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Crossfire (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Crossfire was a current events debate
television program that aired from 1982 to 2005 on CNN
. Its format was designed to present and challenge the opinions of a politically liberal
pundit and a conservative
pundit.
" and one "on the right
," to provide two sides of the political spectrum
. The show usually featured two additional "left and right" guests on each topic of discussion. On some occasions only one guest was featured.
cohosted a radio show on WRC
in Washington. The program became popular because of the uninhibited way the pair debated political issues. In 1982, CNN offered them the opportunity to present a late night political debate show. Buchanan presented the conservative perspective and Braden the liberal. The program's original producer was Randy Douthit. The show soon became popular and was elevated to prime time. In 1985, Buchanan left the show for a job as communications director in the Reagan
White House. His replacement was conservative columnist Robert Novak
, who already had a talk show on CNN and was at the time also a regular on The McLaughlin Group
. In 1987, Buchanan returned to the show, replacing Novak. In 1989, Braden was replaced by Michael Kinsley
, a liberal columnist for Time magazine
, and magazine editor for The New Republic
.
in the conservative seat. Buchanan returned in 1993 and alternated with Sununu. In 1995, Buchanan again left the show to pursue the Republican nomination for president. Novak returned to the show alternating with Sununu on the right. At about the same time, CNN began a weekend edition of the show, Crossfire Sunday. The initial hosts were Bob Beckel
on the left and Tony Snow
on the right. After a few months Snow left for the newly formed Fox News Channel
, to be replaced by Lynne Cheney
.
Kinsley left the show at the end of 1995 and in early 1996, CNN selected two hosts to alternate on the left: Geraldine Ferraro
and Bill Press
. In 1997, Buchanan again returned to the program, replacing Novak on the right. At the end of the year Ferraro left the program and Press became the full-time representative of the left. A month later Sununu left the show, and Novak returned alternating with Buchanan. In February 1998, Crossfire Sunday was cancelled.
In 1999, Buchanan left the show for the last time and Mary Matalin
was his replacement, alternating with Novak on the right. However, the show began to lose its audience, with the increasing popularity of alternatives like Hannity and Colmes on the Fox News Channel
and Hardball
on MSNBC
. In 2001, Matalin left the program to join the White House staff and she was replaced by Tucker Carlson
.
In 2002, the length of the program was increased to an hour. The show was presented live from The George Washington University
in Washington, D.C.
and featured a live studio audience. Novak and Carlson retained their slots as alternating hosts on the right. Paul Begala
and James Carville
replaced Press on the left. The new style did not rate well, and in April 2003, Crossfire was reduced back to just half an hour and moved from prime-time to an afternoon slot.
appeared on the program, ostensibly to promote his book America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. Instead he disparaged the format of Crossfire and the style of arguments presented on the show. He said the program failed its responsibility to the public discourse
and indulged in "partisan hackery," reducing news coverage of important issues to a series of talking points from both extremes of the political spectrum. Carlson countered Stewart's criticisms by reading examples of questions Stewart had asked of then-presidential candidate John Kerry
during his recent interview on The Daily Show
, such as, "How are you holding up?" and "Have you ever flip-flopped?" Stewart said that he didn't think his role as a comedian was to conduct hard-hitting interviews. Begala defended the show on the basis that it was intended as a forum for debate, to which Stewart responded that Crossfire was closer to theater than genuine debate.
Following his appearance, transcripts and live stream footage were released on the Internet
and widely watched and discussed. The episode itself had 867,000 viewers (the average number of viewers Crossfire had per episode in the previous month was about 615,000). As of April 12, 2008, the 13 minute 30 second clip had over 3,960,873 views on iFilm
, making it the third most popular video of all time on that web site.
In January 2005, CNN announced that it was cancelling Crossfire and that it would not be renewing Carlson's contract. Carlson claimed it was he who had chosen to leave, to take a job at MSNBC
. In the news release containing the announcement, CNN
CEO Jonathan Klein
indicated that he wanted to change the tone of shows on the network, and in interviews said he sympathised with Jon Stewart's criticisms of Crossfire. The last episode aired on June 3, 2005 and the Crossfire pundits began appearing on Inside Politics the following Monday before relocating to that show's successor, The Situation Room
. However, the GWU Crossfire set remained in use for the CNN weekend series On The Story, which had an audience interaction format.
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
television program that aired from 1982 to 2005 on CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
. Its format was designed to present and challenge the opinions of a politically liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
pundit and a conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
pundit.
Format
The show was hosted by two pundits, one of whom was presented as being "on the leftLeft-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
" and one "on the right
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
," to provide two sides of the political spectrum
Political spectrum
A political spectrum is a way of modeling different political positions by placing them upon one or more geometric axes symbolizing independent political dimensions....
