Parker/Spitzer: Splitser
CNN announced tonight that Kathleen Parker is leaving Parker/Spitzer:
CNN co-host Kathleen Parker leaving show
Atlanta, Georgia (CNN) -- Kathleen Parker, the Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist who co-hosted CNN's 8 p.m. show, is leaving just five months after the show debuted, the company announced Friday.
"I have decided to return to a schedule that will allow me to focus more on my syndicated newspaper column and other writings," Parker said in a statement.
She said she enjoyed her time on the show "Parker Spitzer" with former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, but she had missed focusing full-time on her column in the months she had been working on the show.
Parker's farewell, as seen at this CNN web page, takes up all of seven seconds. Wow.
It's hard to see how a program with a moderate who insists on claiming she's somehow a conservative and a disgraced ex-Goveror could have worked, and it didn't. The ratings from Thursday night showed P/S in a distant third place in the cable ratings race, barely beating its Headline News competitor:
As would be expected, the story at the Associated Press, which must think that anyone to the right of Lincoln Chafee is a conservative, called Parker one:
Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker said Friday that she's leaving CNN's prime-time "Parker/Spitzer" talk show, which will be renamed and continue with former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and others. CNN said the decision to cut ties with Parker was mutual.
The show debuted last fall to some tough reviews and poor ratings in a time slot dominated by Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly. But the ending of MSNBC's "Countdown" with Keith Olbermann last month has given CNN an opportunity. The network has averaged 638,000 viewers in the time slot during a newsy period this month, up 24 percent from last February's show with Campbell Brown, the Nielsen Co. said.
The new show will be dubbed "In the Arena," with two conservatives -- former Fox News Channel personality E.D. Hill and National Review columnist Will Cain -- joining Spitzer as panelists. CNN said others will be on the show, but they haven't been named yet.
Parker, whose self-description is "slightly to the right of center," became an establishment press darling in 2008 with her strident criticisms of Sarah Palin, vice-presidential running mate of "slightly to the right of center (on his best days)" John McCain. Her reward: a 2010 Pulitzer.
That there was tension between Parker and Spitzer was hardly a secret.
Cross-posted at BizzyBlog.com.
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Comments
Maybe she got tired of having
Submitted by killa37 on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 12:26am.
Maybe she got tired of having her outfits getting slime all over them from this slimeball.............now she can go back to being a psuedo-conservative, if anybody takes her seriously.
Spitzer slimed, too!
Submitted by Newsbubba on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 11:08am.
Killa, they called Kathleen Parker, "the Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist" but failed to give Spitzer credit for his being the Pull-it-sir? Prize winning dip stick that he is!
It is so unfair.
Yeah .........jeez,
Submitted by killa37 on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 1:49pm.
Yeah .........jeez, bubba...................having an up-tight, arrogant, know-it-all, cadaverous looking client like Spritzer - doing a crappy job WHILE wearing brown banlon socks - COULD turn a 'regular working girl' into some kind of a nun or spinster or lesbian or something!!!!!
Pull-it-sir
Submitted by rockyracoon on Sun, 02/27/2011 - 3:55pm.
LOL NewsBubba that's just too funny, glad I wasn't drinking my morning coffee.
Facts are like kryptonite to the liberal.
It will be interesting to see how this new format...
Submitted by PrairieSky on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 12:52am.
goes...I guess Parker finally had enough of Spitzer. He seems to have trouble working and playing well with others, so it will be amusing to see how he and CNN handle the "conservatives" that will be on the show. Looks like they have rescued E.D. Hill from the off-the-air siberia that she's been in since she was pushed out at Fox in 2008. This should be entertaining... ;-)
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction...It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them (our children) to do the same." ~President Ronald Reagan
What happened?
Submitted by jon_torlin on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 12:59am.
I never really understood, I heard her contract wasn't renewed for some reason, some tried to say it had to do with that comment when she said "terrorist fist jab" between DuhOne and DuhUdderOne that set some commentators off. I know she started a couple of baking companies or something in Texas, which is where she's from.
I thought maybe she got tired of all the stuff going on and she was in her mid 40s at the time and figured she wanted to do something different.
-Jon
Apparently, it was a result of...
