Hard to Spin Anderson Cooper 360

"Anderson Cooper 360," the cornerstone of CNN's prime-time programming, is hemorrhaging viewers, according to a Los Angeles Times story appearing in today's "Huffington Post." Reportedly, the "AC360" audience has plummetted by 33 percent since the beginning of the year. Worse still, "AC360" loses nearly 20 percent of the lead-in audience from Larry King (those numbers could be skewed by King's ex-wives turning off their televisions). Cooper, whom CNN touts as the face of its network, is being victimized, in part, by CNN appearing "wishy-washy" in its middle-of-the-road approach, compared to the bombastic conservative stronghold of FOX News and the left-leaning MSNBC. In fact, the latter's "Countdown with Keith Olbermann" is gaining in the ratings on AC360, according to the LA Times article. Earnest and cute is only taking Cooper so far. Absent a shake-up in thinking at CNN, Cooper may soon be waxing nostalgic about "The Mole."