NEWS JUNKIE POST
Jun 24, 2010 at 10:56 amSpitzer’s Prize: CNN Takes Easy, Sleazy Way Into Ratings Race
If Barack Obama can get to the White House, you’d figure Roland Martin could land a show on CNN. Or Michael Eric Dyson. But no. The tired, former only-game-in-town cable giant took the easy, more than slightly sleazy route to prime time competition. By announcing the launch of a new 8 pm “Crosstalk” type show starring disgraced prostitute-loving New York governor Eliot Spitzer and conservative journalist Kathleen Parker, CNN hoping to enter the opinionated fray, missed a chance to embrace both the pioneering heritage Ted Turner initiated over thirty years ago and the current arena of contentious cable talk.
While some lament CNN’s decision to bag so-called objective shows lead by a string of lukewarm anchors from Connie Chung to Paula Zahn to Campbell Brown as capitulating to the cantankerous vagaries of partisan political chatter, I applaud their efforts to make a go of the increasingly competitive ratings’ race. Why should CNN remain on the sidelines, offering little more than a re-cap of the day’s news most viewers are already immersed in thanks to the Internet and 24 cable news coverage? Who says they have to maintain an air of objectivity all day, every day?
I’m all for a “spirited nightly roundtable discussion program,” as the CNN press release described the yet untitled show the pair will co-host starting in the fall. Only I wish they’d send half the duo back to Scandal Town where he belongs. Parker, a respected newspaper columnist and frequent guest commentator, is fine. Better than the ‘ick’ factor you get with, say, Ann Coulter. But if you’re going down the road to Cringeville, might as well team Spitzer with Liz Cheney and be done with any last tentacle of respectability.
A more inspired choice would be Roland Martin, the feisty, frequent CNN commentator. Or Michael Eric Dyson, the fiery professor, who also has blazed through the cable circuit as a passionate guest. Either of these exciting and accomplished communicators would also allow CNN to be the first to take a swing at that embarrassing elephant in the middle of the cable wars. Ever since Alan Keyes went bust on his short-lived MSNBC show over a decade ago, there has been nary a nightly host of color on any of the three cable outlets.
Maybe all the network honchos think no one will notice if they give enough panel time to folks like Eugene Robinson, Clarence Page and Donna Brazile. But there’s a difference between being a host and a guest. Some folks can do one, not the other; some can do both. I have a hunch neither Robinson nor Page– though both astute and superb commentators –would make very exciting hosts. Brazile might have what it takes, particularly if she’s paired with a formidable co-host. Both Martin and Dyson seem to possess the command, the energy, the big personality you need to host a kinetic opinion-driven show. Ironically, CNN may discover the “Luv Gov” doesn’t have the charisma to drive the prime time talk bus for the long haul. Could be a case of early flash, early flop.
So what’s the fear, here, CNN? Worried that not enough viewers want to see a black man carry a prime time show? The third place cable network is in the perfect position to challenge that washed out premise. I mean, what do they have to lose? By venturing into uncharted terrain, CNN could win at an experiment neither Fox News nor MSNBC seem ready to try. And if, as I suspect, the show succeeded, the network would not only score a triumph in the ratings, but also would win a noble victory as it pierced through another mainstream media prejudice.
Okay, maybe I’m being too harsh. Perhaps the CNN brain trust considered Martin and/or Dyson and concluded –whatever the color–class couldn’t compete with Bill O. So they reasoned to succeed at 8 pm they’d have to fight slick with sleaze. I’ll see your loofahs and raise you unlimited sessions with a high-priced hooker. Anyway you look at it, misogyny comes out on top. If anyone comes away with the fuzzy end of the lollipop in this sordid deal, it’s Parker.
Can’t wait to see CNN’s replacement for Larry King. If he’s on his best behavior, Rod Blagojevich should be available in five to fifteen.
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It seems you have to have done something off color to get a “gig.” I don’t think that Spitzer has the charisma to sustain the show. I agree that we would all be better off to have someone llike Roland Martin or Michael Dyson. What could the Execs at CNN be thinking??? Who does the Spitzer family know over there????