Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Is CNN Giving Up on Serious Political News?
Source: Roll Call This is a pretty good article about the history of Inside Politics and the concern of some that the end of IP will mean the end of political news on CNN.
In the article by Stuart Rothenberg CNN President Jon Klein talks about the new program in which Wolf Blitzer will anchor: "The new program "will have its own distinctive flavor," with the first hour emphasizing politics and the second hour emphasizing national and homeland security issues." An insider is quoted in the article as saying, "We aren't going to do less politics, we are going to do more." "Politics is very important to CNN. We aren't going to lose that brand."
According to the article, "No decision has been made about whether the "Inside Politics" name will appear anywhere in the new show, but Klein's comment to me that "the name isn't as important to preserve as intelligent, insightful political coverage" tells me it won't. Klein insists that the network needs to "start from scratch" in reassessing how to cover politics - "we don't need tweaks [to 'Inside Politics'], we need fundamental change in how we cover politics" - and that tells me he's ready to throw the baby out with the bath water."
Rothenberg continues, "We'll simply have to wait until later in the summer to see what kind of show ultimately emerges. But unless the network truly stakes its claim to political coverage with the new show, many will see the end of "IP" as a white flag of surrender by CNN to Fox News Channel and even MSNBC when it comes to political coverage. A Washington-anchored show that covers politics but also reports on Michael Jackson's legal troubles or the latest car chase in Los Angeles won't convince "IP" fans that CNN is serious about protecting its political turf.
# posted by ATN @ 2:27 AM 
