Posted on 03/31/2010 7:05:51 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
The future of CNN, never exactly bright the past couple of years, suddenly looked dire this week when ratings came out showing a 40 percent decline in prime time viewers since 2009.
Jon Klein, the network president, has consistently defended the network’s down-the-middle news strategy despite the increasingly large ratings leads opened up by MSNBC and particularly Fox, ..
So is it time for a radical re-thinking of “the most trusted name in news,” the network of Larry King, Anderson Cooper, Campbell Brown and Wolf Blitzer? We asked a dozen or so prominent media watchers, former industry executives and CNN personalities for their recommendations.
Their near-consensus: It has to change, get more personality, no longer be — as one media critic called it — “the view from nowhere.” ..
Bring back “Crossfire”
Ask a couple of former “Crossfire” hosts for a solution to CNN’s ratings troubles, and maybe it’s not a surprise what their answer is: Resurrect their old show.
Both Michael Kinsley and Bill Press — each of whom had stints taking the liberal side of the right vs. left political slugfest — think it’s worth a shot.
By bringing back “Crossfire,” they argue, CNN could continue with its strategy of not falling squarely on the left or the right in prime time, ..
Five years ago, one of Klein’s first orders of business after becoming network president was killing off the long-running show, a pioneer in high-decibel political debate which had been the recipient of harsh on-air criticism from "Daily Show" host Jon Stewart just a few months before.
“When he unceremoniously dumped it, Jon Klein said he wanted straight news and not commentary or opinion,” Kinsley told POLITICO. “And now he's got everyone expressing opinions left and right — because that's what people like.’
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
How to fix CNN??
Turn off the TV.
Calderone asked the wrong question. Instead of how it should by why?
I don't. Not even in airports.
bump
Somehow, someway, some TARP money will be used to allow NPR to buy CNN, maybe even NYTimes as well...just watch...weird predictions come true. PRAVDA.
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