CNN President Jon Klein Responds to Dobbs Resignation; Basta Dobbs.com Celebrates Resignation

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CNN President Jon Klein issued the following statement this evening: "Lou Dobbs is a valued founding member of the CNN family. For decades, Lou fearlessly and tirelessly pursued some of the most important and complex stories of our time, often well ahead of the pack. All of us will miss his appetite for big ideas, the megawatt smile and larger than life presence he brought to our newsroom, and we're grateful to have known and worked with him over the years. With characteristic forthrightness, Lou has now decided to carry the banner of advocacy journalism elsewhere. We respect his decision and wish him, Debi, and his family the very best."

According to Huffington post, Basta Dobbs.com celebrated the Dobbs resignation with this release (From TVNewser.com)

BastaDobbs.com Announces Victory: Lou Dobbs to Leave CNN
NEW YORK - Responding to the news Wednesday that Lou Dobbs will leave his post as a longtime anchor on CNN, the leaders of BastaDobbs.com - a national Latino-led coalition that had been advocating for his ouster - released the following statement:
"Our contention all along was that Lou Dobbs - who has a long record of spreading lies and conspiracy theories about immigrants and Latinos - does not belong on the 'Most Trusted Name in News,'" said Roberto Lovato, co-founder of Presente.org, a national online advocacy organization coordinating the BastaDobbs.com campaign in conjunction with more than 40 local and regional Latino organizations from across the country. "We are thrilled that Dobbs no longer has this legitimate platform from which to incite fear and hate."
The BastaDobbs.com campaign launched in mid-September, and included online petitions, a viral YouTube video, text-message campaign, radio PSAs and a series of events in 18 cities - organized in conjunction with the CNN special Latino in America. The message to CNN was that courting Latino viewers while keeping Dobbs on the network would not with them favor with the fastest-growing demographic in the country. Since then, more than 100,000 people have joined the effort. The events and the campaign garnered significant press coverage in both Spanish-language and mainstream media.
Lovato said the BastaDobbs.com victory marks a key turning point for the Latino community, as it moved from marching in the streets in 2006 to mounting a successful, high-tech campaign against one of the biggest and strongest media voices against common-sense immigration reform ----------------

Plus more reaction from TVNewser.com

> More from Insiders: Dobbs' show was scheduled to be preempted tomorrow night. The "Campbell Brown" staff has been told they WILL NOT produce a two-hour show. So, what happens? One scenario has "The Situation Room" moving back an hour airing from 5pm-8pmET, with Rick Sanchez anchoring two hours in the afternoon, from 3pm-5pmET.
> Update 7:59pm: Dobbs signs off saying, "Thanks for being with us. As they say, 'I'll see you next on the radio.'" CNN then aired the credits for his program.
> More: The Dobbs news went international very quickly. On the CBC's WorldNews TV at 7:37, the host read an AP alert saying, "We've got breaking news here with CNN host Lou Dobbs [who] shocked viewers Wednesday when he announced he would be leaving the network effectively immediately."

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Lou Dobbs Quits CNN

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New York Times reports....
Lou Dobbs, the longtime CNN anchor whose anti-immigration views have made him a TV lightning rod, plans to announce Wednesday that he is leaving the network effective immediately, two network employees said. A CNN executive confirmed that Mr. Dobbs will announce his resignation plans on his 7 p.m. program, “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” Wednesday’s program will be his last on CNN, according to one of the employees. His contract was not set to expire until the end of 2011.

Mr. Dobbs informed his staff members of his intentions in a meeting Wednesday afternoon, catching some of the staffers off-guard. The anchor did not immediately respond to a telephone call seeking comment.

Well known for his political positions, Mr. Dobbs is an outlier at CNN, which has sought to position itself as a middle ground of sorts in the fractious cable news arena. The CNN employees said Wednesday that they did not know if Mr. Dobbs was moving to another network.
Mr. Dobbs met with Roger Ailes, the chairman of the Fox News Channel, in September. At the time Mr. Dobbs was viewed as a potential hire for the Fox Business Network. But a Fox spokesperson said Wednesday, “We have not had any discussions with Lou Dobbs for Fox News or Fox Business.”

