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By Associated Press
POSTED: 03:12 p.m. EST, Nov 15, 2009
NEW YORK: Lou Dobbs says he doesn't feel like he was pushed out of CNN, the news organization where he worked for all but two years of its existence.
''Not at all,'' he said in a weekend interview. ''I don't know if people will believe it, but we had a very amicable parting on the best of terms. I spent 29 years there building that company, and I wish everyone there nothing but the best, and they have reciprocated with me.''
He announced his resignation Wednesday on Lou Dobbs Tonight, finished the newscast and walked out of CNN.
Dobbs' outspokenness had made him a political target — so much so that there were parties celebrating his departure over the weekend — and a contradiction to what CNN says it wants to be.
Dobbs said he plans to take time deciding what he wants to do next, beyond his daily radio show. He promised to reach out to groups that criticized him, particularly because he advocated stern measures to halt illegal immigration. A petition campaign seeking his ouster took root in recent months after Dobbs gave attention on his show to questions about President Barack Obama's place of birth.
Dobbs speaks his mind freely on his radio show, which is unrelated to CNN, but tried at management's request for the past several months to do a straight television newscast. He and CNN President Jon Klein spoke frequently about the direction of the show.
Although the decision to leave was characterized as mutual, Dobbs said he approached Klein to say it wasn't working for him. There was no ''eureka'' moment, Dobbs said.
''What they do is their business and I tried to accommodate them as best I could, but I've said for many years now that neutrality is not part of my being,'' Dobbs said. ''I have strong views about a lot of issues that are important to the country and I think are important to my audience.''
CNN has tried to promote an unbiased approach to establish a middle ground between opinionated hosts on Fox News Channel and MSNBC. Dobbs was quickly replaced by John King, the political reporter who used to work for the Associated Press.
Dobbs said his separation agreement didn't have a noncompete clause, something TV news organizations frequently use to keep people off the air for a while. Dobbs denied reports that he had met with Fox News chief Roger Ailes or had talked to anyone at Fox about a job.
Dobbs' outwardly congenial departure from CNN is in sharp contrast to his exile in 1999-2001. He feuded with then-CNN President Rick Kaplan, even making his displeasure with management known over the air, and returned to CNN after Kaplan left.
During his CNN announcement last week, an American flag graphic fluttered behind Dobbs' face. On his radio show the next day, Dobbs took calls from listeners who urged the New Jersey resident to run for the U.S. Senate, or even for president.
Dobbs didn't encourage such talk, but he didn't discourage it, either.
The former Republican makes political independence a central theme of his radio show, which could be a skillful positioning during a time of intense partisanship. ''I've aligned myself with no group, no organization,'' he said. ''I am truly an independent. I carry no one's water. I'm aligned with no interest group, no organized political party, nor do I intend to be. I relish being an independent and having my freedom.''
But a run for public office interests him, Dobbs said. It's one of several options he said he's considering.
''I know certain things that are immutable and one of them is that I'm going to be engaged in the public arena,'' he said.
NEW YORK: Lou Dobbs says he doesn't feel like he was pushed out of CNN, the news organization where he worked for all but two years of its existence.
''Not at all,'' he said in a weekend interview. ''I don't know if people will believe it, but we had a very amicable parting on the best of terms. I spent 29 years there building that company, and I wish everyone there nothing but the best, and they have reciprocated with me.''
He announced his resignation Wednesday on Lou Dobbs Tonight, finished the newscast and walked out of CNN.
Dobbs' outspokenness had made him a political target — so much so that there were parties celebrating his departure over the weekend — and a contradiction to what CNN says it wants to be.
Dobbs said he plans to take time deciding what he wants to do next, beyond his daily radio show. He promised to reach out to groups that criticized him, particularly because he advocated stern measures to halt illegal immigration. A petition campaign seeking his ouster took root in recent months after Dobbs gave attention on his show to questions about President Barack Obama's place of birth.
Dobbs speaks his mind freely on his radio show, which is unrelated to CNN, but tried at management's request for the past several months to do a straight television newscast. He and CNN President Jon Klein spoke frequently about the direction of the show.
Although the decision to leave was characterized as mutual, Dobbs said he approached Klein to say it wasn't working for him. There was no ''eureka'' moment, Dobbs said.
''What they do is their business and I tried to accommodate them as best I could, but I've said for many years now that neutrality is not part of my being,'' Dobbs said. ''I have strong views about a lot of issues that are important to the country and I think are important to my audience.''
CNN has tried to promote an unbiased approach to establish a middle ground between opinionated hosts on Fox News Channel and MSNBC. Dobbs was quickly replaced by John King, the political reporter who used to work for the Associated Press.
Dobbs said his separation agreement didn't have a noncompete clause, something TV news organizations frequently use to keep people off the air for a while. Dobbs denied reports that he had met with Fox News chief Roger Ailes or had talked to anyone at Fox about a job.
Dobbs' outwardly congenial departure from CNN is in sharp contrast to his exile in 1999-2001. He feuded with then-CNN President Rick Kaplan, even making his displeasure with management known over the air, and returned to CNN after Kaplan left.
During his CNN announcement last week, an American flag graphic fluttered behind Dobbs' face. On his radio show the next day, Dobbs took calls from listeners who urged the New Jersey resident to run for the U.S. Senate, or even for president.
Dobbs didn't encourage such talk, but he didn't discourage it, either.
The former Republican makes political independence a central theme of his radio show, which could be a skillful positioning during a time of intense partisanship. ''I've aligned myself with no group, no organization,'' he said. ''I am truly an independent. I carry no one's water. I'm aligned with no interest group, no organized political party, nor do I intend to be. I relish being an independent and having my freedom.''
But a run for public office interests him, Dobbs said. It's one of several options he said he's considering.
''I know certain things that are immutable and one of them is that I'm going to be engaged in the public arena,'' he said.
Comments
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akron, oh
Posted 10:15 AM, 11/16/2009
Obamanation...
