Dobbs: Replacements…
Now that Lou Dobbs has quit CNN the question turns to who will take over at 7pm. Here’s a list of notable contenders that could get the gig…
Roland Martin – Pros: Has filled in for Campbell Brown on several occasions and has featured prominently on CNN Primetime. Cons: Numbers for Martin during those fill ins would be generously characterized as less than stellar. However that was Brown’s show in Brown’s format. A Martin show might look decidedly different. Another con would be Martin is, rightly or wrongly, viewed as as more of a CNN pundit by many despite his journalism background and putting him on could appear to fly in the face of the “hard news” reputation CNN has been trying to forcefully push, which in a way led to Dobbs leaving in the first place. Odds: 5-1
Rick Sanchez – Pros: Established something of a muckraker reputation at CNN with a bravura style. His filling in for Campbell Brown prior to her show’s debut and the resultant buzz created is believed by many to have directly led to Sanchez landing the 3pm gig on CNN Dayside. Cons: May be too opinionated to fit in with the CNN “hard news” directive for primetime. Odds: 7-1
Ali Velshi – The dark horse. Pros: Straight news rep devoid of controversy. Considered by some to be an under the radar CNN “project” – slowly being groomed internally for something bigger at the network. Cons: May not be a big enough name for 7pm. May be too soon to make the jump. Odds: 25-1
Wolf Blitzer – This would be an expansion of The Situation Room. Pros: Blitzer is an established name and another hour of The Situation Room might not be a bad thing. Alternatively, The Situation Room could slide back an hour, opening up another hour of CNN Newsroom. Cons: Moving The Situation Room or adding another hour to the show robs the network of establishing another talent and brand. Odds: 50-1.
Update: We won’t have to wait long to find out apparently. According to this Brian Stelter Tweet, Bill Carter is reporting that a replacement will be announced tomorrow morning…
November 11, 2009 at 7:47 pm
or how about KItty Pilgram let her take over for the show she worked for.
November 11, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Situation Room from 5-8 would be the best option really. It is consistent. Rick Sanchez could perhaps move to 4pm and let CNN Newsroom ‘proper’ run through to 4pm again.
Would let them work on 8pm and 10pm which are the real issues right now.
November 11, 2009 at 8:01 pm
Their ratings trend is fast going the wrong way. Maybe they try something completely unexpected- Kiran Chetry.
November 11, 2009 at 8:03 pm
I don’t think CNN will be fast to get a straight female reporter on primetime after the ’success’ of Campbell Brown.
November 11, 2009 at 8:11 pm
I don’t think CNN can do much of anything, so it doesn’t matter. It isn’t that CNN is bad as much as it FNC is so much better…. as is MSNBC from a certain perspective.
24-hour straight “news” was new and innovative 25-30 years ago. Now we have multimedia computers the size of a Star Trek communicator.
November 11, 2009 at 9:01 pm
They’ve give it to Sanchez. Be their way of giving the Hispanics a bone because Lou attacked them.
MADD should boycott the drunk drivers show though.
7:00 pm ET is not prime time so I don’t know what that has to do with their prime time directive. If that were the case, then Lou wouldn’t have fit.
November 11, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Rick Sanchez? So, being pro-illegal immigration and anti-”neo-con” is what CNN means by straight news? Rick Sanchez’s show isn’t “straight news”. He’s as opinionated as anyone and there’s not one person who watches his show that doesn’t know he’s a committed lefty.
If CNN were honest, they’d admit they’re a left-wing organization…just not as crackpot insane as MSNBC.
November 11, 2009 at 9:52 pm
7:00 pm ET is not prime time so I don’t know what that has to do with their prime time directive. If that were the case, then Lou wouldn’t have fit.
True. But CNN doesn’t want opinion, except when it does of course.
November 11, 2009 at 9:57 pm
BTW, Kitty Pilgrim, while capable, isn’t a name and realistically isn’t one CNN would build a show around. Odds: 400-1
November 12, 2009 at 1:15 am
Pilgrim deserves it. She’s a pro. O’Brien is too valuable doing the docs. Moving John Roberts into that slot might also help.
Dobbs had a great news team, that was overshadowed by Dobbs’s opinons.
CNN needs to do something. I’m tired of the nightly celebrity news and “you gotta see this” videos. Campbell Brown’s show is slowly morphing into Connie Chung and Paula Zahn’s efforts.
November 12, 2009 at 4:24 am
I vote for Pilgrim!
November 12, 2009 at 5:34 am
Pilgrim may or may not “deserve it” but that’s not the overriding issue. She’s not a big enough name for CNN to get behind. That’s the bottom line. John Roberts would be an interesting choice but it would cause chaos on American Morning. Soledad? Has less of a chance than Pilgrim.
November 12, 2009 at 5:41 am
Actually an International simulcast would fill the news “bill” rather well.. However, I think we all know CNN doesn’t wanna push 5 days a week of int’l news to domestic viewers.
Remember Your World Today?
SHAME!
November 12, 2009 at 5:46 am
I’d vote for Kitty as well!
But Roland Martin? NEVER! This guy is way too abrasive and predictible (he hates conservatism). Plus, he probably didn’t do too well when he sat in for Campbell Brown. Sanchez? Again, predictable.
If they want to do straight news, fine – CNN has tons of anchors they could use. But opinion? They’ll have to find someone who is at least a LITTLE conservative, to try to replace the Dobbs viewers. MSNBC is the place for liberals, and people seem to know that.
November 12, 2009 at 6:08 am
Ditto to Mike Beckham’s idea of letting the Situation Room run from 5-8…..at least for now. They can take some time and find a replacement if they want to re-incarnate Lou’s show with a different host in the future. They don’t have a deep pool of talent to draw from at the moment….mabye hire someone outside of CNN.
November 12, 2009 at 8:07 am
how about John King? He’s good.