. The show usually featured two additional "left and right" guests on each topic of discussion. On some occasions only one guest was featured.
Braden-Buchanan years
The concept began in 1978 when Tom Braden and Pat BuchananPat Buchanan
Patrick Joseph "Pat" Buchanan is an American paleoconservative political commentator, author, syndicated columnist, politician and broadcaster. Buchanan was a senior adviser to American Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan, and was an original host on CNN's Crossfire. He sought...
cohosted a radio show on WRC
WTEM
WTEM — branded ESPN 980 — is a sports radio station licensed to Washington, D.C. and serving the Washington metro area. It is the flagship of a sports talk trimulcast with WWXT in Prince Frederick, Maryland and WWXX in Buckland, Virginia, all affiliated with ESPN Radio and owned by Red Zebra...
in Washington. The program became popular because of the uninhibited way the pair debated political issues. In 1982, CNN offered them the opportunity to present a late night political debate show. Buchanan presented the conservative perspective and Braden the liberal. The program's original producer was Randy Douthit. The show soon became popular and was elevated to prime time. In 1985, Buchanan left the show for a job as communications director in the Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
White House. His replacement was conservative columnist Robert Novak
Robert Novak
Robert David Sanders "Bob" Novak was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving for the U.S. Army in the Korean War, he became a reporter for the Associated Press and then for...
, who already had a talk show on CNN and was at the time also a regular on The McLaughlin Group
The McLaughlin Group
The McLaughlin Group is a syndicated half-hour weekly public affairs television program in the United States, where a group of five pundits discuss current political issues in a round table format. It has been broadcast since 1982, and is currently sponsored by MetLife...
. In 1987, Buchanan returned to the show, replacing Novak. In 1989, Braden was replaced by Michael Kinsley
Michael Kinsley
Michael Kinsley is an American political journalist, commentator, television host, and pundit. Primarily active in print media as both a writer and editor, he also became known to television audiences as a co-host on Crossfire...
, a liberal columnist for Time magazine
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, and magazine editor for The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
.
Later years
In late 1991, Buchanan left the program to pursue the Republican Party nomination for the presidency, and was replaced by John SununuJohn H. Sununu
John Henry Sununu is a former Governor of New Hampshire and former White House Chief of Staff under President George H. W. Bush. He is the father of John E. Sununu, a former senator from New Hampshire, and formerly a U.S. Representative...
in the conservative seat. Buchanan returned in 1993 and alternated with Sununu. In 1995, Buchanan again left the show to pursue the Republican nomination for president. Novak returned to the show alternating with Sununu on the right. At about the same time, CNN began a weekend edition of the show, Crossfire Sunday. The initial hosts were Bob Beckel
Bob Beckel
Robert Beckel is an American political commentator and an analyst on the Fox News Channel. He is also a columnist for USA Today where he writes "point-counterpoint" style articles with friend and political opposite Cal Thomas. He is the brother of actor Graham Beckel.-Career:Beckel holds a B.A....
on the left and Tony Snow
Tony Snow
Robert Anthony "Tony" Snow was an American journalist, political commentator, television news anchor, syndicated columnist, radio host, musician, and the third White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush. Snow also worked for President George H. W. Bush as chief speechwriter and...
on the right. After a few months Snow left for the newly formed Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, to be replaced by Lynne Cheney
Lynne Cheney
Lynne Ann Cheney is the wife of former United States Vice President Dick Cheney and served as the Second Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009...
.
Kinsley left the show at the end of 1995 and in early 1996, CNN selected two hosts to alternate on the left: Geraldine Ferraro
Geraldine Ferraro
Geraldine Anne Ferraro was an American attorney, a Democratic Party politician, and a member of the United States House of Representatives. She was the first female Vice Presidential candidate representing a major American political party....
and Bill Press
Bill Press
William "Bill" Press is a US talk radio host, political commentator and author.-Career:Press has a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Niagara University and Bachelor of Sacred Theology from the University of Fribourg. He started his broadcasting career in Los Angeles for TV stations KABC-TV and...
. In 1997, Buchanan again returned to the program, replacing Novak on the right. At the end of the year Ferraro left the program and Press became the full-time representative of the left. A month later Sununu left the show, and Novak returned alternating with Buchanan. In February 1998, Crossfire Sunday was cancelled.
