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Lou Dobbs Leaving CNN

By Jeralyn, Section Media
Posted on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 07:58:56 PM EST
Tags: CNN, Lou Dobbs (all tags)
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Here is the text of Lou Dobb's statement that he is leaving CNN.

Shorter version: He wants to be a pundit, not a journalist. He says he wants to

....engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day. And to continue to do so in the most honest and direct language possible.

More here. His replacement will be named tomorrow. Speculation on who it will or should be?

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    Lou Dobbs Leaving CNN | 39 comments (39 topical)

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    He was a journalist? (5.00 / 4) (#1)
    by Spamlet on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 08:02:10 PM EST


    More than some. . . . (none / 0) (#2)
    by Cream City on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 08:07:07 PM EST
    An interesting end to a chapter at CNN, as he is the last of the original anchors.  His statement seemed pretty straightforward, and if so, it was a good call by him and/or by CNN for him to leave before it leaks that he's looking for advocacy posts.  (Jeralyn, what I heard him say sounded more like getting involved in an organization, and he listed the causes.)

    Howie Kurtz also says that, at this point, it looks like Dobbs was not obfuscating, i.e., that it is him leaving of his own volition and not one of those standard statements made when someone is pushed out to look for work as a "consultant.":-)

    Parent

    I have to say, though (5.00 / 1) (#8)
    by gyrfalcon on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 08:58:04 PM EST
    that I've never heard of somebody resigning abruptly and leaving the air with essentially no notice without having been shoved, or given an ultimatum of some kind by the bosses that he/she considers completely untenable.   I think there's at least a bit more to this than just Lou deciding to go pursue other interests.

    Didn't he up and quit in a huff with no notice once before some years ago?

    I won't miss him, but if they replace him just with one of his team, like Kitty Pilgrim, the tone of the show isn't going to change much, if at all.

    Parent

    Yes, that's why I watched for Kurtz (none / 0) (#12)
    by Cream City on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 09:33:34 PM EST
    from wondering if there was more to the story.  But until informed otherwise, so it is.  And I agree that it's no great loss . . . but sadly, I also agree that I don't expect an improvement.  There are absolutely no signs of any reason to expect that from any of the cable news shows.

    I miss the years when they were good.  And did, y'know, news.  

    Parent

    Early CNN was such fun! (5.00 / 1) (#25)
    by gyrfalcon on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 11:59:05 PM EST
    They got a lot of stuff wrong, but they took news totally seriously.  And unlike the current version, they didn't give a flying ** what their on-air people looked like.  They scooped up good news people who couldn't make careers anywhere else because they looked, well, funny.  I will always have a spot in my heart for Bobbie Batista, the first and only cross-eyed news anchor in the history of television!

    FWIW, Kurtz is almost the epitome of Village mentality and not very good at getting the inside scoop if it might embarrass another Villager.  His MO is to fawn, not challenge.  I'd wait to see how the story shakes out in the coming days before we take Dobbs at his apparent word that he made up his mind in the middle of the night to quit the next day and persuaded a reluctant CNN to let him out of his contract with no fuss.

    My guess is the CNN honchos renewed their demands that Dobbs cut out the anti-immigrant and pro-birther advocacy stuff, and he said, "F you.  I quit as of now."

    Parent

    Early CNN (5.00 / 2) (#38)
    by jbindc on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 08:08:16 AM EST
    was also really fun because many of the on-air personalities had alliterative names:

    Andrea Arceneaux
    Candy Crowley
    Catherine Crier
    Bobbie Batista
    Miguel Marquez
    Gordon Graham
    Valerie Voss
    Kathleen Kennedy
    (and of course, the station was owned by Ted Turner).

    The other fun part, especially if you go back and watch old clips, is seeing the hair styles.

    Parent

    Benediction (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by lentinel on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 09:52:12 PM EST
    I suppose it's OK, but ending his goodbye speech with, "God Bless You"? Holy Hat Hannah! Reverend Lou blesses his audience as he leaves to climb the mountain.

    His stance on immigration and Obama's birth certificate alienated many. For me, the turning point was his active participation in the manufactured hysteria leading to the war in Iraq.

    He had his moments! (5.00 / 1) (#36)
    by mmc9431 on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 06:36:28 AM EST
    I did watch him occasionly before he went over the deep end on immigration. I would have preferred that he focused his outrage on the corporations that actively recruit undocumented workers rather than the poor person just trying to survive in this world.

    Giving him his dues, he was an advocate for the middle class at that time. He also was one of the few that would criticize the Bush administration at a time when that was paramount to treason in the media.

    anderson cooper (5.00 / 1) (#37)
    by Jlvngstn on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 06:53:44 AM EST
    could replace him and then i could have aaron brown back at night so i could actually watch the news again....

