The media had a field day when Campbell Brown left NBC News for CNN after more than 10 years at the peacock network.
The former Weekend Today co-anchor spent years covering the White House for NBC and in 2006 she was named as a highly viable contender in the hunt to replace Katie Couric on the Today show. When NBC execs announced Meredith Vieira would fill Couric’s vacancy, Brown was livid.
A year later Brown told a live Today show audience she was pregnant and a few months later she jumped ship to CNN where she was promised her own show that would fill the spot previously held by Paula Zahn who left the network amidst controversy about an alleged extra-martial affair.
Brown gave birth to a baby boy in December and was slated to return to CNN next month—-just in time to launch her new show on Super Tuesday, February 5th. Now, it appears Brown may have more time to spend with her new son as CNN just announced it is uncertain when her new show will begin.
According to CNN brass, the hour it had set aside for Brown’s new show will be used for what they are hoping will be a ratings powerhouse—a nightly prime-time wrap-up of election news. Apparently, the 2008 presidential campaign is a television hit.
Big wigs at the all-news cable network say their election coverage has brought in big numbers. According to Nielsen Media Research, CNN earned a rare prime-time victory over Fox News Channel the night of the New Hampshire primary, by a margin of 3.3 million viewers to 3.1 million.
And they aren’t alone, according to Nielsen numbers, ABC, NBC, and CBS collectively averaged 8 million viewers for their primetime coverage of the New Hampshire primary. Compare that with the same night in 2004, which was watched by 3.57 million.
At CNN it’s bye-bye to Brown’s show and hello to the new one-hour “CNN Election Center,” which will be hosted by John Roberts and a rotating collection of other CNN personalities. Interestingly, though, Brown’s name is not among those on the roster despite her extensive political background. Rather, CNN says Roberts will be on the road for his hosting duties, teamed with either Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Lou Dobbs, John King or Soledad O’Brien in the studio.
So what of Campbell Brown? CNN execs say they have no formal announcement to make but did reveal that “CNN Election Center” will be on the air until at least next January. Mind you all this has taken place while Brown has been on maternity leave. Do you think giving birth to a new baby may have cost Brown a spot on CNN’s programming grid?