Mary Matalin
Mary Joe Matalin is an American political consultant, well known for her work with the Republican Party. She was an assistant to President George W. Bush and counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney until 2003. Matalin has been chief editor of Threshold Editions, a conservative publishing imprint...
was his replacement, alternating with Novak on the right. However, the show began to lose its audience, with the increasing popularity of alternatives like Hannity and Colmes on the Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
and Hardball
Hardball with Chris Matthews
Hardball with Chris Matthews is a talk show on MSNBC, broadcast weekdays at 5 and 7 PM hosted by Chris Matthews. It originally aired on now-defunct America's Talking and later CNBC. The current title was derived from a book Matthews wrote in 1988, Hardball: How Politics Is Played Told by One Who...
on MSNBC
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
. In 2001, Matalin left the program to join the White House staff and she was replaced by Tucker Carlson
Tucker Carlson
Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson is an American political news correspondent and conservative commentator for the Fox News Channel...
.
In 2002, the length of the program was increased to an hour. The show was presented live from The George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and featured a live studio audience. Novak and Carlson retained their slots as alternating hosts on the right. Paul Begala
Paul Begala
Paul Edward Begala is an American political consultant and political commentator. He was an adviser to President Bill Clinton. Begala was a chief strategist for the 1992 Clinton-Gore campaign, which carried 33 states and made Clinton the first Democrat to win the White House in sixteen years...
and James Carville
James Carville
Chester James Carville, Jr. is an American political consultant, commentator, educator, actor, attorney, media personality, and prominent liberal pundit. Carville gained national attention for his work as the lead strategist of the successful presidential campaign of then-Arkansas governor Bill...
replaced Press on the left. The new style did not rate well, and in April 2003, Crossfire was reduced back to just half an hour and moved from prime-time to an afternoon slot.
Jon Stewart's appearance
On October 15, 2004, Jon StewartJon Stewart
Jon Stewart is an American political satirist, writer, television host, actor, media critic and stand-up comedian...
appeared on the program, ostensibly to promote his book America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction. Instead he disparaged the format of Crossfire and the style of arguments presented on the show. He said the program failed its responsibility to the public discourse
Discourse
Discourse generally refers to "written or spoken communication". The following are three more specific definitions:...
and indulged in "partisan hackery," reducing news coverage of important issues to a series of talking points from both extremes of the political spectrum. Carlson countered Stewart's criticisms by reading examples of questions Stewart had asked of then-presidential candidate John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
during his recent interview on The Daily Show
The Daily Show
The Daily Show , is an American late night satirical television program airing each Monday through Thursday on Comedy Central. The half-hour long show premiered on July 21, 1996, and was hosted by Craig Kilborn until December 1998...
, such as, "How are you holding up?" and "Have you ever flip-flopped?" Stewart said that he didn't think his role as a comedian was to conduct hard-hitting interviews. Begala defended the show on the basis that it was intended as a forum for debate, to which Stewart responded that Crossfire was closer to theater than genuine debate.
Following his appearance, transcripts and live stream footage were released on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and widely watched and discussed. The episode itself had 867,000 viewers (the average number of viewers Crossfire had per episode in the previous month was about 615,000). As of April 12, 2008, the 13 minute 30 second clip had over 3,960,873 views on iFilm
IFilm
ifilm.com was an online archive of short films, movie trailers, and other video clips of interest. Ifilm.com was originally founded by independent filmmaker Raphael Raphael in 1997 as an independent film and media collective...
, making it the third most popular video of all time on that web site.
Cancellation
MSNBC
MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
. In the news release containing the announcement, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
CEO Jonathan Klein
Jonathan Klein (CNN)
Jonathan Klein is the former president of CNN/U.S., who was responsible for management oversight of all programming, editorial tone and strategic direction of the network. Klein led CNN during its coverage of the 2008 presidential election, which resulted in the highest ratings in the history of...
indicated that he wanted to change the tone of shows on the network, and in interviews said he sympathised with Jon Stewart's criticisms of Crossfire. The last episode aired on June 3, 2005 and the Crossfire pundits began appearing on Inside Politics the following Monday before relocating to that show's successor, The Situation Room
The Situation Room
The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer is an afternoon/early evening newscast on CNN and CNN International hosted by Wolf Blitzer that first aired on August 8, 2005. The show replaces three politics and hard news programs: Judy Woodruff's Inside Politics, Crossfire and Wolf Blitzer Reports.At first,...
. However, the GWU Crossfire set remained in use for the CNN weekend series On The Story, which had an audience interaction format.
External links
- Crossfire website (CNN) (Now redirects to the Situation Room home page)
- Jon Stewart's appearance on Crossfire courtesy of YouTube
- Frank Zappa on Crossfire courtesy of YouTube
- Transcript of Jon Stewart's Interview from Crossfire on About.com