It’s Official: CNN Names Eliot Spitzer And Kathleen Parker As 8pm Hosts

breaking

by Steve Krakauer | 10:27 am, June 23rd, 2010

» 45 comments

As has been speculated for about a week now, Eliot Spitzer and Kathleen Parker will be paired up as co-hosts of a new 8pmET “spirited, nightly roundtable discussion program” on CNN.

The Crossfire-like show replaces Campbell Brown‘s program – which she announced she was leaving last month.

Let’s take a look at the key players. Spitzer was a surprise regular guest on Dylan Ratigan‘s new MSNBC show starting almost one year ago today. Over this past year he’s risen through the ranks at MSNBC and began anchoring occasionally a couple months ago during news hours. He also, of course, is the former Democratic Governor of New York…and Client 9.

Parker is a conservative columnist and regular pundit on a variety of networks. She memorably called on Sarah Palin to drop out as VP candidate during the 2008 election – a column that to this day has some conservatives calling her “Republican In Name Only.”

In a fairly exhaustive Google search to find anything Parker has written about Spitzer, this was all I could come up with.

The new show will debut this fall. CNN has long maintained that prime time was a spot for objective, non-opinion programming – a differentiating trait from its cable news competitors on the left and right (during those hours). This is certainly a step in a different direction, even if the opinion is, well, fair and balanced.

Upcoming storylines: the Spitzer ‘ick’ factor, whether Parker is really a foil politically to Spitzer, CNN’s drift toward opinion, whether this is a Crossfire revival, what longtime CNN pundits feel about being passed over for two newbies for the slot, what show will eventually air after the 8pmET hour…

> Update: “This will not work. Maybe better than what they had…but it won’t really work. They needed to pick a single host who had something really interesting and compelling to say. Picking one person on “each side” is a cop out. I give it a year.”

Full release:

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Kathleen Parker and former New York governor Eliot Spitzer will co-host a spirited, nightly roundtable discussion program on CNN/U.S., it was announced today by Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. The new program, set to debut this fall, will air weeknights at 8pm Eastern time.

Spitzer, a legendary prosecutor and progressive governor, and Parker, an iconoclastic conservative commentator, will host a dynamic exchange of opinions and analyses – their own, and those of their guests and regular contributors – on the most important, compelling and amusing stories of the day.

“Other cable news channels force-feed viewers one narrow, predictable point of view; in contrast, CNN will be offering a lively roundup of all the best ideas – presented by two of the most intelligent and outspoken figures in the country,” said Klein. “Eliot and Kathleen are beholden to no vested interest – in fact, quite the opposite: they are renowned for taking on the most powerful targets and most important causes.”

Parker is one of the nation’s most prolific and popular opinion columnists, appearing twice weekly in more than 400 newspapers. A self-described “rational” conservative, she is known to take a common sense approach to life and writes with humor and wit. In May she was awarded the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for her political opinion columns, which she launched in 1987 while a staff writer for the Orlando Sentinel. It was nationally syndicated in 1995 and she joined the Washington Post Writers Group in 2006. She has written for magazines including the Weekly Standard, Time, Town & Country, Cosmopolitan and Fortune Small Business, and is a contributor to The Daily Beast. She also serves on USA Today’s board of contributors and writes occasionally for the paper’s op-ed page. In 1993 she won the H.L. Mencken writing award and in 2004 and 2005 she was named one of the country’s Top Five Columnists by The Week.

“As a veteran print journalist, I am appropriately respectful of the challenges posed by the medium,” said Parker. “But I’m thrilled by the opportunity to discuss the issues that matter to me —and that aren’t heard often enough on television—in a conversation with one of the nation’s most brilliant, fearless and original thinkers. With Eliot Spitzer as my co-host, Wall Street and Main Street will finally meet. It can’t possibly be boring.”

Spitzer, a renowned prosecutor and former Governor of the State of New York, is frequently referred to as the “Sheriff of Wall Street,” having prosecuted abuses among major Wall Street firms as well as numerous other industries, both as a young lawyer and as New York State Attorney General. As Attorney General from 1998 to 2006, Spitzer led several high-profile cases battling corruption throughout the financial services sector and led groundbreaking cases in the areas of environmental protection and civil rights enforcement. As Governor, Spitzer restructured New York’s system of education finance, began the process of fundamental health care reform and focused economic development on New York’s upstate economy.

Spitzer was born and raised in the Bronx and is a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Following law school, Spitzer clerked for Federal District Judge Robert W. Sweet; was an Assistant District Attorney in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, where he prosecuted organized crime and political corruption cases; and worked at several prominent private law firms. Spitzer is currently a contributor to Slate.com.

“Kathleen is an extraordinary intellect whose sharp observations and wit are certain to resonate with viewers,” said Spitzer. “I look forward to working alongside her in a discussion that will inform, challenge, and entertain. I am grateful to CNN for the opportunity to co-host a show that will advance the discussion of the defining issues of our time.”

