Cable News Network canceled TalkBack Live Friday, replacing the show,
which ran weekdays at 3 p.m., with an extra hour of its Live from
program.
The decision -- which comes as CNN and other news networks prepare to cover a
possible war in Iraq -- shows CNN moving away from talk to a hard-news
strategy.
Launched in 1994, TalkBack Live was one of the few programs on CNN's
schedule that hadn't been replaced during the past few years.
"As we face mounting tensions abroad and growing threats here at home, it
makes a lot of sense to program this network in a way that both meets the
demands of our viewers and the news environment in which we find ourselves," CNN
general manager Teya Ryan wrote in an electronic mail to CNN staffers
Friday.
The move marks the first big programming change at CNN since it announced in
January that Jim Walton would take over as president of CNN News Group.
Live from will be co-hosted by CNN anchors Kyra Phillips and Miles
O'Brien.
CNN plans to work with TalkBack Live host Arthel Neville to keep her
at the network in a reporter's role, spokesman Matt Furman said.
With the removal of TalkBack Live from its schedule, the only
longstanding shows that remain at CNN are Larry King Live, Inside
Politics, Crossfire and Late Edition with Wolf
Blitzer.
