I’m scratching my head over Larry King’s announcement that he’s leaving his eponymous talk show.
Not because it wasn’t time to pull the plug. And not because it’s a surprise; CNN’s clearly been busy talent-shopping for that critical 9 p.m. slot. British TV personality Piers Morgan has done everything short of buying World Cup commercial time to boast about his talks with the network.
And only 24 hours ago, Katie Couric’s camp floated out the story that the CBS anchor had turned down the job, opening the door for Morgan (in hindsight, a leaked placement seemingly planted to hit immediately ahead of King’s announcement).
It’s just that with all the time and options available to them to strategize this, King and CNN handled the news so uncomfortably.
Here’s what we know: King released a statement late Tuesday, and reiterated it on-air Tuesday night, that he was leaving his talk show in the fall. He’ll continue with CNN as host of a handful of specials for an unspecified period of time.
Here’s what we suspect: CNN has the replacement host, most likely Morgan, already signed. But it’s PR 101 not to step on the departure announcement of an on-air talent with a following, so you don’t provoke the ire of loyal audiences and faithful co-workers. Instead, you wait a bit. Which probably explains why CNN President Jonathan Klein’s statement that followed King’s declared that, “Today is about Larry. We will announce plans for the 9 p.m. hour in the weeks ahead.”
Not to mention that no network wants to bury a big announcement about its future in the week before Independence Day or the week after, traditional news dead zones.
Most of all, here’s what we find curious: that with a prolonged period of tumbling ratings and rampant rumors, the scenario that’s being painted comes off so entirely fictional. And really, really delayed.
Getting a broadcasting lion -- which King unquestionably is -- to leave the air gracefully is one of the trickiest strategies imaginable. And I speak from first-hand experience, both successful and otherwise. The standard of smooth baton-passing was Tom Brokaw and Brian Williams.
But for every one of those, you’ve got Walter Cronkite/Dan Rather, Dan Rather/Katie Couric, Jay Leno/Conan O’Brien and many more. Ever wonder why Oprah didn’t turn over her couch?
Here’s what often happens.
A network will see a prolonged track of flat or, more likely, continually-declining ratings; they’ll often arrange focus groups or other additional, more detailed research to determine whether there’s any way to turn the downward trend around in the months or even year ahead. If it’s a broadcast network with affiliates, they’ll be getting that feedback as well.
In most cases, the doors are opened with the agent, or the talent himself, to gauge interest in winding down. Those conversations require the diplomacy of Hillary Clinton or Madeleine Albright. I recently had to dilute a situation when a well-known elderly on-air talent with a dwindling following not only refused to consider retirement but threatened a very public age discrimination suit.
