Dobbs has gotten more extreme in the last couple of years, so much so that there have been threats of boycotts, etc ~ but CNN always backed Dobbs ~ at least publicly ~ so I'm thinking there's MUCH more to this story ~ my guess: CNN tried to rein Dobbs in, Dobbs refused, CNN said "bye bye" ~ I can't imagine any other scenario for CNN to "release" him from his contract ~ Sooz


Longtime anchor Lou Dobbs leaving CNN

Wednesday show to be his last; future plans unclear

Breaking news

By Brian Stelter and Bill Carter
The New York Times
updated 24 minutes ago

Lou Dobbs, the longtime CNN anchor whose anti-immigration views have made him a TV lightning rod, said Wednesday that he is leaving the cable news channel effective immediately.

"Some leaders in the media, politics and business have been urging me to go beyond my role here at CNN and engage in constructive problem-solving," Mr. Dobbs said just after 7 p.m., suggesting that he would remain involved in the civic discourse, but perhaps not on television.

"I'm considering a number of options and directions," Mr. Dobbs added.

Wednesday's program will be his last on CNN, one of his employees said earlier in the evening.

Mr. Dobbs' contract was not set to expire until the end of 2011. He told viewers that CNN had agreed to release him from his contract early.

Mr. Dobbs informed his staff members of his intentions in a meeting Wednesday afternoon, catching some of the staffers off-guard.

Well known for his political positions, Mr. Dobbs is an outlier at CNN, which has sought to position itself as a middle ground of sorts in the fractious cable news arena. The CNN employees said Wednesday that they did not know if Mr. Dobbs was moving to another network.

Mr. Dobbs met with Roger Ailes, the chairman of the Fox News Channel, in September. At the time Mr. Dobbs was viewed as a potential hire for the Fox Business Network. But a Fox spokesperson said Wednesday, "We have not had any discussions with Lou Dobbs for Fox News or Fox Business."

Mr. Dobbs has been with CNN since its founding, save for a two-year stint at a Web site called Space.com. He has evolved over the years from a straight-laced business anchor to an outspoken commentator who rails against illegal immigration and taxpayer bailouts, among other subjects.

Lately, though, he has saved most of his opinions for his afternoon radio show, which made its debut in March 2008. It is on the radio show that he talked repeatedly about the conspiracy theory claims that President Obama is not a United States citizen. When he mentioned the citizenship issue on CNN over the summer, his bosses were forced to call it a "dead issue."

More recently, Mr. Dobbs' views on immigration provoked a protest by Hispanic groups. Members of the groups complained that CNN was allowing Mr. Dobbs "to spread lies and misinformation about us each night."

Last month the New Jersey State Police were called to Mr. Dobbs home to investigate a report of gunfire. Mr. Dobbs suggested that his family had been singled out because of his views on illegal immigration and border security.

This article, "Lou Dobbs to quit CNN," first appeared in The New York Times.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33868717/ns ... ?gt1=43001

good riddance !

I agree, susanne ~ here's more ~ I'm wondering what he is ingesting to make the comment that HE will "be working diligently" to "break the gridlock of 'partisanship and ideology'" ~ Sooz

Maybe this will be the start of a trend, and CNN, MSNBC and Fox will end up dropping the Olbermanns, Maddows, Hannitys, O'Reillys and their comrades-in-arms, and the cable "news" networks will actually start presenting news instead of commentary.

I think this is the reason or at least part of it....

Last month the New Jersey State Police were called to Mr. Dobbs home to investigate a report of gunfire. Mr. Dobbs suggested that his family had been singled out because of his views on illegal immigration and border security.

I think there is a threat to his and his family's security.

Good riddance.

Now that's just crazy talk!

he has made me want to vomit on more than one occasion with his jingoism and race baiting.

I read the police figure that was nothing more than a stray hunters bullet which hit the guttering of his house and was nowhere near his wife.
Strange that Dobbs also took around 3 weeks before reporting the incident.

Does anyone know where Cheney was at the time?

The road to hell is lined with smiling toothy grins. I for one, won't miss his "commentary".

Probably got sacked. Time for the networks to take out the garbage, anyway.

Sometimes you are so reasonable I wish you were correct.

LMAO ~ well, at least Dobbs' MEGA ego and MEGA paranoia are intact ~ and it sure didn't take CNN long to replace him ~ ~ Sooz

Dobbs is another who has sunk to new depths ~ no need to hold a "tag day" for Dobbs ~ I'm sure he's laughing all the way to the bank ~ because I'm sure his contract "release" included a significant buy-out ~ I'm also sure he will find a new public platform promptly ~ Sooz

November 13, 2009

NYT says goodbye to Dobbs

The New York Times editorial board said goodbye to Lou Dobbs today, and ends up kicking the CNN host on the way out the door. The Times notes that "an old, odd, infuriating-to-many mismatch of sober network and strident host is over."

UPDATE: The Boston Globe's editorial page also weighed in, calling Dobbs' departure a "welcome event."

wow. i thought my being puzzled about Dobbs being at CNN was just me.

Gop

I am all for that and then we may get some good news for a change...

ROFL ... Lou is to be on O'Reilly on monday. Remember O'Reilly giving a seal of approval on Lou Dobbs support for the birthers ? Peas in a pod together at last. How devine.

Yes. Seriously. She engages in the same type of slanted commentary and "advocacy journalism" as the others. She's not reporting news any more than Hannity or O'Reilly or Olbermann.

Here's the real reason Dobbs is leaving:

[url=http://]http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/24949[/url]

Lou Dobbs Returns to His Planet; 'My Work Here is Done'

by Andy Borowitz | November 14, 2009 - 12:10pm Share

NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report) - Controversial CNN host Lou Dobbs bade the people of Earth farewell today as he embarked on a long voyage back to his planet of origin.

Standing on a launching pad with his rocket ship at the ready, Mr. Dobbs addressed a crowd of dozens who came to wish him a safe trip and godspeed.

"People of Earth, farewell," he said. "My work here is done."

In his farewell speech, Mr. Dobbs acknowledged the irony of his being an alien but insisted that he had been on Earth legally.

i watched one of her segments a few weeks ago. i can't remember the topic, but i was amazed at the amount of detail, and every bit that i investigated checked out. but that was only one segment.

And it was well worth every single penny in that $8,000,000 ~ Sooz