How desperate is CNN?
Spitzer, Parker to host primetime CNN showPosted: June 23rd, 2010
Washington (CNN) - Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Kathleen Parker will co-host a new hour long CNN primetime news program starting in the fall as the nation prepares for the 2010 midterm election, the network announced Wednesday morning.
The yet-to-be-named “roundtable discussion” program will air at 8 p.m. ET replacing Campbell Brown.
“Other cable news channels force-feed viewers one narrow, predictable point of view; in contrast, CNN will be offering a lively roundup of all the best ideas – presented by two of the most intelligent and outspoken figures in the country,” Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S., said in a statement released by the network. “Eliot and Kathleen are beholden to no vested interest – in fact, quite the opposite: they are renowned for taking on the most powerful targets and most important causes.”
Klein made the announcement in Wednesday’s network wide editorial conference call with CNN staff.
Parker, whose columns appear in over 400 newspapers twice a week, in April received the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. She describes herself as a “rational” conservative.
“As a veteran print journalist, I am appropriately respectful of the challenges posed by the medium,” said Parker. “But I'm thrilled by the opportunity to discuss the issues that matter to me —and that aren't heard often enough on television—in a conversation with one of the nation's most brilliant, fearless and original thinkers. With Eliot Spitzer as my co-host, Wall Street and Main Street will finally meet. It can't possibly be boring.”
Spitzer, a Democrat who resigned as governor in March 2008 after acknowledging visiting a prostitute, is a well respected political mind and a take-no-prisoners prosecutor who has been often referred to as the “Sheriff of Wall Street.”
“Kathleen is an extraordinary intellect whose sharp observations and wit are certain to resonate with viewers,” said Spitzer. “I look forward to working alongside her in a discussion that will inform, challenge, and entertain. I am grateful to CNN for the opportunity to co-host a show that will advance the discussion of the defining issues of our time.”
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/23/spitzer-parker-to-host-primetime-cnn-show/?fbid=XPBeW4MfwYo#more-110222
