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Carlson Out, "Crossfire" Canned at CNN
Bye-bye, Mr. Bowtie.
Jon Stewart's favorite TV talking head, Tucker Carlson, is on the outs at CNN.
The bowtie-sporting conservative pundit, whom Stewart called a "dick" and accused of spreading "partisan hackery" and "hurting America" during their now infamous exchange on Crossfire, is exiting the Cable News Network after executives opted not to offer him a new contract.
CNN has also pulled the plug on Crossfire.
But don't go weeping for Tucker just yet. He's being courted by rival MSNBC to take over the 9 p.m. slot now occupied by Deborah Norville, who's leaving MSNBC at the end of the month.
Carlson, who's been with CNN for more than five years, purportedly gave notice last April, but decided to stick at his Crossfire post through the election season and the expiration of his contract.
The commentator, who also hosted CNN's short-lived 2001 prime-time show The Spin Room, said he loved his tenure at CNN but was more than willing to jump networks to satisfy his anchor ambitions.
"I would host any kind of show for Rick Kaplan," Carlson told the Associated Press, referring to the MSNBC honcho and onetime head of CNN.
A spokeswoman for MSNBC declined to comment on whether a deal was in place.
CNN did try out Carlson in a prime-time slot by letting him substitute for NewsNight's anchor Aaron Brown last week while Brown was on vacation. But ultimately CNN's new president, Jonathan Klein, decided that Carlson didn't fit in and let him go. The parting was said to be amicable.
"His career aspirations and our programming needs just don't synch up," Klein told the Associated Press. "He wants to host his own nighttime show and we don't see that in the cards here. Out of respect for him and his talent, we thought it would be best to let him explore opportunities elsewhere.
Klein says CNN will get back to more round-the-clock news coverage and avoid the partisan bickering that had come to dominate much of its programming in the wake of stiff competition from Fox News.
"I guess I come down more firmly in the Jon Stewart camp," said Klein, referring to the Daily Show host's knock that Crossfire and its ilk don't fully inform viewers and are ultimately divisive.
"I doubt that when the President sits down with his advisers they scream at him to bring him up to date on all of the issues," Klein said. "I don't know why we don't treat the audience with the same respect."
That--and low ratings, natch--contributed to Crossfire's demise. The 22-year-old political shoot-'em-up will probably morph in a more toned-down, shorter segment that will air during CNN's political briefing Inside Politics, hosted by Judy Woodruff.
At one time, the debatefest was one of the news channel's top-rated programs, but it has since been outfoxed by Fox News' combative offerings such as Hannity and Colmes and The O'Reilly Factor.
According to Nielsen Media Research, Crossfire only averaged 447,000 viewers daily this season, down a whopping 21 percent from last season.
Carlson was one of four rotating hosts on the show along with conservative columnist Robert Novak and Democratic political strategists Paul Begala and James Carville. Those three are expected to remain at CNN as regular commentators.
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