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CNN, Crossfire, eliot spitzer, Kathleen Parker

TfT

Too funny. Klein is still in denial.

A disgraced democrat Governor and a faux con to co-host an opinion show on CNN.

And CNN thinks this will gain them viewers?
BatBoy

A show designed to compete against the worst that MSNBC has to offer…

Maybe being #3 is the new #1!

Just Saying!
http://www.abramsresearch.com/ Dan Abrams

This will not work. Maybe better than what they had. . .but it won’t really work. They needed to pick a single host who had something really interesting and compelling to say. Picking one person on “each side” is a cop out. I give it a year.
http://politicsofdestruction.com/ Bobomatic

I think CNNs strategy is to throw shit at the wall and see what sticks. I’m not holding my breath on this one.
paulmdoro

A faux con because she is an independent thinker who doesn’t automatically toe the party line? I like Parker. I don’t always agree with her but I always find her writing interesting and informative.
TfT

Paul: How can you have a “cross-fire” type program when one of the hosts is a known cheater and liar, and the other one is a known non-conservative? If CNN wants to claim it’s cross-fire show will present both sides, don’t you think that both sides should be fairly represented? A faux con and a disgraced democrat governor who is a known cheater/liar aren’t going to cut it.

If CNN wants to present Parker as an independent thinker that’s fine….then don’t claim a cross-fire like show will be debuting. Call it what it is: another mealy mouthed talk show.
paulmdoro

I don’t know how CNN is presenting Parker. That’s how I labeled her. And I never said anything about the program itself or Spitzer. I commented on Parker. Is she a “faux con” for not repeating Republican orthodoxy verbatim 100% of the time?
BowenIsland

If Spitzer begins his replies with, “Kathleen, you ignorant slut ” , I predict ratings gold.
felixw

Wow, CNN has made some bad decisions over the years, but this must be one of the worst.

If you have doubts about CNN’s judgment, just consider this. They forced out the popular Lou Dobbs, but then hire a politician who resigned in disgrace.
Thomas G Williams

*BowenIsland you have GOT TO GET A JOB AS A PRODUCER on this show, and make sure that Spitzer uses that line, but he should save it for the interview with Palin, after that he can use it on Parker.

*felixw: FACT the so called popular DOBBs was DUMPED for a lot of reasons including the fact that his ratings had TANKED, people were turned off by the rabid way he was ACTING on the AIR and he was not “ACTING” so he got what he deserved, BAD RATINGS=cancellation=NO CNN DOBBs.

But you dont see it that way, do you?
TfT

Paul, she is a faux con for many reasons, one of which is this:

Kathleen Parker admitted that she won the Pulitzer Prize because she’s a “conservative basher.” HER WORDS. (h/t newsbusters) She admits that only those who bash conservatives are eligible for the pulitzer, so she plays the bash conservative game.
paulmdoro

So her opinion on how she won the Pulitzer makes her a faux con? You can’t be a conservative if you have the temerity to sometimes criticize conservatives? No breaking Reagan’s 11th commandment?
TfT

I’m saying she by her own admission is a faux con; she plays the bashing game to get attention and awards. Not to present facts, but to play with the media elite. In this case, she won. She will be getting big bucks from CNN (presumably), she will sit beside a known liar/cheater and play the opinion game, not based on any conservative beliefs but based on her desire to be part of the media elite.

Actually, perhaps I shouldn’t call her a faux con; just a faux.
paulmdoro

“she plays the bashing game to get attention and awards. Not to present facts, but to play with the media elite”

“she will sit beside a known liar/cheater and play the opinion game, not based on any conservative beliefs but based on her desire to be part of the media elite.”

How do you know the above to be true?
slickerwick

Crime and hypocrisy pays, at least in the case of Spitzer. He was prosecuting people for prostitution while he was visiting prostitutes. Lovely. And now he’s rewarded for it.
raphael-a

The show will be called “Half And Half” with Kathleen Parker and Eliot Spitzer.

dailyraphirmations.com
TfT

Again Paul:

Kathleen Parker admitted that she won the Pulitzer Prize because she’s a “conservative basher.”

I don’t know how more clear.
notsofast

CNN has now entered the abyss. I wonder if Splitzher will wear his dark socks.
notsofast

paulmdoro says:

Paul the lib shill weighs in.
lanquihue

Parker’s an idiot. In her most recent column, she says she’s not in favor of reversing Roe v Wade, then goes on to claim she’s leans Libertarian. She’s found that dumping on conservatives while calling herself conservative gets her invited to cocktail parties, sort of like John McCain, but in the end, it gets her nowhere professionally. She’ll be a has-been blogging on the HuffPost within a year or two.
jk

One more reason to STOP watching CNN. Kathleen Parker is so dumb, she couldn’t argue her way out of a paper bag. Eliot Spitzer violated the trust of New Yorkers and disgraced his office and the state itself with his uncontrollable libido.
paulmdoro

But admitting why she thinks the selection committee gave her the award doesn’t mean she bashed conservatives just to win the award does it? I don’t think every single conservative and every single liberal has to fit into a nice, neat little box. Parker says as much in her column today about feminism, how not every woman can be easily categorized.
notsofast

Can’t they get a prostitute to be on with the Gov?
timzank

Premiering at 8:00 “SPITZER & SWALLOWER”. Sure to be a ratings winner!
TfT

She admitted it herself; she would not have won the award had she not bashed conservatives. She is now in the circle of elite media, only for bashing conservatives. Do you honestly think she would have been a contender for CNN had she NOT bashed conservatives?
timzank

notsofast says:
June 23, 2010 at 1:03 pm
Can’t they get a prostitute to be on with the Gov?

