The CutlineDespite ‘stagnant’ ratings, CNN sticks by ‘Parker Spitzer’
The ratings are low. The tensions are high. But CNN executives and co-hosts Eliot Spitzer and Kathleen Parker are putting on a brave face.
Page Six reported last week that Parker had recently "stormed off the set" after being fed up with how Spitzer dominates the show. "I don't storm. I saunter," Parker told the New York Times in response to the gossip item.
Regardless, it's clear there are issues at the 8 p.m. show, which took the place of Campbell Brown's low-rated broadcast and currently lags far behind Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.
After two months on the air, the CNN show's ratings are "stagnant," Times reporter Brian Stelter said, and some within the network think Spitzer should go solo. (Spitzer already plays an outsize role in the discussions featured on "Parker Spitzer." That reportedly has been a source of frustration for Parker.)
Nevertheless, both hosts spoke positively about the show's future in interviews with the Times.
"We're creating something that I believe in," Spitzer said. "I have every confidence that it will be very successful."
Parker described the show as "absolutely a work in progress." As for rumors that she's leaving, Parker told the Times that she just signed a two-year lease to remain in New York.
(Publicity image released by CNN via AP)
