Hemmer To WH? Or Gone Entirely?

This much is clear: CNN has some issues right now. In addition to some stunningly bad ratings recently (falling behind not just Court TV but also CNN Headline News), the network appears to be entering a musical chairs era among its correspondents and anchors.

The latest shake-up appears to be moving Bill Hemmer from American Morning to the White House to replace the departed John King. The thing is: Hemmer doesn’t really want to move–he likes New York and isn’t wild about a perceived “demotion” to the White House from his anchor desk. Also, he’s a wee bit pissed that CNN has leaked word about the possible move: “So CNN leaked word; that’s the tactic they’ve chosen,” he told Howard Kurtz.

Question: What is/will CNN do that will be a radical change? Who’s the new face, the new show, the new figurehead who will really shake-up perceptions of the network and encourage people to tune back in? If Judy Woodruff is retiring, who’s the next generation of Judy?

It seems like all the network is doing is move its existing players around on the chessboard–more Wolf Blitzer, shifting Novak/Carville/Begala, John King, Bill Hemmer, etc. If those players aren’t attracting viewers and eyeballs now, what makes CNN execs confidant that showing the same people in different places/times will be any more effective?

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