Al Jazeera might be critically acclaimed, but the network appears to carry little weight with Time Warner. As news broke last night that Al Jazeera had acquired Current TV and was planning to change it to Al Jazeera America, Time Warner was cutting the cord.

There has been no official word from Time Warner on why, exactly, it decided to drop Current TV right in the middle of programming. That is, nothing beyond “Our agreement with Current will be terminated and we will no longer be carrying the channel.” However, you don’t have to be an expert to surmise that it might be politically motivated.

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Here’s a look at what FishbowlNY stories made the most buzz this week.

1. Mike Francesa and WBLS Are Marconi Award Winners, September 21
2. Sue Simmons (left) in First Interview Since Leaving WNBC: ‘I Cried Every Day,‘ September 26
3. Cover Battle: GQ or Complex, September 20
4. Sandra Lee is Launching a Magazine, September 26
5. Vogue Issues Fantastic Correction, September 25
6. Michael Moynihan Joins Newsweek/The Daily Beast, September 26

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Joy Behar lined up an exclusive interview with exiled former WNBC anchor Sue Simmons. In the interview that aired last night on Current TV’s Joy Behar: Say Anything!, Simmons talked about her reaction to WNBC management not renewing her contract after 32 years.

“Somewhere along the line there were mixed signals and I didn’t think it was going to end,” Simmons says. “I think I cried every day.” (see the Current TV clip after the jump)

Simmons, one-half of the legendary team with Chuck Scarborough, left the air for the final time June 15. She was replaced by thirty-something anchor Shiba Russell at 11 p.m.

“Does she realize she has only three more years to go before they give her the boot?” Behar ponders.

“I haven’t discussed it with her,” Simmons laughs. “I just wished her well and moved on.”

Asked by Behar why Scarborough, who joined Channel 4 in 1974, remains with station, Simmons said,”they viewed him as being more engaged then I was.”

Scarborough keeps a full plate each day, anchoring at 6 and 11 on WNBC, and a one-hour newscast on digital channel New York Nonstop.

As for Simmons, fans won’t have to wait long to see the beloved anchor again. As we reported last month, she’ll appear as a reporter on tonight’s season premiere of Law & Order: SVU.

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Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee have released a statement about their arrest in North Korea in March.

Ling and Lee spent five months in captivity and were sentenced to 12 years hard labor before being set free last month. In their joint statement published today on Current TV’s Web site, they explain how they were detained by North Korean authorities on March 17 along the Tumen River, which separates China and North Korea. The journalists found themselves along the river while working on a story about North Korean defectors and human trafficking. People are regularly trafficked across the Tumen, Ling and Lee explained.

Although they were suspicious of their whereabouts, Ling and Lee followed their guide — who they trusted — onto North Korean soil. They were there for only a minute, but that didn’t stop North Korean guards with guns from chasing them into China and dragging them back onto forbidden soil.

The women provide even more details about the events that lead to their arrest:

“When we set out, we had no intention of leaving China, but when our guide beckoned for us to follow him beyond the middle of the river, we did, eventually arriving at the riverbank on the North Korean side. He pointed out a small village in the distance where he told us that North Koreans waited in safe houses to be smuggled into China via a well-established network that has escorted tens of thousands across the porous border.”

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Yesterday, after the announcement that North Korea was going to release imprisoned journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling, their bosses at Current TV posted a comment about the whole mess.

“All of us at Current are overjoyed at Laura and Euna’s safe return,” Current Media founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt said in the statement. “Our hearts go out to them — and to their families — for persevering through this horrible experience. We will have more to say in the days and weeks ahead. But for now, all our thoughts are with Laura and Euna and their families, who have shown remarkable courage and initiative for the 140 days of this ordeal.”

According to the statement, Lee and Ling will be returning home this morning. You can visit the site to send them a message or view some of their work.

Current TV has been quiet about its detained reporters since their arrest in March, so we’re looking forward to what the company will have to say “in the days and weeks ahead.”

Meanwhile, today more information came out regarding Clinton’s trip to North Korea, how it came about and what he talked about with the nation’s Supreme Leader.

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Our sister blog FishbowlDC is reporting that former President Bill Clinton is heading to North Korea to help negotiate the release of imprisoned Current TV journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling.

Lee and Ling were sentenced to 12 years hard labor in June, after their arrest in North Korea in March.

We have been hoping for the reporters’ safe release since their original detainment, which has gone on for far too long. We’re trying to stay hopeful that Clinton can help speed up the process and help Lee and Ling finally get home.

FishbowlDC: Former Pres. Clinton Heading to North Korea to Negotiate For Detained Journos

Big Fat UPDATE: Clinton met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il today, who decided to issue a “special pardon” to Lee and Ling and ordered that they be released.