Submitted by PrairieSky on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 1:14am.
her "terrorist fist jab" comment....That got her a lot of negative blowback, and landed her in deep doodoo with the higher ups, who either because of that comment alone, or as a result of that and other undisclosed issues, decided to non-renew her. I always liked E.D., but her off the cuff comments could raise some eyebrows from time to time. I am sorry to see her go over to the "dark side" at CNN...Personally, CNN being CNN, I don't give this latest venture of theirs much if any chance of success. It'll be interesting to see how much ganging up on the token conservatives will have to endure over there...It could get ugly...We'll see.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction...It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them (our children) to do the same." ~President Ronald Reagan
She can hold her own
Submitted by jon_torlin on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 1:29am.
I think she's able to hold her own, and I would bet that she might end up making Client #9 look real bad, she's got a pretty strong personality. Hell, for all we know, she might end up running the show and sending him out for coffee or something. But I hate CNN, so I won't watch it.
I wish she hadn't said that comment but now with his known association with the terrorist group the Bro'Hood, it might not be so out of place. Ah well.
-Jon
I would tend to agree...
Submitted by PrairieSky on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 1:49am.
Hill should be able to stand her ground against Spitzer...Her strong personality is one the things I always liked about her....She's no shrinking violet. I'm just wondering why she would want to. I guess it is a way to get her back on the air, but even with that, sitting across the table from him 5 nights a week, would make me want to take a shower everytime I left the studio. Like you, I'll just have to read about how this will go, because I won't watch anything on CNN either.
As for her unfortunate "fist bump" comment, I do think it was a really dumb thing to say, despite Obama's habit of never seeming to miss an opportunity to look the other way about, or give the benefit of the doubt to, or mishandle just about every issue concerning a questionable Muslim group.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction...It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them (our children) to do the same." ~President Ronald Reagan
Sorry, the average 15 yr old would've said this is a bad idea
Submitted by SickofLibs on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 1:05am.
She'll never live this one down. How hard up do you have to be to partner up with a scumsucker like Spitzer?
Well, congrats, CNN, he's all yours. Good luck with that.
Ideoligy
Submitted by AGreer on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 2:49am.
delete
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.---Abe Lincoln (speaking to Jack Daniel...).
Interesting how you don't
Submitted by Captain Repus on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 2:41am.
Interesting how you don't realize someone is gone from a network until you hear about them showing up somewhere else.
I am not sure I understand the meaning or context of her 'fist' comment, but I will try to research it a little. Although I never really saw her much on Fox, I sort of liked her presentation.
As for Spitzer, he is pretty much like Bill Clinton to me ... nothing more than an A personality with a F morality. I wish the worst for him.
Rush mentioned this today...
Submitted by Servo1969 on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 2:44am.
RUSH: Eliot Spitzer doesn't like having a cohost. The New York Post has a story, "Spitz Set to Steamroll Parker." So Spitzer wants to get rid of the ditz, essentially. "Eliot Spitzer is telling friends his CNN co-host Kathleen Parker 'will be gone within a week.' Relations between the ex-gov, who once called himself a '[bleep]ing steamroller,' and his conservative co-host are at an all-time low. A source said, 'Spitzer thinks she's holding him back. The ratings surged when she was out sick --'" well, surged? It's CNN. Let's be real here. Regardless, anchored alone, the ratings did, they say, go up during the turmoil in Egypt. I guess it's not looking good for Kathleen Parker at CNN. She's reportedly digging in, however.
--------
Okay, now we're getting word that she actually is leaving. You know, CNN, I still can't figure 'em out. What a sexist move: Get rid of the lady and keep Client No. 9. Keep the guy who had the prostitutes -- keep him -- and you get rid of the lady, Kathleen Parker. Maybe her problem was she said, "I agree with you too much, Eliot," and he said, "If you're gonna agree with me, why do I need you here? You're supposed to be the conservative."
New York Post story --
Spitz set to Steamroll Parker
Eliot Spitzer is telling friends his CNN co-host Kathleen Parker "will be gone within a week." Relations between the ex-gov, who once called himself a "[bleep]ing steamroller," and his conservative co-host are at an all-time low. A source said, "Spitzer thinks she's holding him back. The ratings surged when she was out sick, and he anchored alone during the turmoil in Egypt. Only very few anchors have the power to wipe out a co-host, and Spitzer thinks he has it. CNN bosses are high on Spitzer, and he might get his own show. Kathleen has been weighing her options. There's this sense of dread among middle management." We've reported that Parker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, could be dumped due to lack of chemistry with Spitzer. But our source said, "She's putting up a fight." CNN President Ken Jautz recently said, "There have been lots of press reports that I am contemplating changes, but I'm not going to engage in any speculation." A CNN rep declined to comment.
