Brown/Cooper pairing permanent?
TVNewser scoops with news that the Aaron Brown/Anderson Cooper tag team pairing on the 2 hour expanded version of Newsnight is going to be sticking around for a while…
The content of the 10pm broadcast will certainly change, an insider says. The title may change, too. Aaron and Anderson will continue to co-anchor the two-hour block.
Klein is playing a game of executive producer musical chairs, moving NewsNight EP Will Surratt to 360 and transferring 360 EP David Doss to the new two-hour show. Doss has extensive experience programming for primetime at the broadcast networks. Some of the senior staff members are being switched, too. It’s effective on Monday.
That’s interesting. After MSNBC moves TC to 11pm.. Now CNN is the first to offer live counter programming. I really don’t like watching AB. But, since AC360 will be on there, its a much more watchable. Seeing that they switched EP’s that would have to be a little strange. The guy that conducted AB’s “undertaker” show will now be on the 7pm show.
Comment by Terance — September 29, 2005 @ 10:11 am
I think this is just another one of JK’s stupid ideas to get more exposure for Anderson, at the expense of Aaron. The two hour format worked when there was storm activity, but since Rita hit, the numbers for this two-hour format have started going down, especially the second hour, which basically seems to be a repeat of 360 and consists mostly of canned reports. Cannot not imagine what this new program will look like, but if it features more Anderson than Aaron, I’ll not watch.
Comment by sam — September 29, 2005 @ 10:13 am
CNN is copying MSNBC now? Wow.
Comment by mia — September 29, 2005 @ 12:17 pm
I’ve recently been going to other tv news sites that seem to have more up to date information. I thought I’d come back here today to see what was going on, and the first story I see is from the tvnewser site. What’s up here?
Comment by Staycee — September 29, 2005 @ 12:43 pm
I think Spud is just giving credit to his sources. But I like this site better than TVNewser!
Comment by Missy — September 29, 2005 @ 12:55 pm
Mia wrote: CNN is copying MSNBC now? Wow.
You think CNN is copying MSNBC because they have choosen to be live at 11? Well, for a huge part of CNN’s history, they had been live until 12 and sometimes beyond. The ultimate copy cats in cable news is MSNBC and FNC for coming into existence just because of the success of CNN.
Comment by reader — September 29, 2005 @ 1:12 pm
I don’t think CNN is copying MSNBC, but I do think it is one of JK’s ideas that will fail after a while.
Comment by Anonymous — September 29, 2005 @ 1:21 pm
CNN isn’t copying MSNBC because they don’t have a Tucker Carlson clone show at 11. But, they did follow suit after MSNBC decided to go live at 11. Would CNN have went live at 11 if MSNBC hadn’t of taken that step? I feel Lou Dobbs would still be on.
Comment by Terance — September 29, 2005 @ 1:32 pm
I agree with Sam. Pardon my french, but this new, (or not so new), idea of Kleins’ SUCKS!!
What are they going to do at 10pm share a desk? Who’s studio will be used, NN or 360? None of it makes any sense. Sure it worked for hurricane coverage but on a normal news day with both in studio it’s a recipe for disaster.
Comment by anonymous — September 29, 2005 @ 1:45 pm
I’m an avid CNN watcher, especially from 10pm-11pm, and this is a HORRID HORRID move!!! NewsNight is no longer NewsNight if Aaron is not the sole anchor…it’s horrid I tell ya!!!
Comment by reader — September 29, 2005 @ 3:16 pm
Anderson Cooper is the rising star of CNN, Aaron Brown is being used and abused for more Cooper loving.
Comment by Ripclawe — September 29, 2005 @ 3:54 pm
Number 9, you’re right. These two stars just can’t be reduced to sharing a stage with each other. It will never work. Talk about a burr under the saddle!!
Comment by Cara — September 29, 2005 @ 4:58 pm
I just saw the ratings from Wednesday on ftvlive.com. CNN’s dynamic duo at 10 and 11 dropped over 400,000 people from the day before. That CNN president comes up with another winning idea.
Comment by Jake — September 29, 2005 @ 6:23 pm
Dynamic Duo! That’s very funny. I can just picture them in tights, just like the ambiguously gay duo from SNL, out to save the world when not looking at themselves in the mirror.
Comment by Ms. Anonymous — September 29, 2005 @ 7:00 pm
regarding numbers; AC360 was 2nd lowest only to lou dobbs and NN, both in 10pm and l1pm hours, as was written above, are continuing the downward slide that it’s been on. GREAT TIMING KLEIN!!
As for phrase “dynamic duo”; Larry King started that and should have been told to “shut up” after the first time said, idiotic old man, geez!!
Comment by anonymous — September 29, 2005 @ 7:41 pm
I like Chris Rock but, he just said “I sound like s…” on AC360! I wonder if JK will put this video on the “most trusted name in news” website?
Comment by Terance — September 29, 2005 @ 8:05 pm
Check out the article in the Atlanta Journal/Constitution. Klein says the arrangement might not be permanant. Maybe TVN got some bad info.
Comment by Anonymous — September 29, 2005 @ 10:17 pm
Read the TVN piece again. He has a qualifier in there and that is Jon Kleins comment that it’s “as permanent as anything is in this business”. So I read the TVN piece as though it’s permanent but permanent doesn’t say a lot.
Comment by Spud — September 29, 2005 @ 10:54 pm
The AJC article leaves no doubt as to who Klein is rooting for does it. “Fire & Ice”, another methaphor from a snake.
“may not be permanent” could have lots of meanings, think about it.
Comment by anonymous — September 29, 2005 @ 11:38 pm
I don’t know if this is of significance. But when the show opened last night, Aaron’s name was first (on top) and in bold letters. Just under it, in smaller letters was Anderson’s name.
Comment by Cara — September 30, 2005 @ 10:23 am
Take tail and chase it non-stop from 10pm-midnight.
It seems like a futile attempt by CNN to try to keep the hurricane viewers, who, according to the Wed. ratings I saw on other tv news blogs (why aren’t those ratings out here yet?), have already abandoned the network.
Comment by Gene — September 30, 2005 @ 11:37 am
The Crappy News Network continues its slide back to the basement alongwith MSNBC. Cooper, Brown, Zahn, King - switch ‘em, shake ‘em, combine ‘em - it doesn’t matter. It’s just like changing deck chairs on the Titanic. As long as their liberal mindset persists on those shows, they won’t be winners.
Comment by ravi — September 30, 2005 @ 11:56 am
to Cara; it’s been that way all this week. they also changed the graphics on the 11pm hour and have Aaron Browns name first, along with Newsnight logo at the bottom right. Still in all the 10pm hour is more NewsNight and the 11pm hour is basically a repeat except they change who intros the stories. pretty stupid, should have just given Cooper 11pm hour and be done with it because that’s probably how it will end up.
can’t wait to see how they handle having them both in the studio, which studio, etc. This is Kleins’ GIFT to Anderson Cooper, and, as has been said before, it sucks!!
Comment by anonymous — September 30, 2005 @ 3:16 pm