In Surprise, Lou Dobbs Quits CNN
By BRIAN STELTER and BILL CARTER
Months ago the president of CNN/U.S., Jonathan Klein, spelled out two options for Lou Dobbs, the channel’s most outspoken anchor. Mr. Dobbs could vent his opinions on radio and anchor an objective newscast on television, or he could leave CNN altogether.
On Wednesday Mr. Dobbs made his decision: He chose opinion.
Mr. Dobbs told viewers that he was resigning from his CNN job immediately. Sitting before an image of an American flag on his studio set, he said “some leaders in media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond the role here at CNN and to engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day.”
He remained vague about how he would contribute “to the national conversation,” saying that he was considering “a number of options and directions.”
The abrupt announcement caught even some of his closest staff members by surprise. They were told about the decision only hours before Mr. Dobbs’s 7 p.m. program. CNN said it would name a replacement for Mr. Dobbs on Thursday morning.
Mr. Klein said in a statement that “Lou has now decided to carry the banner of advocacy journalism elsewhere.”
“All of us will miss his appetite for big ideas, the megawatt smile and larger than life presence he brought to our newsroom,” he said.
Mr. Klein and Mr. Dobbs declined interview requests. Well known for his opposition to illegal immigration and his fierce advocacy of free market capitalism, Mr. Dobbs was an outlier at CNN, which has sought to be seen as the neutral turf of cable news.
“If CNN wants to be seen as the thoughtful, unbiased, middle of the road alternative to Fox News on the right and MSNBC on the left, this decision goes along with that,” said Geneva Overholser, the director of the School of Journalism at the University of Southern California.
She said the anchor’s decision also makes sense “if he really wants to be Lou Dobbs, man of opinion.”
Mr. Dobbs’s show drew an average of 631,000 viewers in October, putting him in third place behind Fox News and MSNBC. Like those for other CNN programs, his ratings have declined in recent months.
His contract was not to expire until the end of 2011, people with knowledge of his deal said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because contract information is typically treated confidentially. Mr. Dobbs told viewers that Mr. Klein had agreed to release him from his contract early.
People inside CNN have speculated for months that Mr. Dobbs could pick up and move to another network, a possibility that gained momentum in September when he met with Roger Ailes, the chairman of the Fox News Channel.
At the time Mr. Dobbs was characterized by people close to him as a potential hire for the Fox Business Network. But a Fox representative said Wednesday, “We have not had any discussions with Lou Dobbs for Fox News or Fox Business.”
Mr. Dobbs quit CNN once before, in 1999, after disputes with the network’s president at the time, Rick Kaplan. That time, he also exited midweek, on a Tuesday. He became the chief executive of Space.com, an astronomy news source, but returned to the network two years later.
“I’m grateful for the many opportunities that CNN has given me over these many years,” Mr. Dobbs said, noting that he is “the last of the original anchors here on CNN.”
Over the years Mr. Dobbs evolved from being a sober business anchor to a commentator who labeled himself “Mr. Independent.” The issues at the top of his agenda — ones that he mentioned again on Wednesday in explaining his departure — include immigration policy, the growth of the country’s middle class, climate change, and the military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. He had saved his most ideological remarks for his afternoon radio show, which made its debut in March 2008. It is on the radio show that he talked repeatedly about the conspiracy theory claims that President Obama is not a United States citizen. When he mentioned the citizenship issue on CNN over the summer, he raised the ire of his bosses and provoked criticism from progressive groups.
More recently, his coverage of immigration provoked protests by Hispanic groups. On Wednesday one of the groups, Presente.org, which had called on CNN to fire the anchor, declared a “victory.”
Roberto Lovato, a co-founder of the group, said, “We are thrilled that Dobbs no longer has this legitimate platform from which to incite fear and hate.”
Speaking on CNN Wednesday, Mr. Dobbs said he would strive to strengthen the public discourse from an as-yet-unnamed podium.
“As for the important work of restoring inspiration to our great free society and our market economy, I will strive as well to be a leader in that national conversation,” he said.
He concluded his last CNN broadcast by saying, “I’ll see you next on the radio.”
Then he crossed 58th Street in Midtown Manhattan, walked into an Irish pub frequented by colleagues and was greeted with a round of applause.
