Are things looking up for “John King USA,” the weakly rated CNN prime-time show created to replace “Lou Dobbs Tonight”?
Back in mid-April, things seemed pretty bleak for the struggling network’s new offering. The show hit a rough spot when it had its worst showing in the 25-to-54 demographic for CNN since December 2004, according to Mediaite.
Sources tell Yeas & Nays CNN/U.S. President Jonathan Klein reached out to senior executive producer of political programming Sam Feist and “John King USA” executive producer Michelle Jaconi weeks ago to say he was not pleased with the state of the show, calling it the worst program on the network. Klein went on to say changes needed to be made, and since the conversation, the show has been tweaked.
CNN, not surprisingly, denied that version of events this week.
“That conversation didn’t happen — but like all CNN programs, ‘John King USA’ will continue to evolve. John is one of the best political reporters, and we have confidence in the show and its journalism,” said CNN spokesperson Edie Emery.
In the past week, the show topped MSNBC’s “Hardball” in the 7 p.m. slot by a 33 percent advantage. The show came in third in its time slot in May, after Fox News and HLN. Since the beginning of the month, King averaged 166 in the demographic, up 46 points since the show’s first four weeks.
When Yeas & Nays asked the network for an interview with the show’s host, King, it declined.
