• That’s what a family friend told CNN. The former vice president has been in the hospital all weekend with atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat. This is nothing new for him. But he should be OK soon – his daughter Liz (a bit of a firebrand herself) says he should be out of the hospital and raring to go on Monday. source

• YES at least that’s what CNN’s source says source

• Spitzer, a Democrat who resigned as governor in March 2008 after acknowledging visiting a prostitute, is a well respected political mind and a take-no-prisoners prosecutor who has been often referred to as the ‘Sheriff of Wall Street.’
• A CNN press release • Regarding the move to take the former New York governor and put him on their 8 p.m. slot against Keith Olbermann and Bill O’Reilly. Spitzer, who we admit to be willing to give a second chance, will be joined by conservative Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker. All told, the stunt-casting should get CNN some of eyeballs that Campbell Brown’s show never did. (Maybe.) Now, next step: Filling that 9 p.m. slot with someone other than Larry King. source

• In Lady Gaga, Mr. King had a willing, wildly famous subject. If he can no longer hit a hanging curve ball over the middle of the plate, shouldn’t CNN be thinking hard about who is on deck?
• New York Times media writer David Carr • Suggesting exactly why Larry King kinda sucks at his job. He has flopped with numerous recent interviews, specifically with Gaga. And the worst part? CNN doesn’t have anyone to replace him. They’re so desperate to find someone to replace Campbell Brown that they’re talking to Eliot Spitzer (which we actually think would be a good idea). And, ultimately, Carr argues, he may find himself in a Helen Thomas situation if he doesn’t get ready to move on. Do the right thing, Larry. Retire. source

• Alternate title: “The Creepy Old Man and the Sea.” Let’s admit it, we were due for an oil spill telethon, weren’t we? CNN’s going to deliver Monday night, with King hosting the telethon with Bieber getting top billing. Sting’s going to perform too, as are other celebrities, but who cares? He’s old and not so dreamy. source

• “We want to eat our own shrimp! We don’t want to eat Indonesian shrimp!” Let’s admit that James Carville 1.) Is really entertaining when he’s talking about hitting someone with a “football bat” 2.) Has a really good point here which we actually touched upon in the last post and 3.) Is going to have to be careful not to run into Fareed when he’s walking around the office in the next few weeks. Wouldn’t you be emotional if you were from the Gulf, too?

• CNN The news network has been getting
  killed in the ratings, but still has one
  of the best news-gathering crews in
  the industry (when not distracted by
  fluff). And hey, Anderson Cooper!
• CBS News The network had to cut back on
  their news staff, but sees CNN as a
  way to stay competitive. They’re
  also getting killed in the ratings – oh
  hey, Anderson Cooper! source

• CNN has a journalism problem. Some argue that its overly soft content focus, both online and on TV, is why the network is getting killed in the ratings. That’s what WTFCNN.com argues – it compares the CNN front page to a hard-news front page. But we have to admit, the two front page examples we hit here don’t exactly sell their argument well. Greece is a big freaking deal, but then again, so is 5,000 barrels of oil flooding the ocean daily. And hey, if a first lady is going to accuse someone of poisoning her husband, that seems reasonably important. source

• 8 divorces for the really old man with
  the really ugly suspenders source

View Larger Map

• “Strong earthquake in the Los Angeles area”: Talk about a phrase we could go without hearing. While the quake was powerful, it definitely wasn’t an end-of-the-world situation by any stretch. Mediaite has the initial reports from CNN, which they totally got the jump on over MSNBC and Fox News, including the use of Twitter. source