Did Crossfire Newt Cross CNN Disclosure Rules?

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The quartet of co-hosts of CNN-resurrected Crossfire (see "TUOL" post 6/27/13) have barely had time to settle into full-throated shouting at one another, and already former House Speaker and perpetual presidential candidate Newt Gingrich may be headed for a woodshed spanking, Politico reports.

According to a report by the decidedly not impartial liberal watchdog Media Matters for America, Gingrich seems to have run afoul of standards and practices set by CNN ("Crossfire? No! No!") by allegedly not disclosing political contributions made by him or a PAC in which he is involved to candidates who appear on, or are the subject of discussion on the program. CNN didn't respond to Politico's request for comment.

Mother Jones magazine claims Gingrich's PAC recently has sweetened the respective pots of Sen. Rand Paul (R.-Ky.), a Crossfire guest, and Sen. Ted Cruz (R.-Tex.), a topic of discussion on the gabfest, without Gingrich acknowledging either contribution on-air.

Much ado about nothing and "gotcha" journalism, "TUOL" unabashedly concedes. It is refreshing, however, to write about a Gingrich gaffe that doesn't involve lunar colonies or isn't serial marriage-related.

'Crossfire' Redux

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When NBC Universal/ Today Show wunderkind Jeff Zucker took the helm of CNN (see "TUOL" post 11/30/12), he promised fresh programming and a Prime Time shake-up of the cable news network mired in poor ratings (see "TUOL" posts 5/3/12, 3/30/10).

According to a story by mediabistro.com's TV Newser blog, cutting-edge tv apparently means reviving Crossfire (Crossfire 2.0?), the political debate program that anchored CNN for more than two decades before it was cancelled in January 2005.

The TV Newser item about the political gabfest announced the talking heads who will appear on the program. On the political right will be S.E. Cupp, currently on MSNBC's The Cycle and a contributor to The Blaze, and Georgia's own perennially unsuccessful GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, a veteran of Congress and marriage. On the left, will be one-time Obama White House adviser Van Jones and former Obama campaign consultant Stephanie Cutler. The audience, meanwhile, will likely be on Fox, MSNBC and the Food Network.

UPDATE: CNN Announces Spitzer & Parker to Host 'Not-Crossfire' Talk Show

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As "TUOL" noted in a 6/15/10 post, former NY Gov. Elliot Spitzer this fall will helm CNN's Prime Time 8 p.m. talk show, replacing Cameron Brown, and banging heads with entrenched cable tv gabbers Fox News' Bill O'Reilly and MSNBC's Keith Olbermann.

Joining Spitzer as co-host of the as-yet unnamed talk show (just don't call it "Crossfire--The Sequel") is syndicated Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker, a Pulitzer Prize winner and self-proclaimed "rational Conservative" whose twice-weekly commentary appears in more than 400 newspapers nationwide. Spitzer, the "Sheriff of Wall St.," and one-time formidable liberal Governor of New York until forced to resign in disgrace two years ago over his unveiling as "Client No. 9" in the Emperors Club prostitution sting (see "TUOL" post 8/11/09), has been making the cable talk show rounds, appearing as a guest commentator on Bill Maher's program, among others.

Parker said that unlike artificial roundtable discussion programs, her & Spitzer's effort will focus on what  people discuss at their kitchen table.  This should pose a challenge for Spitzer, who has thus far been recogized for his bedroom chat skills.