended over cable networks. She is everywhere and never shuts up. But she never says anyhting either. Donna B., enough she has had her day.
Get someone who actually can move easily around the set and talk to the younger viewers(if there are any) and get them excited about politics again. It is so sad how the media intrudes into the political process…they destroy the views coming from all points on the compass…
If Rick Sanchez doesn’t go soon someone needs to start a petition. He gets cockier and more clueless each minute he is on air. Now he has a book. and he sells it on air. who is letting this happen? its embarrassing for humanity.
Nikki,
CNN is a puzzle, it has the resources to offer great variety and a mix of news, opinion as well as documentaries or other programs, yet it offers a boring sameness no different than NBCBSABC. No surprise that CNN has lost viewers and pales in importance.
Some observations CNN is loath to admit.
1. Even the densest viewer knows CNN has the standard liberal NY-DC POV, only Klien and the network has the arrogance to claim it was unbiased. Viewers figured this out along time ago and so they select where they get the range of views they look for. A claim is useless unless your audience (plus , those who don’t/or watch occasionally ) believe it. No one believes CNN is unbiased “straight news”.
2. Opinion programs with memorable hosts sell, CNN had Beck and Dobbs but got rid of them because they did not like their POV. But Rick Sanchez, Jack Cafferty and other liberals were ok ? I can’t think of a better case of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
CNN needs to admit that people tune in for commentary/opinion more often than news. They also need to accept that distinctive hosts will a clear POV is necessary and that “moderate” (reality left) does not cut it.
3. Finally decide what mix of other programs to offer, Red Eye is a great example of a show that found an audience, CNN cloud do so much with their resources and talent – but they sorely lack content and a distinctive POV.
Damn! This brand is about to get sunk like a lead balloon. Ted Turner must crying right now. We’re gonna start having more partisan bickering and more NEWSTAINMENT for the masses to get distracted by. I bet you Anderson Cooper is out once his contract is up.
HLN is a ridiculous, unwatchable channel. Have you seen the graphics on the screen when Nancy Grace is on? You’d think the world is ending. It says “BREAKING NEWS” about ten different times for a piece of news that’s two years old.
CNN doesn’t need to become more like that. They need to settle down and do some real news-gathering. Frankly, Fox is outdoing them at that right now. I always used to turn to CNN if something was going on in another part of the world, but they’ve pared back their divisions so much it’s usually Fox/Sky/Newscorp with the scoop.
…hateful, unhappy, fear-mongering morons
Look in the mirror lately? Your total lack of awareness is as amusing as it is predictable.
I can barley watch CNN anymore. They need to axe the new Spitzer show, the Larry King replacement host, Rick Sanchez and show NEWS! NPR-style-hard-hitting NEWS! No opinions! No smug and/or yelling people. Just news!
I love Larry King. When he is gone I agree I will not watch CNN in that time slot. Pierce Morgan is a big bore. If they wanted to do something different for “Larry King” they should of done a round table show with women like “The View”. I would of called it “Voices of Reason”
CNN should start by dumping Blitzer and Rick Sanchez and bringing in anchors who actually know something — these 2 are constantly caught clueless and unable to challenge politicians on their spin. Anderson Cooper is good when he’s on location highlighting the plight-du-jour but sometimes just sits there, while his guests go at it unmoderated. The other night Elliot Spitzer and right-winger Ralph Reed argued about the GOP “Pledge.” Cooper let them filibuster and the poor 3rd guest got about 1 sentence in. One learned absolutely nothing from this shouting talking heads exchange. THAT is the model of cable news that needs to be replaced.
Two for two…first Zucker is gone and now Klein. Can it get any better in the media world? This Spitzer show will be one and done.
A Shake up is really needed starting with American Morning. I cannot watch this show any longer. Kiran Chetry needs to go…she is too impressed with herself..cares nothing about the news…and it shows. John Roberts is a nervous wreck trying to stay on task and I guess he finally snapped. Not fair to him to have to put up with the likes of this Bimbo beside him. Love Candy Crowley on Sunday…she is awesome. Rick Sanchez…bye, bye. Kyra Phillips..bye, bye. John King is good, but needs to pick things up a bit on his show. Now is a good time to do a BIG overhaul. CNN needs to work to get back their viewers. Good luck to new president. Hope he won’t go O’bama on you.
Those complaining about Rick Sanchez are extreme right wingers. Love Rick. When Larry King retires you idiots should have gotten Jon Stewart…for the 9-10 slot…a ratings winner..but no you get a English guy most Americans don’t know ( Everyone doesn’t watch America’s got talent )…go back to the drawing board…be brave…be daring…go big or go home