A Revolving Door At CNN

Atlanta Business News 6:44 p.m. Thursday, March, 11 2010

Reports: CNN testing new talent, new show in the works

CNN has been auditioning talent for a possible new show, according to reports from media industry Web sites.

It’s unclear what the show’s time slot would be, though industry blogs TVNewser and The Wrap have tied it to the morning. The show would be a new format that may be similar to that of “Crossfire,” the reports say.

A representative for CNN had no comment for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The Atlanta-based cable news network touts its variety of contributors – to represent left, right and moderate political ideologies – on its news shows.

It also has gone through anchor and program “shuffling” in recent months in efforts to boost ratings. The network has lagged behind fierce rival Fox News but has also fallen behind MSNBC in some time slots, including prime time.

The changes have included creating a new afternoon program for Rick Sanchez and cutting Wolf Blitzer’s “The Situation Room” back by one hour. John King, former host of “State of the Union” on Saturdays will start a new show at 7 p.m. on weekdays. King replaces Lou Dobbs, who announced in November he was leaving the network after nearly 20 years.

Anchors Betty Nguyen and Erica Hill have left the network for CBS News. And Gerri Willis, personal finance editor and anchor of "Your Bottom Line" and longtime dayside anchor Heidi Collins have left CNN as well.

CNN has denied repeatedly that Anderson Cooper, host of the network’s signature program “Anderson Cooper 360” is talking to CBS News about an anchor position there.

CNN has also changed its anchor line up on the "American Morning" show several times. The show has averaged 364,000 viewers a day between Dec. 29, 2008 and March 7, 2010, according to Nielsen ratings, supplied by CNN.

That places the morning show second in cable news morning shows behind Fox, which has averaged 1.1 million viewers during that same time period, according to ratings figures.

---