Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Campbell Brown Gone From CNN: Does Anyone Care Anymore?

A career that had so much promise has apparently hit a major snag as Campbell Brown removed herself from CNN and her own show because she just wasn't getting it done. It's a long time from when she was possibly the hottest free agent in the TV news business. She was a fill-in on NBC Nightly News, Today weekend anchor, and had crafted quite a good reputation amongst the cappers and devotees of gorgeous newswomen. She had started out without much of a profile as she was a White House correspondent and didn't really got a lot of glam air time and then once she was promoted to the Today show it took her a while to shed her stiff and serious reporter's shield and loosen up, but when she did, it turned out to be pretty good. There was all sorts of speculation and thinking that she could go to either ABC or CBS and take the anchor chairs or a morning show chair. But no. In the first of what I thought were really bad ideas, she went with CNN. And not only that, she was pregnant, having married Republican operative Dan Senor. I would probably have said the marriage itself was a bad idea but I'm going to be charitable. She wanted a family, and well, now she has it. Her being pregnant really stifled any real good chance for her show to gain momentum and take on a personality. While she did show well when the show first started with a lot of good shots, and set furniture that really helped out, things began to take a downward slide. She stopped wearing anything good. The set changed. Hell, one time after I stopped recording the show, I peeked over just to see, and I could tell she was wearing sneakers. It had gotten that bad where she had so little enthusiasm for the show that she was wearing sneakers. So it was not a surprise that she has left. I don't have any interest in how the show competed with (or didn't) its 8 PM rivals. None of those shows feature any GN's. It's just a shame that a slot that was held before by one of the great all-time GN's, Paula Zahn, who also left CNN in disgrace, evolved into Campbell's show, and the same fate has befallen her. I have no idea what the future holds for Campbell. Where will she go now? Will she go anywhere? And what of CNN and the people still there? I have to be pretty nervous and worried if I am one of the on-air talents there. So many have left. Kiran is now about the only GN left. Her show's ratings can't possibly be any good. How much longer does she stay? How much longer does CNN stick with the show, or do they re-invent and re-vamp as is rumored?