Email Exchange Reveals Dobbs Wanted On The O’Reilly Factor: Did CNN Veto?

Bill O’Reilly and Lou Dobbs have been talking about each other all week, but if the original plan had taken form, Dobbs would have appeared on O’Reilly’s Fox News show Wednesday night – and maybe even from CNN’s studio.

Instead, the mystery of why the appearance didn’t happen has taken the story a different direction. TVNewser first reported yesterday that FNC had interest in Dobbs as a guest. Now Mediaite has obtained the email exchange between Dobbs’ team and the Fox producers, proving the CNN host’s interest in appearing on the program.

The emails show a lengthy exchange between Steve Karas, a publicist for Dobbs’ radio show, and Rob Monaco, an O’Reilly Factor producer. Tuesday morning, Karas pitched a Dobbs appearance on the Fox News program, saying Dobbs was “very interested in coming on.”

By late that afternoon, Fox agreed.

Karas said another publicist, Keith Hagan, “would be in touch to coordinate.” Mitchell, another Factor producer, even suggested they could do the interview with Dobbs sitting in the CNN studio.

But it never happened. Mitchell told TVNewser: “‘Three to four conversations’ later they were still ‘very non-committal.’” All signs point to CNN vetoing the interview.

CNN wanted to shut down the conversation about the birthers as far back as last Friday, with CNN/U.S. President Jon Klein sending an internal memo to Dobbs staffers telling them “it seems this story is dead.”

And although Klein has been very publicly speaking out in support of Dobbs this week, as O’Reilly pointed out on-air Wednesday, the CNN host is a bit of a “renegade.” Last year there were reports of a blow-up between Dobbs and Klein during primary coverage.

If Dobbs were to have appeared on O’Reilly, it would be a personal win-win for the CNN host. He could potentially boost his own ratings after talking to O’Reilly’s top-rated cable news audience, and frame the debate in a way he wants. But for CNN, the appearance would continue a story it just wants to go away. CNN declined to comment to Mediaite on this story.

Although Klein has been public in his defense of Dobbs, the host himself has not made any comments beyond his radio show. If the directive came down from high at CNN, it surely wouldn’t sit well with Dobbs and his “renegade” mentality. He has free reign on his radio show – but it doesn’t boost his platform in the same way a rare cross-cabler appearance could have done.

Will it have a ripple effect beyond this story? We’ll see what Dobbs says next.

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