Gabbers grab for 10 p.m. timeslot
News cablers up ante in war of words
Fox News, which has a reputation for being conservative, will introduce a show featuring former CNN anchor and avowed liberal Greta Van Susteren, on Feb. 4.
In an attempt to inject more attitude into its primetime sked, MSNBC has hired ultra-conservative former presidential candidate Alan Keyes to host a one-hour commentary show, beginning Jan. 21.
The tussle for dominance in the time period is symbolic of the larger war being waged among the three news cablers -- especially Fox News and CNN, which have been aggressively poaching stars from each other.
While gabbers Bill O'Reilly and Larry King dominate the 8 and 9 p.m. hours, respectively, on cable news, the 10 p.m. timeslot has long been up for grabs. With Paula Zahn in the slot, Fox News once easily outrated CNN, but now that Zahn's playing on CNN's team, the AOL TW-owned news net has the upper hand.
CNN has always been keen on owning the time period following its top-rated "Larry King Live." Under former prexy Rick Kaplan's reign, the news net launched the ambitious newsmag franchise "NewsStand" at 10 p.m., but it failed to compete with network newsmags.
Now CNN is hopeful that viewers will tune to former ABC News anchor Aaron Brown for his take on the day's events. While Brown is without a doubt the most experienced newsie of the bunch, critics contend he's a bit too milquetoasty.
And in addition to competing against Keyes and Van Susteren, "NewsNight" will be up against local news on terrestrial stations, which generally outrates national news.
"We brought in Aaron because he's distinctive. He's a top-flight journalist, but he's willing to have fun," says Sid Bedingfield, exec VP and GM of CNN/U.S. "We think a news program that brings real depth is going to be very competitive at 10 p.m., up against narrow political programming."
In a clear sign that MSNBC is jumping into the personality-driven news biz, the net is plugging Keyes into a slot that had previously been devoted to taped programming.
But MSNBC insists that by hiring Keyes, who gained notoriety for his diatribes during the 2000 presidential debates, it wasn't trying to emulate the O'Reilly factor.
"It was not our goal to necessarily go out and find a commentator who was conservative," says MSNBC prexy and general manager Erik Sorenson. "We were looking to find somebody who would appeal to smart, young viewers."
Sorenson pointed out that MSNBC has featured shows by Republicans such as Oliver North, as well as hosts who were affiliated with the Democratic Party, such as Chris Matthews. Still, MSNBC is hoping Van Susteren's politics might alienate conservative Fox auds who are already up in arms about the net's recent hiring of self-avowed liberal Geraldo Rivera.
"Keyes is an admitted libertarian iconoclast conservative," says Sorenson. "If Greta's show irritates Fox viewers and if there are conservative baby boomers who see Alan as a good alternative, we'll welcome them."
And if auds want their news served straight up without attitude, they may flock to CNN's middle-of-the-road Brown.
The 10 p.m. timeslot may mirror in microcosm the nation's political leanings -- or at least give an indication about how the average American likes his "news" packaged.
But not everybody thinks the new primetime news players will be giving one another a run for the money.
"I hate to say it, but I think you've got three losers in that time period," says Reese Schonfeld, founding prexy and CEO of CNN. "The question isn't who will win, but who will lose least badly?"