    I think tonight's the night (none / 0) (#3)
    by andgarden on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 08:07:16 PM EST
    he launches his 2012 campaign against Bob Mendendez:

    I truly believe that the major issues of our time include the growth of our middle class, the creation of more jobs, health care, immigration policy, the environment, climate change, and our military involvement, of course, in Afghanistan and Iraq.

    But each of those issues is, in my opinion, informed by our capacity to demonstrate strong resilience of our now weakened capitalist economy and demonstrate the political will to overcome the lack of true representation in Washington, D.C.

    I believe these to be profoundly, critically important issues, and I will continue to strive to deal honestly and straightforwardly with those issues in the future.

    Unfortunately, these issues are now defined in the public arena by partisanship and ideology rather than by rigorous, empirical thought and forthright analysis and discussion. I'll be working diligently to change that as best i can. And as for the important work of restoring inspiration to our great free society and our market economy, I will strive as well to be a leader in that national conversation.

    Ugh.

    I'm honest (5.00 / 1) (#24)
    by andgarden on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 11:26:43 PM EST
    I would prefer that people I disagree with to that degree stay out of public life.

    Parent
    Nothing wrong w/this: (none / 0) (#41)
    by vicndabx on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 09:47:25 AM EST
    ensures that we have vigorous debate and forces us to make our case to the public


    Parent
    Someone shot at his house a week or so ago so (none / 0) (#4)
    by Angel on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 08:20:29 PM EST
    I guess this probably had something to do with his decision.

    Apparently it was a stray hunting bullet (none / 0) (#5)
    by andgarden on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 08:23:24 PM EST
    but I believe he attributed it to those people.

    Parent
    Oh, no! Not THOSE people!!! (none / 0) (#6)
    by Angel on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 08:25:45 PM EST
    I never could stand him.  He's a pompous jerk.

    Parent
    ok, let's not name call. (none / 0) (#7)
    by Jeralyn on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 08:33:11 PM EST
    You can disagree with him, object to his views and conduct as an anchor, and state your pleasure with his departure, without personal attacks. I met him in NY when we did a Montel Williams show together a few years ago. In one segment, we debated immigration. I oppose his views, but he was neither pompous nor a jerk in person. For that matter, neither is Tom Tancredo. In any event, this site is better off without name-calling.

    Parent
    I have to give him some credit (5.00 / 4) (#11)
    by nycstray on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 09:14:19 PM EST
    and CNN. When the pet food recall hit, he was the only one reporting on it like it mattered and the slew of recalls that followed. I watched him specifically because he was giving it (them) the air time it needed and actually reported useful information. Many in the online pet community noticed and wrote to CNN, and they did a whole weekend where the crawl was the hundreds of pet food product names that were recalled.

    Many/most? of his views I don't agree with (not a follower), but he also pointed out sexism and a few other things during the primaries.

    I watched the video of tonight's announcement, be interesting to see how he comes out for the middle class with the right being so nutso.

    Parent

    I recall that as well and appreciated it (5.00 / 1) (#14)
    by Cream City on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 09:35:18 PM EST
    as we were dealing with two cats that were acting oddly . . . and eventually became ill and died.

    Btw, both of our current cats had bad bouts of something for the last couple of weeks.  We changed the food.  They are better.  Just a warning. . . .

    Parent

    Uh-oh! (5.00 / 1) (#27)
    by gyrfalcon on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 12:09:25 AM EST
    Which brand?  I cannot imagine the pain of learning you'd been feeding pets something that poisoned them.  So, so sad.

    Parent
    You might want to check out this (5.00 / 1) (#30)
    by nycstray on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 12:22:56 AM EST
    site or this one or this one (scrolling down the page shows several). All three are very on top of pet food issues before any type of notice is slipped out more broadly (or not on the notification).

    I would watch your cats carefully on any food that has grain in it after all the rains etc. Mold issues are a prob in pet foods on a good day, after some of the weather we've had, moldy grain is an issue from the mid west and other areas.

    My crew is raw fed, so I am able to avoid the processed food industry's 'practices' and appalling manner in which they deal with problems. Hope your felines continue to do better :)  I'm so sorry for your loss. That was a horrible time :(

    Parent

    Checked out and bookmarked -- (none / 0) (#44)
    by Cream City on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 07:04:45 PM EST
    thanks.  The felines are back to their friskier selves tonight . . . so we are recalling the good old days of a few days ago, when there was silence instead of the hissing (old cat) at the harassing (young cat).  Youngster revived first, as I knew when I was awakened again a couple of days ago by a clattering sound -- of plastic bottle caps, which she considers the world's finest toys.  She has zillions all over the house now, but still she comes running when she hears me open the fridge for a fresh bottle of water.  She clearly fears that if she is not the cat with the most bottle caps in the world, she will lose.  What, I don't know, but she is absolutely driven in the task of corralling them all. :-)

    Parent
    And I also ought to have said (5.00 / 3) (#15)
    by Cream City on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 09:37:21 PM EST
    that I agree that he was one of the few to call out the sexism in last year's campaign coverage.  I don't agree with him on much, but I found him worth watching because he was not entirely in lockstep with all the others, too often nigh interchangeable.

