CNN Cancels Eliot Spitzer's Show, Promotes Anderson Cooper
A major shake-up at CNN has left Eliot Spitzer without a show. Brian Stelter at The New York Times reports that the cable news network will be dropping Spitzer's In the Arena from its 8 p.m. timeslot and moving Anderson Cooper's AC360 into that hour with a repeat showing at 10 p.m. The move puts Cooper directly up against Bill O'Reilly's top-rated Fox News program, as well as Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC and Keith Olbermann's new broadcast on Current.
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The cancellation of In the Arena comes just five months after Kathleen Parker left what had been called the Parker Spitzer program and nine months after Spitzer's debut. "We provided diverse & valuable perspectives during the show's tenure," Spitzer told in a statement. "I thoroughly enjoyed my time at CNN."
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"There used to be two people worth listening to on CNN, Spitzer and Zakaria," said Jacob Weisberg, editor-in-chief of the Slate Group, on Twitter. "Now there's one."
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Other changes include the addition of Erin Burnett, formerly of CNBC, with a 7 p.m. show that bumps John King to the 6 p.m. slot. CNN announced the full revamped evening schedule in the press release below:
Schedule Showcases Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan to Air this Fall
CNN has unveiled a new evening lineup with anchors Erin Burnett, Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan to launch this fall, it was announced today by Ken Jautz, executive vice president, CNN/U.S.
Beginning Aug. 8, CNN will broadcast its flagship nightly news program AC360, anchored by Anderson Cooper, live at 8pm and re-air it in its current timeslot of 10pm.
In the fall, CNN will premiere a new general news program with Erin Burnett, which will air at 7pm ET and re-air at 11pm ET. Piers Morgan Tonight will continue to air at 9pm and 12am ET.
John King USA will kick off the evening at 6pm. The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer will continue as a two-hour daily program, airing in a new timeslot of 4-6pm. CNN Newsroom will now air from 9am-4pm. The full programming schedule is provided below.
“The new line-up showcases anchors who are experienced reporters in covering stories that span the globe,” said Jautz. “We created a nightly schedule that brings together the best of CNN’s journalism on a wide range of topics from politics and the economy to global and world events, as well the best newsmaker and celebrity interviews. This line-up ensures viewers access to the best of what CNN has to offer whenever they tune in at night.”
“I’m looking forward to the new time slot and am excited to share AC360 with a new audience at 8pm, while still connecting with my regular viewers at 10pm,” said Cooper.
CNN Fall Schedule (All times Eastern):
6a-9am: American Morning 9a-4pm: CNN Newsroom 4pm: Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer 6pm: John King, USA 7pm: Erin Burnett 8pm: Anderson Cooper 360° 9pm: Piers Morgan Tonight 10pm: AC 360 re-air 11pm: Erin Burnett re-air 12am: Piers Morgan Tonight re-air
CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively-syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.
