Aaron Brown out at CNN
 

http://www.mediaweek.com/mw/news/rec..._id=1001432804

CNN's Brown Out: Cooper's 360° Moves to 10 p.m. Slot
November 02, 2005
By Anthony Crupi

Aaron Brown is out at CNN, and Anderson Cooper will take over Brown’s 10 p.m. time slot, effective Monday.

The shakeup comes as a result of some prime time scheduling moves that CNN made official Wednesday. Cooper will take his 7 p.m. showcase, Anderson Cooper 360°, to the 10-midnight spot, formerly occupied by Brown’s NewsNight. Cooper’s old spot will be filled by an additional hour of The Situation Room, hosted by Wolf Blitzer.

In a memo to staffers, CNN president Jon Klein said the veteran anchor “will be leaving CNN and is very much looking forward to some well-deserved time off with his family.”

Since mid-September, Brown and Cooper had been paired on NewsNight, as Klein sought to capitalize on Cooper’s surge in popularity in the wake of his coverage of Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath.

Brown joined CNN in 2001 and first came to prominence with his on-air reporting from New York on Sept. 11 of that year. Cooper joined CNN as a weekend anchor in December 2001 and began hosting Anderson Cooper 360° in March 2003.

In his note to staffers, Klein said praised Brown for his “stellar” work as an anchor, adding “there is no question that he will be missed.”

What? :confused: They need to get rid of Paula Zahn, not Aaron Brown. :distress:

I know, I was squealing with delight earlier. I know it's silly, but hey, it's the simple things that make life worth living. :p Here's the memo Klein sent out:

To: All CNN Staff

From: Jon Klein

We have made some programming decisions which will impact our prime time schedule as well as our colleague Aaron Brown. Aaron will be leaving CNN and is very much looking forward to some well-deserved time off with his family.

Aaron has made enormous contributions to CNN since his groundbreaking anchoring of Sept. 11th through the war in Iraq to the Tsunami to the recent hurricanes. Outside of the big stories, on a nightly basis, Aaron has provided our audiences with insight into the events of the United States and the world with eloquence and the highest journalist integrity.

Besides his stellar work as an anchor, Aaron stands as an absolutely brilliant writer, evident by the thoughtful perspective he injects into every story he touches.

Personally, I will miss Aaron and his wicked sense of humor. We cannot thank Aaron enough for the skills and professionalism he brought to CNN. Given his respect throughout the industry, there is no question that he will be missed.

I can't say that starting off the night with Leslie Wolf Bull****ter AND Paula Zzzzzzz is a smart move, though. Klein is a douche.

Most definitely. That woman is so dull that she puts herself to sleep.

I do not like Brown, so I am cool with that. As for Zahn, I think she is okay, but I like her better when she is not doing the news and doing the human interest stuff instead.

One less impersonation Darrell Hammond has to worry about... :shrug:

Brown is a pompous ass, but Paula Zzzzzzz really gets my goat.

Well, she was not boring when she hauled out in that AWFUL perm, which I pray was a bad wig :laugh:

:shocked:

http://www.thecolumnists.com/miller/miller311art1.jpg

:laugh: That is too f*ckin' funny.

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now if Joe Klein would fire all the pundits, anchors, and talk show hosts (seriously, Larry King is getting too old), as well as himself. Down with CNN! Down with Fox! Down with MSNBC! They're all one and the same. A bunch of f***ing liars.

But I love Anderson. And I love Christiane Amanpour. And I love Erica Hill. And I love Rob Marciano.

Let's see - you love Christiane Amanpour and Erica Hill for their reporting and you love Anderson Cooper and Rob Marciano for their wet t-shirt look :D

There's that, but honey, I want to have babies with Erica Hill. :laugh: She is gorgeous. Gets me all hot and bothered.

My love for Christiane knows no bounds. The woman epitomizes class. And her husband is an incredibly nice guy.

Funny I love Paula Zahn for some reason...hell I love the whole CNN crew, it's probably just a familiarity factor with me. I have been watching them for years, I've grown to like them all. (Except Soledad and Miles O'Brien!)

They make me gag.

Blitzer gets an additional hour? Blech.

Have they actually announced it (on t.v.) to the viewers yet?

Not that I'm aware of. But they'd better do it soon, lest people think that their current line-up of Leslie Wolf Bull****ter, Paula Zzzzzzz, Larry King, and Rick Sanchez is permanent. Oy.

Here's another funny article:

With Cooper now on top, Brown leaves CNN
http://news.google.com/url?sa=t&ct=u...cid=1102108214

By Gail Shister

New Age has trumped Old School at CNN.

