CNN adds O'Brien, shuffles anchors (Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the SS Turner)

USA TODAY ^ | July 6, 2003 | Peter Johnson

[Dont Mention the War]

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.

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.

[Dont Mention the War]

None of this will work. People don't want hard news in the mornings that they have to sit down and actually watch; the public is getting ready for work and the TV functions as a glorified radio for them while they're running all over the house. So American Morning is doomed no matter who anchors.

Anderson Cooper's show could work, but not at 7 pm. People aren't ready for quirky at 7 pm. Keith Olbermann is quirky at 8 pm, and his ratings blow.

Paula Zahn simply has a cold, off-setting personality. People don't want to watch her. So her show's dead, especially against O'Reilly.

CNN: One screwed-up channel.

[Mike Darancette]

Fox News is winning with its mix of confrontational talk-show hosts like O'Reilly and edgy news anchors like Shepard Smith, but CNN executives say that format is not for them.

What icebergs Captain Smith?

[Cicero]

A news channel where Larry King "gets the lion's share of CNN's prime-time ratings" is in deep trouble. King looks about a hundred years old at this point.

[RoughDobermann]

Instead, they say they're sticking with the one that CNN founder Ted Turner chose two decades ago: objective news.

They've got to be kidding...

[ladtx]

Paula Zahn == sacrificial lamb.

[sarasota]

Did you happen to see Paula Zahn when she "hosted" Ann Coulter? Ann had her totally stymied. It was wonderful.

[JohnnyZ]

Soledad is hot.

[dfwgator]

How long until Fox brings Rudi Bakhtiar into the fold?

[Izzy Dunne]

CNN executives say that format is not for them.

It's the format.
That's it! It's the format!
We've got to have a new format.
Maybe if we change our format.
I'll bet it's the format.
We can change the format.
Fox's format is what does it.
But that format's not for us.
Got to find the right format.
Just a few more changes to the format.
We want the same format, but different.
Maybe if we used last year's format...

[Russell Scott]

Put Rudi, Robin, and Soledad as co-hosts on a show with a "FOX and Friends" type format, and they might have a chance.

[BaghdadBarney]

objective news: /ob-jek-tiv noos/ term used by liberal journalists and news producers - mainly at CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC and the big metropolitan newspaper dailies - to cover over the fact that their news stories, exposes and other commentaries take on a very politically liberal slant.

[Tacis]

Never heard of most of these people!! But, any organization the gives Paul Begala employment and expects others to believe that anything Begala says isn't BS, lies, dishonesty or corruption doesn't know what he is doing.

The traditional, weasel left media is just doing fine. It has so many other revenue sources that it doesn't have to be competitive and, it gives them someting and all the lefties, something to whine about.

[TomHarkinIsNotFromIowa]

How many news cookies has Zahn crawled over?? If you handed her a kitten and told her all she had to do was twist it's head off and she would have the prime time slot. I don't think she would even flinch. I call it the dead kitty principle.

I had an aunt that was just like her. Very smug. You got the feeling you were being made fun of the whole time you were talking to her.

[musical_airman]

Former ABC anchor Anderson Cooper now anchors the 7 p.m. ET/4 PT hour

I rememeber when Anderson Cooper was on "Channel One"- my public school's morning indoctrination by television. We had to watch it every morning after we said the pledge of allegiance (yes, we still said it then). It's no surprise that he ended up on CNN.

btw.......If any of your children have to watch this crap like I did (nothing but commie-lib BS and soda commercials. Thanks to great parents I recognized it for what it was even then, which got me sent to the office more than once....) I would suggest that you go have a talk with your school board ASAP.

[quark]

Soledad is hot.

Need to do a "Rita Hayworth" on her: raise the hairline & give her a slight widow's peak.

[Freedom4US]

"they've got to be kidding."

Nope. Thye honestly think they are objective. That's what happens when virtually everyone is a dyed-in-the-wool lefty in one organization.

[KC_Conspirator]

Yes she is.

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[JohnnyZ]

"Yeah, come to think of it,
I do think JohnnyZ's a stud!"

[Poser]

Anderson Cooper won't be doing "The Mole" this year? OH NO!