Kathleen Parker: You're supposed to be the conservative.
Submitted by needle on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 12:24pm.
Well that’s the rub, isn’t it. Of course, she is conservative among the rest of the leftist that make up CNN.
Kathleen Parker is conservative at CNN pretty much as David Brooks is conservative at the NYT.
- Looking forward to the self-annihilation of the Manipulated Stories Machine.
Needle
Submitted by Jerry Mack on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 9:15pm.
High Five!
Newsflash
Submitted by txradioguy on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 3:03am.
Got a Newsflash for AP.
I've heard E.D. Hill on the radio show that Bill O'Reilly used to have.
She's about as Conservative as the woman she's replacing.
YAWN
Submitted by Truestar on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 5:49am.
I thought CNN was idiotic to hire Spitzer, and Parker is just plain boring. I managed to sit through one show in the 5 months it's been on, and I fell asleep.
If CNN really wants a rating surge, they'll go back to the Crossfire type format. And they can start by hiring a Dem who isn't a low life hypocrite and doesn't have an ego the size of Mt. Everest. I know that might be difficult. And they should hire a true conservative, as opposed to a boring milquetoast like Parker.
Pretty simple, but I guess the big brains at CNN can't figure that out. Pathetic.
Damn
Submitted by Vonu on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 8:32am.
I had my money on the Clinton marriage collapsing first.
Good thing they issued a press release...
Submitted by JohnMcGrew on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 10:12am.
...because otherwise nobody would have noticed.
Two things I'll never understood is why CNN would hire him, and why anyone would watch.
Oh SHIT!...Now what I'm I going to watch?
Submitted by redright88 on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 9:56am.
This creates a massive void in my life.....
Anyone have the number to a suicide hotline? I'm not sure I can go on.......
Parker Got What she Deserved
Submitted by libBuster on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 10:23am.
We knew Parker was not long fo the show when the New York Post reported that Katheen Parker felt like she was getting the Sarah Palin treatment from Spitzer and the producedrs of her show. The Post reported the RINO is spitting mad at Spitzer.
Parker got what she deserved for playing the RINO wole to advance her career. E.D. Hill is a far more professional journalist and I'm glad to see she is getting another chance after three years.
ED Hill
Submitted by Cool Arrow on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 11:51am.
I seem to recall ED Hill having her contract lapse (read as fired) because she referred to the Obama's fist bump as a "terrorist fist jab"
I wish her success in making a fool our of Spitzer Swallows.
Client #9
Submitted by blazermaniac on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 12:19pm.
It looks like Client #9, will be looking for someone else to help his show continue to downspiral!
A Quitter!
Submitted by KornKing on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 12:46pm.
Best I ever heard about this was Rush referencing "Spitzer and the Ditzer" I haven't had a thing to do with Parker since she apparently decided she wanted to be "in" with the wacko cocktail crowd
Boring Cnn
Submitted by Jerry Mack on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 9:20pm.
Besides their left slant I find the talking heads to be on the same level of animation as a bowl of cold asparagus.
I wonder if Parker learned something from this...
Submitted by Tenebrous on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 9:22pm.
Do you think she will tell us how tolerant liberals really are? Nah. Do you think she will construe her treatment as sexism? Nah. She'll continue to roll over, play "professional" and write columns telling us how to best sell our souls like she has. What an utterly USELESS person.
Visions and Principles blog
I believed I called this
Submitted by Beukeboom on Sat, 02/26/2011 - 10:47pm.
I believed I called this months ago. And I still contend that the ratings will continue to remain low sans Parker and eventually, perhaps in the fall, the show will be cancelled or Spitzer will suddently "decide" he would rather be with family more.
For money and ego she sold
Submitted by buddyc on Sun, 02/27/2011 - 11:30am.
For money and ego she sold out republicans by pretending to be the conservative counterpoint to the liberal spitzer. For money she sold out families by appearing and legitimizing a sexual pervert. For money she dumped on women by giving the appearance of forgiveness to a man who treated his state, his citizens, his children and his wife like dirt.
Do I feel sorry for her? You have to be kidding. She deserves worse.
You lie down with dogs, you get fleas.