Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Cambpell Brown Quits CNN, Talk of Eliot Spitzer Getting Pundit Gig

By Nicole Bode | May 19, 2010 2:56pm | Updated on May 19, 2010 2:47pm
CNN Anchor Campbell Brown was honored at the 2009 Matrix Awards at the Waldorf-Astoria on April 27, 2009 in New York City.
CNN Anchor Campbell Brown was honored at the 2009 Matrix Awards at the Waldorf-Astoria on April 27, 2009 in New York City.
View Full Caption
Mark Von Holden/Getty Images

By Nicole Bode

DNAinfo Senior Editor

MANHATTAN – CNN anchor Campbell Brown is walking away from her 8 p.m. show, sparking immediate speculation about what might fill her prime-time slot, including suggestions that disgraced former Governor Eliot Spitzer might be part of a "Crossfire-style" panel show.

Brown announced her decision Wednesday, saying she was bowing out because of disappointing ratings.

"The simple fact is that not enough people want to watch my program, and I owe it to myself and to CNN to get out of the way so that CNN can try something else," Brown said, in a straight-talking salvo that earned praise from the online community.

She dismissed suggestions that she was leaving because of management pressure."This is my decision, and one that I have been thinking about for some time," she said in a statement first reported by the Web site Mediaite

"I could have said, that I am stepping down to spend more time with my children (which I truly want to do)," Brown said in her statement. "Or that I am leaving to pursue other opportunities (which I also truly want to do).

"But I have never had much tolerance for others’ spin, so I can’t imagine trying to stomach my own."

Mediaite reported that four months ago, Brown had asked to be moved out of the 8 p.m. timeslot into a less-competitive 7 p.m. start time, but that CNN management had turned down her request. Mediaite reported. As a result, Brown asked to be released early from her contract, according to the Web site.

She promised to stay on until a replacement is found.

The Huffington Post cited a report from the Washington Examiner that CNN is mulling a new “’Crossfire’-style debate show” that could include former “Luv Guv” Spitzer as one of the panelists.

Spitzer's public image has surged in popularity since his resignation in 2008 in the wake of revelations he was a frequent client of a high-priced prostitution ring. He was also the subject of a documentary that debuted in the Tribeca Film Festival last month.

Since then, he's become a media columnist, a professor at some of the city's top universities and a frequent pundit on television.

Spitzer denied the rumors, as did CNN, the Examiner said.