The Comedians Made Me Do It
There has been plenty of talk in the blogosphere about yesterday's news of Aaron Brown's departure from CNN and Anderson Cooper's promotion to primetime anchor in his place. Many of CNN President Jon Klein's statements on the matter have been noted elsewhere, but there was one paragraph in the New York Times' report on Aaron Brown's "ouster" that particularly stood out:
"Mr. Klein also noted that Mr. Cooper has started to turn up as a character satirized on 'Saturday Night Live' on NBC, a development that he said was 'a sure sign' that people were becoming more aware of him."
I know SNL skits might have done wonders for Paris Hilton's resume, but since when did they become the barometer of successful exposure for journalists? Many of those lamenting the shakeup suggest that Klein seems more interested in promoting a "hot property" than an experienced newsman.
"I think he's a smart, thoughtful, careful, unhyperbolic newsman - exactly the kind of analytic thinker and calm presence that CNN should want to have," Alex Jones, director of Harvard's Shorenstein Center on the Press, told the Philadelphia Inquirer's Gail Shister, of Brown.
Joe Gandelman at The Moderate Voice said this about the decision:
It's a classic case of someone who was suddenly a hot property cooling down — then being replaced by the newest brand-new hot property. In the case of CNN, it has now chosen the flashier Cooper over the more low-key Brown — which is understandable when you keep in mind that the once-dominant CNN is competing against the more flamboyant now-dominant Fox News Network.The Talent Show:
Nothing against Anderson Cooper, but Brown has the Cronkite-esque appeal that every other anchor at CNN lacks.Steve Gilliard at The News Blog:
Brown was a good counterpoint for Cooper, who's friendly, but not exactly who you think of as a hard hitting news man.One of Klein's past decisions about programming also seems to have been influenced by the attention of comedians. When Klein cancelled "Crossfire," as part of an effort to "move CNN away from what he called 'head-butting debate shows,'" as the New York Times reported at the time, he also "specifically cited the criticism that the comedian Jon Stewart leveled at 'Crossfire' when he was a guest on the program during the presidential campaign. Mr. Stewart said that ranting partisan political shows on cable were 'hurting America,'" the Times reported in January.
So, as my mother might say, "If Jon Stewart jumped off the George Washington Bridge, would you do it?"