Paula Zahn loses 8 p.m. Friday slot on CNN, has less prominent presence on the network

[DeepModem Mom]

TV Newser: Zahn Loses 8pm, At Least On Fridays

"CNN has been patient with Paula Zahn's show," today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution says. "Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S., took his post in late 2004 and tried to boost the program's popularity. Most notably, he brought in a new producer."

But CNN's patience is clearly waning. Zahn now has a less prominent presence on the network. (She was MIA during the recent presidential candidate debates, for example.)

Now the network seems to be pre-empting her 8pm show every Friday.

Last week, a repeat of the Sojourners candidate forum aired in Zahn's place. And last night, a repeat of Anderson Cooper's "Deadly Lessons: 24 Hours in Chicago" aired instead.

This appears to be a permanent change: the network is already promoting a rebroadcast of "Homicide in Hollenbeck," another Cooper special, next Friday at 8pm...

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnn/zahn_loses_8pm_at_least_on_fridays_61147.asp

[hellbound-liberal]

1. Her insignificance is catching up with her

She never should have left the CBS Morning Show with Harry Smith. That was her niche.

[UTUSN]

2. She's long overdue for another Chucky movie

[SoCalDem]

3. Paula is a vapid, past-her-prime, wannabee news-babe..

Buh-bye paula :)

[marshall]

4. To paraphrase Dan Rather---

I guess CNN is "tarting it down".

[burythehatchet]

5. CNN tries to produce news stars like they are boy bands

No substance, just a marketing campaign.

The lady with the glasses who got banished to court tv...Ashley Bangfield

Anderson Cooper

Zahn

Beck

Grace

They've completed shed themselves of any lingering credibility as a pioneering news medium and become a tabloid where the most "credible" news reader's name is Wolf and whose background includes being a "reporter" for Pat Robertson.

[KharmaTrain]

7. Yep, Her 15 Minutes Faded Years Ago

She came in with Aaron Brown right during 9/11...also right after Bernie Shaw had retired and Judy Woodruff was on her way out as well. She was gonna be the "perky" face that would stem the rising Faux tide and restore CNN to cable supremacy. Five years later and it's "Paula who?" They tried but her vapid interviewing style and focus on the dead blondes and GOOP talking points put her way in the dust to O'Reilly (who had the better talking points) and Olbermann who had the real news.

CNN is a joke as a place for serious news discussion. It's become news eye candy with issues dumbed down to us vs. them gotcha games and news is either manufactured or manipulated wherever possible.

Word is they'll move Lou Doobies into that time slot (fine with me)...I'm just hoping they don't stick yet another hour of Wolfie and his video screens from hell.

Cheers...

:hi:

[burythehatchet]

8. if you haven't yet seen it, please check out Samantha Bee's

News I'd Like to F@%K segment on the Daily

[symbolman]

18. LOL!

I once looked over at my wife and said, "You know, if they took Lou Dobbs and cut him open, THOUSANDS of little Lou Dobbs would fall out and all over.." :)

Anyone noticed how ORANGE Dobbs is? Check it out, I thought it was my TV going on the blink.. but he actually surrounds himself with ORANGEISH colors for some reason, including his bit fat orange face.

Every time he comes on the screen now, I scream "Trick or Treat!" at my wife, and she smiles oh, so big :)

I finally caught him on the Bill Mahr show, expouding on his BRILLIANCE, sucking up to the audience to get them to LIKE HIM, really willing to say ANYTHING to get someone to APPRECIATE his Genius. Seriously the guy is DERANGED. He Honestly THINKS he is SMART, and classy.

He's not just another propagrandist, He's NUTS if you pay attention. :)

[KharmaTrain]

20. Look How Credible He Is Around Here

Symbolman...I totally agree about Lou Doobies. There's something not quite "in proper contrast" about him. :rofl:

It's an interesting study on how he almost single-handedly built up this immigration "crisis" and how he's become the closet thing to Howard Beale this side of O'Reilly. The dangerous thing is how many people don't see through him like we do.

:toast:

Cheers...

[RB TexLa]

10. They didn't even bother to teach that Grace one how to speak properly

[Ron Green]

19. She's perfect. The Mouth-beathers love her, and her "improper speech" is one thing she's got

goin' on.

[Garbo 2004]

12. Ashley Banfield worked for MSNBC, not CNN. Yes, MSNBC tried to make her a media "star" reporter, but

they didn't get a cheerleader for the Administration line. MSNBC eventually sidelined her and then fired her.

Reportedly this speech she gave in April 2003 criticizing cable news coverage of the war and cable news itself had a lot to do with her "banishment." It will be surprising perhaps to those who think Banfield was entirely without substance. Her comments were also somewhat prescient regarding her own future career in cable news considering the repercussions of this speech with her own employer: http://www.alternet.org/story/15778

[burythehatchet]

14. now that you mention it, I do recall that

Its a shame that the marketing glitz actually takes away from what the person might bring to the table. I think they painted a bus for her with her face on it. That's just too cheesy.