Mr. Dobbs has been with CNN since its founding, save for a two-year stint at a Web site called Space.com. He has evolved over the years from a straight-laced business anchor to an outspoken commentator who rails against illegal immigration and taxpayer bailouts, among other subjects.
Lately, though, he has saved most of his opinions for his afternoon radio show, which made its debut in March 2008. It is on the radio show that he talked repeatedly about the conspiracy theory claims that President Obama is not a United States citizen. When he mentioned the citizenship issue on CNN over the summer, his bosses were forced to call it a “dead issue.”

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Funny Obama Moment

CBS Evening News with Katie Couric -- How Is It Now?

My renewed battle with fall allergy season kept me at home tonight. So I decided to flip on the TV and watch the 'CBS Evening News with Katie Couric'. I know, I know... when was the last time you heard someone say that happened at 6:30pm? It's been a while since I checked in for an entire show. As you know if you have read any of my posts about the newscast since Couric assumed the helm, I believe the content is the star of the show, not Couric. There had been depth and perspective to stories. There were "ah-ha' moments -- times when you learned something. I believe Couric is an asset to the organization but in early sampling struggled to actually "talk" (not read a prompter) to me as a viewer. For someone making more than a million bucks a month, I want more. That's the only thing that has bothered me about Couric since she left the heavily ad-libbed 'Today' show. I like her. But, I need to like her more to lure me to the newscast often.

So... has much changed? Well... not much. But in this case, that's not a bad thing.

I really wondered though when the story teased at the top of the newscast was Ford's profit... voiced by Couric over what was obviously promotional video from Ford. That's just cheating. I know local TV is bad for that. But c'mon. Is that the best shot that CBS News could develop to open it's marquee newscast? I worried what was ahead.

To my surprise, and enjoyment, the first block of news was more focused on news and information than just presentation. Dean Reynolds spun the Ford story toward union troubles amid profit reports. David Martin voiced what I'd wondered all day. The re-election of the Afghanistan president was not what Barack Obama needed or wanted. The rest of the 'first block' was solid content. I felt at ease with the content and presentation. No one was screaming at me.. or talking to me like I was a fourth grade student. It was just solid content.

Dr. John Lapook opened the second block with a great piece about advanced Alzheimer's patients needing Hospice care. His talking to an elderly woman who as obviously in pain was engaging... even though only about five seconds. He asked a question, asked if she was alright and then patted her arm. It was the memorable moment of the entire newscast for me. Shouldn't those moments really he central in all of TV news? What is memorable becomes what is engaging.

On the flipside, the third block of the newscast was the weakest part for me. It was Couric's 'exclusive' interview with Al Gore. It was a blatant push toward her full interview on the web. Her first question in the edited version for the newscast seemed way too long. It was shot in a "creative" way... bring out the 'ol black curtain with a monitor between Couric and Gore. It was a cliche. The newscast is far better when Couric relies on her tremendous storytelling skills and those of her support staff -- reporters, photojournalists, producers, writers, etc. I know her long perceived strength is interviewing. For this newscast, tell a story. Of all evening newscasts, you will find much more consistently good storytelling here.

What about that Couric-prompter-reading that bothered me? Well, it's a bit better. But as a viewer, it still feels as though she's 'reading' to me. I know sarcastic wit proclaims... "Well she is." In the waning days of appointment newscast viewing, I long for someone who is so passionate and so knowledgable about the content that it at least "feels" like he or she is talking to me not "reading" for me. (even though the words all may be on the Tele prompter).

Now that I think about it, I long for the evening news presented by the Diane Sawyer that anchored 'Good Morning America' beside Charlie Gibson for most of the last decade. For me, Sawyer peaked in her style while sitting opposite Gibson. The GMA of a few years ago was hyper focused on quality content, great writing and great communication. It's not the same newscast, or show, now. Can Sawyer recapture that on "Wold News"?

No matter who anchors (Couric, Sawyer, or Brian Williams) content and communication are still king and queen.






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