CNN’s star foreign correspondent Christiane Amanpour is reported to be considering an offer from ABC to take over as host of its Sunday talker “The Week.”
According to FishbowlDC [5], Amanpour has alerted colleagues that ABC has offered her the job and that there is a “50-50 chance” she will accept. (Which makes me wonder if this isn’t your typical contractual jockeying by a cable news star.)
Both networks declined to comment. I asked CNN if Amanpour’s contract is up; they declined to comment on that, too.
Here’s why I don’t think the FishbowlDC report makes complete sense. Amanpour said “she wants to make ‘This Week’ more about foreign affairs and less focused on domestic American politics. If she takes the job, her desire is to do a number of shows each year outside the country. If she takes the post, sources say this would be a complete remaking on the show, a program much more focused on international affairs.”
Do Americans – the ones watching political talk shows on Sunday mornings – really care about international affairs? The kind that Amanpour has become famous for reporting? I don’t think so.
Meanwhile, CNN has signed Erick Erickson, a conservative pundit and editor of RedState.com, as a contributor on CNN’s new 7 p.m. show “John King, USA.”
"CNN made an offer I couldn't refuse," Erickson announced [6] on RedState.com Tuesday. "I've joined the network. Starting next Monday, you'll be seeing a lot of me. I'm very excited by the opportunity. Thanks for the prayers and well wishes. This is the path God put me on and it was totally unexpected, but I go where the good Lord leads."
Erickson, you may recall [7], once referred to Supreme Court Justice David Souter as a “goat f---ing child molester” in a tweet. Twice.
“Erick’s a perfect fit for John King, USA, because not only is he an agenda-setter whose words are closely watched in Washington but as a person who still lives in small-town America, Erick is in touch with the very people John hopes to reach,” said CNN political director Sam Feist. “With Erick’s exceptional knowledge of politics as well as his role as a conservative opinion leader, he will add an important voice to CNN’s ideologically diverse group of political contributors
More to read:
Exclusive: CNN Developing Morning Show [8]