[Horse with no Name]

16. Ashleigh Banfield has substance

Which is why she was relegated to CourtTV. I will venture to say one thing. If Banfield had stayed on MSNBC, she would definitely rival Keith for speaking the truth.

>>>snip
In April 2003, in a speech at Kansas State University, Banfield raised concerns regarding media coverage of the conflict in Iraq. She also took a veiled swipe at Fox News Channel, blasting "cable news operators who wrap themselves in the American flag and go after a certain target demographic."

According to a New York Times article, her speech angered NBC management who rebuked her and lowered her profile. She was fired in 2004
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashleigh_Banfield

http://www.mediarelations.k-state.edu/WEB/News/NewsReleases/banfieldtext42403.html
>>>snip
So I suppose you watch enough television to know that the big TV show is over and that the war is now over essentially -- the major combat operations are over anyway, according to the Pentagon and defense officials -- but there is so much that is left behind. And I'm not just talking about the most important thing, which is, of course, the leadership of a Middle Eastern country that could possibly become an enormous foothold for American and foreign interests. But also what Americans find themselves deciding upon when it comes to news, and when it comes to coverage, and when it comes to war, and when it comes to what's appropriate and what's not appropriate any longer.
>>>snip
That said, what didn't you see? You didn't see where those bullets landed. You didn't see what happened when the mortar landed. A puff of smoke is not what a mortar looks like when it explodes, believe me. There are horrors that were completely left out of this war. So was this journalism or was this coverage-? There is a grand difference between journalism and coverage, and getting access does not mean you're getting the story, it just means you're getting one more arm or leg of the story. And that's what we got, and it was a glorious, wonderful picture that had a lot of people watching and a lot of advertisers excited about cable news. But it wasn't journalism, because I'm not so sure that we in America are hesitant to do this again, to fight another war, because it looked like a glorious and courageous and so successful terrific endeavor, and we got rid oaf horrible leader: We got rid of a dictator, we got rid of a monster, but we didn't see what it took to do that.
>>snip
I can't tell you how bad the civilian casualties were. I saw a couple of pictures. I saw French television pictures, I saw a few things here and there, but to truly understand what war is all about you've got to be on both sides. You've got to be a unilateral, someone who's able to cover from outside of both front lines, which, by the way, is the most dangerous way to cover a war, which is the way most of us covered Afghanistan. There were no front lines, they were all over the place. They were caves, they were mountains, they were cobbled, they were everything. But we really don't know from this latest adventure from the American military what this thing looked like and why perhaps we should never do it again. The other thing is that so many voices were silent in this war. We all know what happened to Susan Sarandon for speaking out, and her husband, and we all know that this is not the way Americans truly want to be. Free speech is a wonderful thing, it's what we fight for, but the minute it's unpalatable we fight against it for some reason.

That just seems to be a trend of late, and l am worried that it may be a reflection of what the news was and how the news coverage was coming across. This was a success, it was a charge it took only three weeks. We did wonderful things and we freed the Iraqi people, many of them by the way, who are quite thankless about this. There's got to be a reason for that. And the reason for it is because we don't have a very good image right now overseas, and a lot of Americans aren't quite sure why, given the fact that we sacrificed over a hundred soldiers to give them freedom.

[Clark2008]

6. Can't hang with Keith, can she?

When are news organizations going to look at the success of Keith Olbermann and realize there is a huge market for real news and truth-telling? Yes, KO does entertainment news at the end of his show, but the first two to three stories are always riveting - something you won't see on CNN or certainly, Faux.

[nealmhughes]

9. Remember back in the day: Bella and Bernard? No Beck, no Nancy Grace?

But that is "quaint," I suppose, in the way the Geneva Conventions and Walter Cronkite are supposed to be these days. . .

[donsu]

11. I'll give her props for finally getting a hairdo that keeps her hair out

of her eyes.

I didn't watch her very often, but the group-standing-at-round-table talks could be interesting at times.

[WinkyDink]

13. Never could stand her gigundo teeth.

[Stinky The Clown]

15. Here's some irony for you. In German, 'zahn' means 'tooth'

[symbolman]

17. Did ANYONE watch her show?

I mean, NO ONE was posting on here about how you HAD to see the latest by Zahn.. I know *I* never watched it.

And when you think about Ratings, how more people are watching SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS (Literally) Than O'Reilly or Insanity or Scarborough, then you have to wonder if ANYONE was watching her.

Hell, I even forgot what she LOOKED like :)

They'll hire another asshole like Glen Beck, that's for sure.

Don't these people actually WANT GOOD RATINGS? Or are they just window dressing for KKKarl Rove's Fax machine glowing cherry red?