CNN Cancels Crossfire

blonde rser writes "Three months after Jon Stewart appeared on (and lambasted) CNN's Crossfire the Globe and Mail reports that CNN is dumping Tucker Carlson. It appears that Crossfire is being canceled and Carlson's contract is not being renewed. As to whether Stewart's opinion had any affect on the decision there is this quote from Jonathan Klein, CEO of CNN's US network: 'I guess I come down more firmly in the Jon Stewart camp.'"

How did Carlson land that job anyways?

[HolyCoitus]

I don't know a single person that likes him, regardless of their political interests. If he were on Slashdot, he'd have been modded -1 flamebait immediately and never thought of again.

I'm curious though. What's his background that earned him the spot on a show like Crossfire? He had to have done something that made him in the spotlight in some way before that I would assume?

Re:How did Carlson land that job anyways?

[xanderwilson]

In today's world of pundits, you don't need to have a background in hard news research and fact-checking. You just have to have an opinion and, preferably, a marketable personality. I'd like to see more seasoned journalists do news analysis, rather than people on all sides with their minds decided before they collect the facts to back their opinions up.

Alex.

I doubt the sincerity of that comment!

[Dr. Spork]

If the CEO of CNN really thought what he said he thought, CNN USA would look very different. I first thought their terrible and deliberately distorted news coverage had to do with their incompetence (or lack of resources). But this isn't true. I've spent a few days watching CNN Europe, and I have to tell you that it is a far better news channel. They actually do balanced and interesting stories, and are generally much less Tucker-Carlson-like. So the crap they're brodcasting into the USA is deliberately dumbed down. They actually have less-dumbed-down versions of all their big stories, but they just don't broadcast them in North America.

I saw Jon Stewart on Crossfire and from what I could gather from his rant, he objected to the institution of Republicans and Democrats yelling slogans from their talking points list, and pretending it's debate... and then pretending that reports like "Democrats claim X; Republicans claim Y" is news. So what if Crossfire is over. Everything that JS freaked out about is absolutely at the foundation of the way CNN reports. Crossfire is just reveals that formula in an especially naked way. So I don't understand how somebody could agree with JS and still be CEO of CNN-USA.

Re:Thank God they're getting rid of Tucker

[Fr05t]

socialist agenda? wtf have you been watching? Bush is the wet dream of hardcore capitalists.

Props to Jon Stewart

[ed333]

We need more people like Jon Stewart to actually say whats on their mind.

A good start

[PhysicsGenius]

Maybe the conservative media will start swinging back towards the center now.

Re:How did Carlson land that job anyways?

[Qwaniton]

Was Carlson's personality something taht anyone could market though? Was he presented as an asshole to make it so that people from "the left" would watch to hope he gets his ass handed to him?

I wouldn't be surprised. Crossfire is not a political analysis or debate show. It's a performance show. It's entertainment. Civil, objective and rational debate is not the point of Crossfire.

Civil debate is great and all, but it's not entertainment. It's not exciting. It doesn't reach out to you, Joe Viewer, and grab you. It doesn't have you on the edge of your seat. It simply doesn't make Great Television.

People watch Crossfire for the personalities and the performance. It's as much as a performing art as anything else. It's essentially the performance art of rhetoric. And it's quite entertaining.

That's why I listen to Rush Limbaugh, after all. I may disagree with half the things he says, but I'm still a dittohead. He's one hell of a broadcaster.

It's Official

[mshiltonj]

John Stewart -- The Most Powerful Comedian In News.

Re:Bowtie

[Marxist Hacker 42]

In more ways than one- if Stewart ends up there- who is of an equal stature for Comedy Central to replace their fake news anchor with? Maybe Mo Rocha (sp? Don't remember his last name) or Candice Bergman, but there isn't anybody I can think of that would do as good of a job as Stewart has done with the fake news.

Re:CNN is dead

[zCyl]

I guess hearing opinions you disagree with is just too much to take, isn't it?

I know, I'm feeding the troll. But I don't have a problem with opinions I disagree with. I have a problem when opinions become news. News should be about reporting facts, investigating, digging for information, and expert analysis. When it becomes opinion from one party line or from two party lines, both are terrible.

Re:Thank God they're getting rid of Tucker

[Lord Kano]

I'm a conservative and Bush is an insane president with a socialist agenda.

I'm a conservative, and there are genuine issues that we can differ with the president on but a socialist agenda? Come on man!

LK

Re:Bowtie

[Marxist Hacker 42]

Also the wrong bent- Daily Show is supposed to be the parody of the Cable News Networks, which range from the Centerist CNN to the Rightwing Fox- you need a leftwinger to parody them properly.

Re:Thank God they're getting rid of Tucker

[MikeXpop]

You're kidding right?

Crossfire's purpose is to make Ted Turner more money. That's CNN's purpose. That's about all news' purpose. That's why pretty much all news channels have gotten so horrible over the years. The only news on the television that isn't a sensationalistic joke is Fox News. Fox News, unfortunately, is just as bad or worse because it's purpose is to bring right-wing views and opnions to the people.

Re:Tucker on PBS, Jon S

[Anonymous Coward]

Stewart is too stupid to understand that "Crossfire" is not a "news" show. He should stick to what he knows best - comedy. And the rest of you bozos shouldn't be getting your news from a comedian.

Understand this if you never understand anything else. CNN, FoxNews, MSNBC, CNBC, et al have shows on their network that ARE NOT news programs. Got it? You braindead geeks have to understand the difference between "news" and "commentary".

Re:Bowtie

[Marxist Hacker 42]

There is no question that Fox News leans to the right, but CNN centrist? Hardly!

The problem with modern American politics, on both sides of the issue, is that if you are on one of the extremes, you're so far from the other side that the center LOOKS like the other side. Talk to a left-wing tree hugger, and CNN is the right wing anti-immigrant hatred network. Talk to a right wingnut- and CNN becomes a bastion of liberal and socialist tendencies. Therefore CNN is indeed the center.

I guess that the daily show wouldn't work if they got someone who was actually funny.

Funny to whom? Humor is way too individual- that's why The Daily Show needs a character like Stewart, who can be NOT funny and still make fun of cable and network news. It's all about subtlety- which is why The Daily Show gets so many intellectual nerds watching it, while everybody else gravitates towards the edutainment they call news on the other channels.