    Parent
    No -- (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by Cream City on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 10:25:06 PM EST
    you are talking about some in my family.

    Maybe we're related?  Aloha, ain'a!?

    Parent

    I disagreed with him on many issues (5.00 / 3) (#22)
    by hairspray on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 10:53:36 PM EST
    but I have to say that he was really tough on outsourcing and the loss of the middle class and jobs. I saw him more than once calling out the business CEO's who came on his show and said that loss of our manufacturing jobs was no big deal and that we could do other things.  On many occasions I saw him realy lay into some of those pompous oafs telling them they were destroying the fabric of our country.  He also went after greed.  Actually he was quite strong on some issues that I agreed with.

    Parent
    and let's not forget that he went strongly (5.00 / 3) (#33)
    by suzieg on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 02:43:24 AM EST
    against most of the policies of the Bush Administration and his cabinet - I really believe him  to be a sincere champion of the middle class - the only one who continuously reported on the ills perpetuated against it. I will miss him even though I didn't always agree on the choices of his reporting.

    Parent
    Well, I'll rephrase my comment and say that that's (none / 0) (#10)
    by Angel on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 09:06:20 PM EST
    the way he comes across to the audience.  Seriously Jeralyn, don't you think he comes across a little pompous in his presentation on CNN?  

    Parent
    Oh man... (none / 0) (#39)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 08:50:40 AM EST
    ...I can't call the future TBF (TeaBagFaction) candidate for Governor, Tommy "Tank" Tancredo names?  

    Man, I'm going to end up with a very bloody mouth with all the biting of my tongue if that is the case.  

    Parent

    Yeah, in his attic (none / 0) (#26)
    by gyrfalcon on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 12:07:22 AM EST
    They hated him so much for his truth-telling, they put a bullet through his attic.

    Parent
    Doesn't he have a very nice large (none / 0) (#31)
    by nycstray on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 12:28:35 AM EST
    spread in Jersey with plenty of room for horses etc? To the point a stray bullet would be umm 'odd'?

    Parent
    My choice for a replacement (none / 0) (#9)
    by CoralGables on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 08:59:54 PM EST
    would be a newsperson that's more interested in reporting the news than being a celebrity.

    Another one of (5.00 / 3) (#28)
    by gyrfalcon on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 12:10:42 AM EST
    my all-time favorite movies.  First time I saw it, I almost made myself sick from laughing so hard.

    Parent
    I think that one of the sad truths about... (none / 0) (#29)
    by EL seattle on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 12:22:47 AM EST
    ... any of the current internet text formatting systems is the fact that even with italics or bold lettering, it's totally impossible to do justice to brilliant quotes like that one from My Favorite Year.

    Parent
    Andy Borowitz' column last Monday (none / 0) (#16)
    by robrecht on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 09:43:10 PM EST
    Lou Dobbs Leaves CNN for Cartoon Network
    Joins Tom, Jerry, Scooby-Doo

    http://borowitzreport.com/article.aspx?ID=7068

    New gig? (none / 0) (#19)
    by cal1942 on Wed Nov 11, 2009 at 10:18:43 PM EST
    ....engage in constructive problem solving as well as to contribute positively to the great understanding of the issues of our day.

    Comedian.

    It would be great if CNN (none / 0) (#34)
    by ruffian on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 03:39:38 AM EST
    made a bold move towards serious journalism. But I suppose instead they will promote from within.

    Imagination? (none / 0) (#35)
    by good grief on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 06:13:28 AM EST
    For me, the turning point was his active participation in the manufactured hysteria leading to the war in Iraq. (lentinel)

    I agree with this.

    Another disquieting quality showed up on two occasions when he seemed to have had a few too many cocktails at lunch. That impression was shared with others watching the show. When I saw he was leaving my first thought was wondering whether management had canned him for being drunk on the air. But nobody else seems to be commenting on this so maybe it was just our imaginations -- or the inanity of his commentary.

    Dobbs' Replacement? (none / 0) (#40)
    by rdandrea on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 09:17:21 AM EST
    Tom Tancredo comes to mind.

    Noooooo... (5.00 / 1) (#42)
    by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 09:50:32 AM EST
    ...don't listen, Tom!  Your party needs you!! Your state needs you!!!

    Run Tom, run!

    Parent

    John King (none / 0) (#43)
    by Inspector Gadget on Thu Nov 12, 2009 at 03:18:22 PM EST
    is what I read.

    Parent
    Lou Dobbs Leaving CNN | 39 comments (39 topical)

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