Nixed CNN pact in 'Obama birther' flap
Last Updated: 11:33 AM, November 13, 2009
Posted: 4:23 AM, November 13, 2009
Lou Dobbs walked away from more than $9 million when he quit CNN, ending a long-running clash that boiled over during a debate about President Obama's birth certificate, sources said yesterday.
Dobbs, who will be replaced on the network by veteran Washington political correspondent John King, abruptly announced his resignation on air Wednesday night and offered no clue about what he planned to do next.
But the beginning of the end really came in July, when CNN President Jonathan Klein told Dobbs' staff in a memo to drop so-called birther stories about conspiratorial doubts that Obama was US-born, sources told The Post.
"It seems this story is dead because anyone who still is not convinced doesn't really have a legitimate beef," read Klein's memo to employees of "Lou Dobbs Tonight."
Klein's move incensed Dobbs, who wasn't shy about telling off his boss.
"They have been talking pretty regularly since then," a source said. "And it's been pretty bad."
CNN had also long been asking Dobbs, known for his tough stance on immigration, to tone down his harsh rhetoric.
Last month, Dobbs' William Morris agent, CNN sources said, bluntly told Klein: "You're unhappy, he's unhappy. Let him go."
Dobbs told Klein in recent weeks he wanted to go "the opinion route," laying the final groundwork for his departure.
CNN had been unlikely to renew Dobbs' contract in 2011 anyway, sources said.
CNN is pushing hard to position itself as a middle-of-the-road news source, between left-leaning MSNBC and conservative Fox News Channel.
"Lou was polluting the CNN brand," said a TV insider.
The departure came at significant personal cost to Dobbs, who still had 1½ years left in his back-loaded, five-year, $35 million contract. Dobbs' final year would have brought him $9 million.
A Fox News Channel spokeswoman insisted her network wasn't interested in hiring the veteran.
CNN yesterday named King to take Dobbs' 7 p.m. slot, with a production starting in January.
Dobbs, on his syndicated radio show yesterday, thanked callers for their praise. When a caller from New Jersey urged him to run for the US Senate, Dobbs said: "All right, Josh. I'm taking notes."
Dobbs, who will be replaced on the network by veteran Washington political correspondent John King, abruptly announced his resignation on air Wednesday night and offered no clue about what he planned to do next.
But the beginning of the end really came in July, when CNN President Jonathan Klein told Dobbs' staff in a memo to drop so-called birther stories about conspiratorial doubts that Obama was US-born, sources told The Post.
Christopher Sadowski
DROP ANCHOR: Lou Dobbs, last night at home in New Jersey, announced his shock resignation after an ego clash with CNN's chief. Anchor John King (below left) replaces Dobbs in the 7 p.m. time slot.
Klein's move incensed Dobbs, who wasn't shy about telling off his boss.
"They have been talking pretty regularly since then," a source said. "And it's been pretty bad."
CNN had also long been asking Dobbs, known for his tough stance on immigration, to tone down his harsh rhetoric.
Last month, Dobbs' William Morris agent, CNN sources said, bluntly told Klein: "You're unhappy, he's unhappy. Let him go."
Dobbs told Klein in recent weeks he wanted to go "the opinion route," laying the final groundwork for his departure.
CNN had been unlikely to renew Dobbs' contract in 2011 anyway, sources said.
CNN is pushing hard to position itself as a middle-of-the-road news source, between left-leaning MSNBC and conservative Fox News Channel.
"Lou was polluting the CNN brand," said a TV insider.
The departure came at significant personal cost to Dobbs, who still had 1½ years left in his back-loaded, five-year, $35 million contract. Dobbs' final year would have brought him $9 million.
A Fox News Channel spokeswoman insisted her network wasn't interested in hiring the veteran.
CNN yesterday named King to take Dobbs' 7 p.m. slot, with a production starting in January.
Dobbs, on his syndicated radio show yesterday, thanked callers for their praise. When a caller from New Jersey urged him to run for the US Senate, Dobbs said: "All right, Josh. I'm taking notes."
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