Spitzer gets new show on CNN as Parker exits

After several months of speculation over her future at the network, Kathleen Parker has left CNN, clearing the way for her co-host, Eliot Spitzer, to begin a new show--"In the Arena," which will remain in the nightly 8 p.m. time slot "Parker-Spitzer" has occupied since last October.

"We will be adopting an ensemble format with several newsmakers, guests and contributors joining Eliot Spitzer each night," said Ken Jautz, CNN's executive vice president, in a staff memo Friday. "E.D. Hill and Will Cain will join the program as well others within and outside the CNN family." The new show starts Monday, and CNN said Parker will continue to appear on the network from time to time.

In his statement, Jautz said Parker was leaving the program "to focus on her writing" as a syndicated columnist. But rumors about tensions between conservative Parker and the former Democratic governor of New York have been swirling for some time. Parker was said to be frustrated that Spitzer dominated the conversation. Spitzer's ratings, meanwhile, shot up when Parker wasn't on the air. Gossip circulated that they were at each others' throats, and that Parker had even stormed off the set at one point.

Murmurs of the imminent split first appeared Friday morning in The Daily and the New York Post.

Parker and Spitzer were recruited last year as part of a broader effort by CNN to bolster its prime-time ratings. But the show failed to develop an audience, regularly lagging far behind its competition on Fox News Channel and MSNBC.

Nevertheless, Jautz said, "We have been pleased with how the 8 p.m. hour has become a centerpiece of substantive, policy-oriented conversation, and we are looking forward to building on that with this new format."

As far as public appearances are concerned, the break-up was amicable.

"While I am extremely proud of the show we created, and the subject matter and level of discourse Parker Spitzer promoted every night, it was a difficult decision to scale back my column a few months ago and, with the show going in a new direction, it is a good time to move on," said Parker.

"I wish Kathleen all the best in continuing on with her spectacular career," said Spitzer. "It has been a joy working with her as a teammate, and I continue to be a huge fan of the wisdom that jumps from her written work and the wit, charm and insight she brings to all that she does."

(Courtesy CNN)