Anderson Cooper, a breakout star for his Katrina coverage, yesterday bumped Aaron Brown from the prime-time lineup - a move that prompted Brown to leave the network, effective immediately.

Cooper, 38, will anchor a live news show from 10 p.m. to midnight beginning Monday, CNN announced. Title: Anderson Cooper 360º, the handle of Cooper's (now) former 7 p. m. program.

Brown's 10 p. m. NewsNight is toast as of Monday. His last CNN appearance was Friday; he and Cooper are on previously scheduled vacations this week.

Brown, who turns 57 next Thursday, was hired as CNN's big gun in 2001. A contemplative, understated guy who never met a pause he didn't like, he has an estimated $1 million-a-year contract that runs until July '07.

The suave, silver-haired Cooper - like Brown, a former ABC newsman, hosted the ABC reality show The Mole before joining CNN as a weekend anchor in December '01.

Contrary to prevailing logic, Brown was not offered Cooper's 7 p. m. time slot, CNN/U.S. president Jonathan Klein confirms. He wasn't offered bupkis.

"We never got to the point of anything concrete... . I think when you've been in the business a while, as Aaron has, you can come to conclusions pretty quickly. He has a clear sense of what he wants to do, and we have a clear sense of what we want to do."

In the new lineup, Wolf Blitzer's Situation Room, now seen from 3 to 6 p. m., will run from 4 to 6, and 7 to 8. Lou Dobbs remains at 6, but his 11 p. m. repeat will move to the wee hours. Paula Zahn and Larry King stay at 8 and 9.

Brown's departure was mutual, says a CNN rep, but don't believe it. Cooper has been Klein's golden boy since Klein joined the network in December.

The situation came to a head in early September, when Klein added Cooper to NewsNight and expanded the show to two hours. Brown went ballistic over the arranged marriage, CNN insiders say, but ratings improved.

Klein labels Brown "an absolutely brilliant writer" and "one of the classiest people I've ever worked with." He says the 10 p. m. move is more about Cooper's strengths than it is about Brown's weaknesses.

Cooper "gives us passion, energy on the screen, and the ability to be informal and at the same time informative. He's comfortable talking to ordinary people or confronting [public] officials."

Moreover, Cooper "fits with the persona of CNN that we're projecting - an aggressive pursuer of the facts."

The son of Gloria Vanderbilt, Cooper, with his increasing celebrity, hasn't hurt the network in its pursuit of No. 1 Fox News Channel, Klein concedes.

Over the past year, Cooper "has jumped onto the radar screens of people who watch cable news. He's being talked about more and more... . This is a person who was virtually unknown one year ago. We always knew he was a comer."

Cooper and Blitzer are "momentum drivers," in Klein's lexicon, and he wants to build on that.

Brown's exit doesn't sit well with some industry experts and CNN alums.

"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," says Alex Jones, director of Harvard's Shorenstein Center on the Press.

Charles Bierbauer, dean of the College of Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina and a 20-year CNN correspondent, says Brown's style is an acquired taste.

"Initially, I was uncomfortable. He was so introspective. He always seemed to be pondering the news rather than delivering it. Over time, I came to understand what he was trying to do and what his strengths were."

Among them, ironically for TV, was Brown's appreciation of daily newspapers.

At the conclusion of every show, he held up copies of the next day's headlines from papers around the country - including The Inquirer.

Deborah Potter, executive director of the Washington-based NewsLab and a CNN correspondent from 1991 to '94, calls Brown "one of the great writers in television."

He may not have been well-suited to anchor, however, she adds.

"Sometimes, people who are wordsmiths and who care deeply about getting it exactly right don't handle that live, roll-with-the-punches requirement that comes with being an anchor."

Potter warns that it's too early to interpret the switch at 10 as a victory of style over substance.

"Reading one leaf in the cup of tea may not tell us the whole story. CNN has been in a quandary about what to do. When things aren't working, just changing the nameplates on the door isn't enough."

Harvard's Jones has nothing against Cooper, he says.

"I just want to know why there is no place at CNN for an Aaron Brown."

So does Aaron Brown.

They just announced it on their site:

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/...own/index.html

Oh, they did too much airbrushing on that picture!

You should see Paula Zzzzzzzz's picture. And Erica Hill's. :shocked:

I can imagine. I think subtle lines on a face are important to a person's character and removing them makes them look unreal. You can soften without removing all of them!

