Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Refreshing Honesty

Campbell Brown recently stepped down from CNN and her final words were so refreshingly honest that I had to share them and think we should all applaud her and hope more people in the future will do the same when faced with a similar predicament.

"Simply put, the ratings for my program are not where I would like them to be. It is largely for this reason that I am stepping down as anchor of CNN's "Campbell Brown". To be clear: this is my decision, and one that I have been thinking about for some time. As for why, I could have said, that I am stepping down to spend more time with my children (which I truly want to do). Or that I am leaving to pursue other opportunities (which I also truly want to do). But I have never had much tolerance for others' spin, so I can't imagine trying to stomach my own. The simple fact is that not enough people want to watch my program, and I owe it to myself and to CNN to get out of the way so that CNN can try something else.
My plan right now is to help CNN through any transition, and then to enjoy, for the very first time, the nightly ritual of "Good Night Moon" and good night kisses with my two little boys. I wish my CNN colleagues all the best. And as long as bedtime doesn't conflict with primetime, I will be watching and pulling for them."


It's true that Brown got killed in the ratings. On a rough estimate O'Reilly averaged 2.5 million viewers a night, 1 million for Olbermann, 500,000 for Nancy Grace and 300,000 for Brown. Her show's tagline was "No Bull, No Bias" but the rating show viewers want bull and bias. But at least she took the high road on the way out.

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