CNN's Soledad O'Brien signs off with call for 'tough conversations' | Media | guardian.co.uk
WATCHING THE DINOSAURS (MEDIA) AS THEY GASP THEIR LASTS..
WATCHING THE DINOSAURS (MEDIA) AS THEY GASP THEIR LASTS..
CNN's Soledad O'Brien signs off with call for 'tough conversations'
Anchor reflects on covering 'biggest stories of our time' with CNN in departure part of the network's morning show reshuffle
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CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien at belated 60th birthday celebrations for Chaka Khan. Photograph: Startraks Photo / Rex Features
CNN host Soledad O'Brien signed off on Friday with a call for the network not to back away from "tough and honest conversations".
O'Brien, who has built a reputation for hard-hitting interviews, said on the last edition of her morning show, Starting Point, that "facts matter".
The new CNN boss, Jeff Zucker, cancelled O'Brien's show, which has performed poorly in the ratings, and announced on Thursday that it will be replaced by a new show hosted by Chris Cuomo and Kate Bolduan.
In a short closing monologue on Friday, O'Brien said CNN had given her the chance to cover some of the biggest stories of our time and said she would continue to focus on "good journalism".
She said: "My tenure at the helm of this show ends today, and I'm not going to be covering daily news at CNN after today. Over the last decade at CNN I've had a really great chance to cover some of the biggest stories, I think it's fair to say, of our time."
O'Brien recalled when she and a CNN team received a standing ovation at the airport in New Orleans after covering hurricane Katrina.
"So I think if I've learned anything over the past year it's that facts matter," she continued. "And we shouldn't be afraid to have tough and honest conversations and maybe even argue a little bit when there's a lot at stake, and yes, Governor Sununu, I am talking to you."
The quip was a reference to her vigorous exchange with the former New Hampshire governor last year, when she called Sununu out over claims that Obama's Medicare plan would "cut" $700bn from its budget.
Zucker's announcement about O'Brien's replacements on Thursday came as a surprise to pundits, who had expected CNN evening host Erin Burnett to co-anchor the new morning show. Instead, congressional correspondent Bolduan will team up with Chris Cuomo, the former ABC 20/20 co-anchor and former Good Morning America news anchor who joined CNN in January. Michaela Pereira, formerly of KTLA Los Angeles, will read the news for the show, which is yet to have an official name.
Bolduan, 28, incorrectly stated on air last year that the Supreme Court had struck down the affordable care act. The blunder, blamed on a hasty producer, was a blow to CNN's credibility.
Zucker said on Thursday that Bouldan and Cuomo would be a winning team. "We were floored with excitement when we saw Chris and Kate together on screen, and by adding Michaela to the mix we feel we have something very special," Zucker said. "We believe there is an opening to do news in the morning with a fresh, new voice."
O'Brien told the Huffington Post last month that her production company, Starfish Media, will produce documentaries and other programmes for CNN, meaning she will still have a presence on the network. She said that Starting Point had been hindered by a lack of backing from CNN.
"We did not get a lot of promotion. We did not get a lot of marketing. We weren't fully staffed," she said. "That's just what happened."
"We did not get a lot of promotion. We did not get a lot of marketing. We weren't fully staffed," she said. "That's just what happened."
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