They can’t afford one.
paulmdoro

TfT, she may have won the award for that reason, but that doesn’t prove she criticized conservatives merely because she knew it would get her awards. They are not one and the same. Can’t she legitimately criticize conservatives?

I don’t know what CNN’s criteria is. Don’t really watch it. They did hire Erick Erickson recently though right? He’s pretty conservative.
valkyrie101

Originally, Spitzer was going to being paired with either Dick Morris, Rudy Guiliani, or Newt Gingrich, but they had other more high paying committments over at FOX.
Phocus2

So, CNN thinks 2 liberals arguing will draw ratings? I have no interest in watching either one. I have no interest in what either thinks. Neither are smart or even just nice people worthy of having anyone listen to them. Will I tune in…?
notsofast

valkyrie is back on the “down low” with Spitzer.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Juanita-Stewart/1330738383 Juanita Stewart

CNN’s ratings have declined badly since Anderson Cooper’s “teabaggers” comment!
TfT

The news is reporting Stanley has been relieved. Obama runs war policy with Rolling Stone as key advisor.
valkyrie101

Who cares if Spitzer went to prostitutes. Though, he was at the time the State Governor, chief of the enforcement branch of the government of New York. He lost his job, and his reputation that was high price to pay. After a while, people will just forget about the scandal, like they did with many other prominents, and as they are starting to do with Tiger. Otherwise, Spitzer is very intelligent, and can be prosecutorial, which could make for interesting political commentary. Certainly CNN has nothing to lose with Eliot, while they are waiting for Blagovich to become available.
libra blue

Another CNN program I will skip. Can’t say I am surprised to see them add a whoremonger to their lineup. I felt the same way when FNC hired Dick Morris. This show will make CB’s numbers look huge.
paulmdoro

There is precedent for removing Stanley TfT, and it has nothing to do with a magazine.
TfT

I agree paul; I do not support what McCrystal did….I don’t believe any GO should speak out against a sitting CINC, no matter who the CINC is. McCrystal should have resigned as soon as that article was released (perhaps even before).
philipjames

A prime example of how low the ethics and morals of the United States have fallen. Yes, people, there is fiddling going on while the US burns… the collapse of American society, right before your eyes.

Unfortunately, the coming elections in November and 2012 might not be soon enough to save this country from Obama and the left wing liberal idiots.
http://twitter.com/SailRabbits Magister

I agree with Dan.

Yes. I did advocate a different vision to an earlier post and I’ve said a couple times that I have no interest in Crossfire, but to whom are they expecting this show to appeal?
libra blue

@notsofast, “Can’t they get a prostitute to be on with the Gov?”

I am sure Dupre is available for prime time “work”.
valkyrie101

Phil,
Dude, chill, the world is not about to end. These are trying times, maybe even it IS the “tribulation”, as Glenn would say, but everything works out in the end. I promise you. And the grim vision of the future that Glenn holds to is nothing but a smoke and mirrors illusion.
felixw

Hey Thomas Williams, if you think Lou Dobbs got booted out of CNN because off his terrible ratings (700,000 viewers per night on average), than you probably have to fire the whole CNN lineup. In his 7 PM time slot, Dobbs beat the pants off his replacement, who typically loses out to Fox by astronomical proportions.

I suppose you think that Glenn Beck left CNN because he doesn’t have a large enough audience, huh?

If you were honest, Mr. Williams, would just admit that Dobbs was forced out because he didn’t fit in with the unrelenting pro-Obama slant of his employer. But honesty is in short supply when the sycophants talk about the self-destructing CNN network, which is on a one-way trip to oblivion while its supporters applaud its every foolish mis-step.
valkyrie101

Dobbs was fired because he was a crotchety old growch just one step from a Helen Thomas moment.
http://none pyrope

This move ought to drive Bill O’Reilly into early retirement. NOT!

Gotta give CNN credit for trying to push the envelope though.

I wonder how long the genius who made this decision will keep their job?
felixw

Valkyries states that “Dobbs was fired because he was a crotchety old growch just one step from a Helen Thomas moment.”

To give that as a defense of a network that features Larry King in its choicest prime time spot every night is quite a funny joke. You should do stand-up comedy, V.
valkyrie101

Larry King is a national treasure. Dobbs was/is a nut.