A Whole Lotta Shaking Up Going On

It was only yesterday, when AP's Bauder reported about increasing anxiety about CNN's lagging primetime lineup. Ex-CNN corr. Charles Bierbauer even said in the article: "We sometimes scratch our heads and wonder, 'Why can't they figure this out?'"

What a difference a day makes.

Lou Dobbs is out, and John King is in.

CNN pres. Jon Klein, in an 11/12 release: "The program will reflect what CNN is all about: straight facts from our anchors and the widest range of opinions from across the political spectrum. John has enthralled CNN viewers with his vast political knowledge, and he has spent the past year reporting from beyond the Beltway on pressing policy issues and the real people they impact. Every night, he'll share his passion and his insights about what is really going on in Washington and across America."

King said he's "thrilled" to "have the opportunity, at this busy and consequential time, to have a platform to discuss and explore the big issues of our time. There is a lot of noise and conflict in our political discourse, which is fun to cover, but I'm convinced from my travels that people also thirst for more details as well as insight and context. I'm looking forward to combining those conversations with top newsmakers, smart reporting and expert analysis."

The show will begin in early '10, and an early -- and missed -- hint of this big move may have been a possible trial run of King on primetime, when he pinch-hit anchored for Anderson Cooper on "AC 360" the week of 10/26.

These words and actions show that CNN brass believes that "No Bias, No Bull" is more than a slogan, but the road to ratings redemption.

Back on 10/28, CNN's Campbell Brown jumped into the fray of the WH-FNC spat, with an on-air commentary, in which she noted FNC and MSNBC's ideological evening bents.

Brown: "Just as Fox News leans to the right with their opinionated hosts in prime-time, MSNBC leans left. I don't think anyone at Fox or MSNBC would disagree with that. In fact, both Fox News and MSNBC are doing quite well in the prime-time ratings by doing partisan opinion. Some of us, like my colleagues here at CNN, are still trying to do journalism. I believe that journalists do have a crucial role to play in challenging our leaders no matter what their political persuasion, and in holding them accountable."

Brown, on opinionated cable hosts: "They validate the opinions of those on the left and on the right. They provoke one another; they fight with one another, and, yes, they entertain us. And in a polarized country, that gets big ratings. ... I'm not critical of what my friends at Fox News and MSNBC do, but it is apples and oranges when compared to what we at CNN do. And we should all just acknowledge that."

Brown, however, did not acknowledge her opinionated then-lead in, Dobbs, and her argument was quickly undercut when MSNBC's Keith Olbermann replied on his show 11/3: "Two words, Lou Dobbs. If you have Lou Dobbs, the out-of-control vintage 19th century horse-drawn fire engine of hate on your network, you long ago stopped trying to do journalism. And we should all just acknowledge that."

Brown must receive comfort with the shakeup, because as opposed to Dobbs' polemical tendencies, the New York Times describes her new lead-in as having a "straightforward style" and the new hour as "ambitious."

The move will likely create better flow between the "Situation Room" and "Campbell Brown," but moving King from the Sunday show mix to primetime appears to indicate that CNN is doubling-down on its weeknight schedule.

King's departure from CNN's "State of the Union," creates more churn in the ongoing Sunday morning show battle. In the past 18 months, that landscape has seen enormous change and could see more with ABC's George Stephanopoulos' possible move to "GMA" and CBS' Bob Schieffer's on-again, off-again retirement plans. CNN has not announced plans for a replacement or change of strategy for "State of the Union."

(ABBY LIVINGSTON)