I love this part "Anderson is one of the most distinctive voices anywhere on television," said Klein in a press release. "He has broken through the clutter with his candor, his humanity and his emotional connection to the most pressing stories of our time. As a result, he has gained a strong following among viewers that we hope to build on."

He freaking rocks. Of course the network would capitalize on that. So is 10:00cooler than 7:00? I'm surprised they didn't just keep him on at 7 and put him on at 10 too. Why more Blitzer? Yuck.

:nod: Some of those photos make them look like aliens; almost nothing like they actually look on the air. Klein must hate Brown, though, because his photo is...umm...interesting.

That's why I love him. :blob1:

Bull****ter is so obnoxious. I can't stand him. He makes Jack Cafferty look loose and easygoing. :shocked: It's very uncomfortable to watch him because he always looks like he's going to pass out.

I'll have to go look at that one too. Zahn's wasn't too too bad, the super white chiclet teeth are terrible though. Erica Hill's was really odd looking.

I know, me too. He's like a frikkin news media miracle. I cried when he called out the governor of LA and other times during his candid coverage. But you know that. His credit of being "The Mole" host looks a bit out of place on his resume, however. :laugh:

:lol: When Steph "does him" she sounds like she's got something wedged in her throat. They always talk about how uncomfortable he appears and makes them.

:( I like Aaron Brown and his sense of humour. Does Anderson Cooper have one? I'm not being sarcastic, I really don't know, his program usually is broadcasted here at 6.00 am.

Romy

I found him to be VERy annoying. I think Anderson Cooper is better suited for the job anyway. I like his style much more.

I'm certainly happy for you btw.:thumbsup:

His humor shows better in his Details column.

I think he's hilarious on the air. Very snarky. His piece on that controversial Smurfs commercial was a hoot. "How smurferific."

And there was a guy behind me at the Blondie show last night who looked like him. Unfortunately, he annoyed me greatly.

Did anyone watch the new and improved 360 last night? It's great. :] I loved the opening.

"Hope you don't mind the new car smell. We've expanded to two hours of live coverage, which means more stories in greater depth. We don't plan to start shouting at you. There's plenty of cable news caterwauling already. Nor do we plan on telling you what to think. We think you can figure that one out on your own. We want to bring you information accurately, fairly. And we want to hold people and politicians accountable for their words and their actions. Pretty simple."

That made me kinda hot.

:laugh:

Did you see it last night? ****ing awesome! That interview with Maureen Dowd was classic. Can we say best thing ever? I couldn't stop laughing when he talked about orgasms. And the phone-in. Ho****. So many great stories and pieces last night that I couldn't keep up. That show was entertaining as all get out last night.

I did not see it, as I am in France until the end of August. :distress:

Merely reading your quote, imagining Anderson say it...made me hot.

Cool beans. How do you like it?

If I find video of the Maureen Dowd interview, I'll post the link. It was the best thing ever. Or a video of the phone-in sex talk. :laugh:

He said "smurferiffic"? :laugh:

Me too but I don't think he plays for my team. That's okay, perhaps I can find a reasonable fascimile... :]

Now we get 2 hours? Very nice.

Yes. I literally laughed out loud. Couple it with the actual Smurfs commercial and I was gasping for air.

Ack, you totally should have seen it last night. MoDo was hilarious and the whole show was just great, better than it's ever been. But they got rid of the Flin Flon bumper music. That makes me unhappy.

Okay, what was the issue with the commercial?

I need to get my own TV or I will never get to watch any of this!

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2005/...b__430x304.jpg

Graphic image: Smurfs blown up
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/gra...?oneclick=true

Out of an idyllic blue sky dotted with birds and butterflies come warplanes that carpet bomb the Smurfs' forest village, killing Smurfette, leaving Baby Smurf wailing in distress and sending Papa Smurf and the others bolting for cover.

The scene from a bizarre commercial featuring Belgium's lovable blue-skinned cartoon characters is so upsetting it can only be shown after 9pm to avoid scaring children.

Yet it is part of a UNICEF ad campaign on Belgian television meant to highlight the plight of ex-child soldiers in Africa.

"It's working. We are getting a lot of reactions and people are logging on to our website," said Philippe Henon, a spokesman for the Belgian office of the UN's children's agency.

UNICEF says it hopes the ad featuring the characters - created by Belgian cartoonist Pierre "Peyo" Culliford - will draw in donations for its program to aid former child soldiers in Burundi, Congo and Sudan.

The 20-second clip is meant to show that war can happen in the most innocent of places, Henon said.

:wavey: