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6/12/04 OVERHEARD ON CNN [Meghan Keane] Rigth after the funeral, Bernie Shaw admitted on CNN that the newsmedia failed the american people by not recognizing Reagan during his presidency--and Wolf Blitzer and Paula Zahn agreed: Bernie Shaw: “I’d just like to say something…We failed the American people with our coverage…I certainly missed a lot.” Wolf Blitzer: “We’ve learned a lot about this presidency since his two terms in office.” Paula Zahn: “I just wanted to add, Wolf, I do think there is new material coming out now about Ronald Reagan. With the distance of years we have the ability to...

<p>THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.</p> <p>Rush Limbaugh's week went from bad to worse today. His name has surfaced in a drug investigation in Florida. According to law enforcement sources, he allegedly bought large amounts of prescription painkillers illegally. This after he quit under pressure as host of ESPN's Sunday NFL countdown for his racially charged remarks.</p>

CNN still is putting the final touches on its new prime-time lineup, but the first two weeks' worth of ratings are down compared with last year. The network said Monday it has hired contributors -- including former Defense Department spokeswoman Victoria Clarke and Time magazine columnist Joe Klein -- for the 8 p.m. show, "Paula Zahn Now." Zahn's show drew an average of 598,000 viewers in its first two weeks since CNN relaunched it with the new name. That was down 25 percent from the time slot a year ago, when Connie Chung's program was airing. The new 7 p.m....

http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/cnn/0903/23primetime.html?urac=n&urvf=10643489956980.7520239648255277Link via Drudge CNN's prime-time ratings still down despite overhaul By CAROLINE WILBERT The Atlanta Journal-Constitution CNN still is putting the final touches on its new prime-time lineup, but the first two weeks' worth of ratings are down compared with last year. The network said Monday it has hired contributors -- including former Defense Department spokeswoman Victoria Clarke and Time magazine columnist Joe Klein -- for the 8 p.m. show, "Paula Zahn Now." Zahn's show drew an average of 598,000 viewers in its first two weeks since CNN relaunched it with the new name. That was down 25 percent from...

Bum start for CNN's 'Zahn' and 'Cooper'Best hopes for stemming slide against Fox News By Kevin Downey     CNN's hopes of reclaiming No. 1 from Fox News Channel were dealt a major setback this week with the disappointing premieres of “Anderson Cooper 360” and “Paula Zahn Now.”      The audience for “Cooper” on Monday was down 47 percent in the 7 p.m. time slot occupied last year by “Crossfire,” to 319,000 people, while “Zahn's” audience of 508,000 people was down 45 percent in the 8 p.m. time slot briefly occupied by the canceled “Connie Chung.” All figures are based...

CNN's prime time anchors, Paula Zahn and Anderson Cooper, will officially launch their new shows Sept. 8. Zahn's show, a straight news program, will be called "Paula Zahn Now" and Cooper's show, which will have a faster-paced style, will be called "Anderson Cooper 360." A cast of contributors for Zahn's show will be announced later this week. Cooper's show, which targets younger viewers, will feature several regular segments devoted to media, including "Inside the Box," which will analyze TV news coverage, "Fresh Print," a look at the hot topics in current magazines, and "Weekender," which will preview upcoming movies and...

Five months after CNN canceled Connie Chung's 8 p.m. show, the network still is fiddling with the replacement -- and losing viewership. Chung's show often was criticized for its tabloid feel, and last winter newly named CNN President Jim Walton shelved it in favor of a hard-news show featuring one of the network's best-known anchors, Paula Zahn. Zahn has anchored the 8 p.m. hour most of the time since, although CNN officially will launch and rebadge the program Sept. 8, spokeswoman Christa Robinson said. Initial ratings suggest more than a catchy name may be needed. Viewers seem to have preferred...

As Zahn goes, so goes CNN--down Both see ratings tumble while Fox News rises In moving Paula Zahn into primetime, CNN was hoping to recover from its near-disastrous foray into tabloid television with Connie Chung, whose show was yanked in March after less than a year. CNN might have done better sticking with Chung. Zahn’s July ratings for the same 8 p.m. time slot were down an unexpectedly large 24 percent among total viewers from what Chung averaged for the same month a year ago. This comes as no small delight to competing all-news cable networks, notably Fox News, but...

<p>July 31, 2003 -- CNN dumped Connie Chung last year because her ratings were disappointing - but her replacement, Paula Zahn, is drawing even fewer viewers.</p> <p>On average, 761,000 viewers watched Chung's tabloid-style 8 p.m. show last July compared to 579,000 for Zahn's show this month.</p>

RPT-CNN Head Shrugs Off Fox News Ratings RivalryThu July 10, 2003 08:35 PM ET Jim Walton, president of the CNN News Group of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., speaks to television critics during his presentation at the Television Critics Association Summer press tour in Hollywood July 10, 2003 along with CNN news anchors Paula Zahn (L) and Soledad O'Brien. Walton discussed the cable news networks programming changes, which includes Zahn's new evening and O'Brien's new morning news programs.Photo by Fred Prouser/Reuters By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - As CNN reshuffles its anchor lineup, the head of the network said on...

<p>With Fox News clobbering it by a 1 million to 2 million viewer margin at night and a 250,000 margin in the morning, CNN, the onetime cable news leader, is regrouping.</p> <p>Starting today, former NBC Weekend Today host Soledad O'Brien joins Bill Hemmer on American Morning from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET/4 to 7 PT. O'Brien replaces Paula Zahn, who has moved to the 8 p.m. ET/5 PT slot, where she faces cable king Bill O'Reilly. Former ABC anchor Anderson Cooper now anchors the 7 p.m. ET/4 PT hour.</p>

CNN counts on Zahn in prime-time battle By CAROLINE WILBERT The Atlanta Journal-Constitution After more than a month off the air, Paula Zahn returned to CNN on a recent weeknight with a typically poised explanation. Dressed in a coral suit with matching necklace, she explained in a few quick sentences that she was on vacation for a while and now will be hosting an 8 p.m. news show. The show is "a work in progress" that will roll out new features, contributors and set in coming weeks, she added. "I'm very excited," said Zahn, who used to host the network's...

CNN Hires Media Veteran to Revamp 'Zahn'Wed May 28, 2003 03:49 AM ETBy Andrew Grossman NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - CNN has named a widely traveled media veteran to relaunch and produce Paula Zahn's evening news show, the network said. James Miller -- a news and TV producer, screenwriter, political veteran and co-author of a best seller about "Saturday Night Live" -- will spend the next month or so developing a format for "American Evening With Paula Zahn," the 7-9 p.m. show that has not yet launched, though Zahn has been in the time slot since March 31. In a...

Morning Anchor Replacing Chung, Adding 'Crossfire' Time Slot News about the television industry, reviews of shows and more can be found on our Television page. See what's on TV today, tomorrow or next week with the TV Grid. CNN made it official late yesterday: Paula Zahn is replacing Connie Chung in prime time. And to make way for Zahn's show, "Crossfire" is being shipped out of prime time. Zahn's new live 7-9 p.m. show, "American Evening With Paula Zahn," will originate from the streetside studio in the Time & Life Building. Teya Ryan, CNN executive vice president and general manager,...

NEW YORK (AP) - Shortly before CNN unveiled the new studio it had built in Manhattan for Paula Zahn's "American Morning" last month, a telephone rang at the desk of a reporter. A publicist for Fox News Channel was calling. For anyone writing about Zahn's show, she wanted to point out how much better Fox's morning show, "Fox & Friends," was doing in the ratings. With that in mind, CNN's new studio "is nothing more than rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic," Fox spokeswoman Tracey Spector said. As digs go, this one was relatively mild. But it follows a...

<p>THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.</p> <p>PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The report from the International Institute for Strategic Studies confirming Saddam's enduring interest in developing weapons of mass destruction, that comes a day after former United Nations weapons inspector Scott Ritter insisted Iraq is not a threat to the U.S. He told the Iraqi parliament the country is on the verge of making an historical mistake by trying to remove Saddam Hussein. But in 1998, when Ritter resigned his U.N. post, he criticized the international community for being too easy when Iraq violated Security Council resolutions.</p>

A local landscape designer is suing CNN news anchor Paula Zahn and her husband for failing to pay in full for extensive landscaping at the couple's Greenwich home on Hurlingham Drive, according to documents filed in state Superior Court in Stamford. Memrie Lewis, of 15 Pecksland Road, alleges that as a designer, she hired other firms to do the work Robert Cohen and Zahn wanted on their home, an agreement laid out in a contract. Lewis said the couple has not paid about $108,000 for services rendered. With interest and compensation, Lewis is seeking close to $200,000. Her complaint...

Filed at 1:56 p.m. ET GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) -- Paula Zahn's lawyer is arguing that the CNN anchor shouldn't have to give a deposition in a lawsuit filed by her landscaper, partly because she's a celebrity. Memrie Lewis is suing Zahn and her husband, Robert Cohen, for failing to pay in full for extensive landscaping at the couple's Greenwich home, according to documents filed in Stamford Superior Court. Lewis said the couple has not paid about $108,000 for services rendered. She seeks about $200,000, including interest and compensation. Nicole Anker, the lawyer representing the couple, filed a motion last week...

Fox To Appeal Zahn Decision Fox had charged the agency with interfering with Ms. Zahn's contract after the CNN offer was presented last August. Rather than counter the offer within five business days, as the contract specified, Fox abruptly dropped Ms. Zahn, saying her contract agreement with the network had been breached. But a New York State Supreme Court judge on Monday dismissed the suit, saying that the contract had not been breached because while Fox was guaranteed right of first refusal the network was not guaranteed right of first negotiation. Fox News issued a statement that said, "Fox News...

he latest battle between CNN and the Fox News Channel isn't over ratings, but rather words. CNN officials were upset over a bit by Chicago radio shock jock Mancow Muller during yesterday's edition of "Fox & Friends," in which the motor-mouth punched a male sidekick who he said was a stand-in for Paula Zahn. "I'll kill you, Paula! I'll kill you, Paula!" Muller shouted while hitting his cohort. A CNN spokeswoman, who brought the incident to the attention of The News, said it "clearly crosses the line of what's appropriate." No viewers called Fox about the bit, which was part...