Today's news that Tucker Carlson is leaving CNN "is seen as a nail in the coffin of 'Crossfire,' the granddaddy of high-volume political debate shows," the AP reports. "CNN will probably fold 'Crossfire' into its other programming, perhaps as an occasional segment on the daytime show 'Inside Politics,' Jon Klein told David Bauder today.

It's not a done deal yet, though. The details are still sketchy, a CNN insider tells TVNewser, and Crossfire is going to be more than an "occassional segment on Inside Politics." Details are expected to emerge by the end of the week.

The demise of 'Crossfire' is a major move for CNN. The program premiered in 1982, and has featured prominent names from the left and right throughout its run. On its 15th anniversary in 1997, CNN called the show "nation's leading forum for heated political debate on critical public policy issues." In 2004, Crossfire was CNN's seventh highest-rated show, despite its 4:30pm air time.

Meanwhile, CNN has to fill Carlson's seat at the Crossfire table. I wonder if Liz Cheney is interested in CNN's offer...

> Broadcasting & Cable jumped the gun when it reported that CNN "said it will fold political shout show Crossfire." That's not true -- at least not yet.
> Update: I mistakenly reported that Crossfire was the fifth highest-rated show on CNN. It has been corrected.

MSNBC is re-airing Matt Lauer's exclusive interview with Amber Frey tonight at 9pm. "Amber Frey: Witness" first aired on Dateline NBC Tuesday night. Meanwhile, FNC is touting tomorrow's interview with Frey on Hannity & Colmes as a "cable news exclusive." Next Monday, MSNBC's Dan Abrams and FNC's Greta Van Susteren will interview Frey, on her next wave of P.R...

> Update: 12:58am: FTV notes that the Dateline special delivered a 12.4 rating and a 19 share for NBC on Tuesday night.

> ABC News correspondent Alex Stone is the only correspondent in South Asia doing live reports for a network affiliate news service. Stone has been based in Phuket since Saturday and done live reports for ABC affiliates across the country. He'll be reporting for NewsOne and ABC News Radio through the rest of the week.

> Overheard: Rick Folbaum on FNC this afternoon: "[I] haven't heard about any aid donations from Al Qaeda!"

> As Jon Klein continues his rounds touting CNN's disaster coverage: "You actually have to lead a news organization during a story like this, not just take victory laps in the press saying you're the biggest and best," a cable news insider says.

> NBC Nightly News touted Brian Williams' "exclusive" interview with Colin Powell from Indonesia.

> On 60 Minutes tonight, "Dan Rather reports from Asia on the relief effort." He talks to people in Banda Aceh and Americans aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Only on TVNewser: CNN president Jonathan Klein traveled to Atlanta on Tuesday to pitch an 11pm program hosted by Carlson to the head of the CNN News Group, TVNewser has learned. Jim Walton vetoed the proposal, because the Lou Dobbs repeat at 11pm is a major moneymaker for the network.

> Update: 1:04am: An anonymous source also told the Hollywood Reporter about the 11pm pitch, but Klein disputes the account: "That was never on the table," he said.

As TVNewser first reported on December 19, MSNBC is hoping that Carlson will replace Deborah Norville in the network's 9pm timeslot. One MSNBC source called Carlson's move to MSNBC a "done deal," but the announcement likely won't come until later this month. If the deal is signed, Carlson will anchor the show from Secaucus, NJ. "They want him on the air ASAP but will make sure the format is right -- Kaplan [is being] very careful, and will not rush [this] like Erik did with Ventura or Norville," the insider says.

> Update: 11:20pm: An e-mailer was surprised about the 11pm rationale: "CNN chooses to lose one of their most recognized and valued hosts because they are more interested in money than the quality and balance of their network?...Sounds like this Walton character needs to be the next one to be replaced at CNN."

FIRST ON TVNEWSER: Tucker Carlson is leaving CNN, TVNewser has learned. "At the end of the day, what Tucker wanted is something that CNN can't give him right now, which is his own show," a CNN insider said this afternoon. "But we leave on excellent terms. We're big, big fans of his."

> 5:14pm: The Associated Press is reporting the news. "Klein on Wednesday told Carlson, one of the four 'Crossfire' hosts, that CNN would not be offering him a new contract."

> 5:25pm: "CNN will probably fold 'Crossfire' into its other programming, perhaps as an occasional segment on the daytime show 'Inside Politics,'" Klein told the AP. The show, which has aired on CNN for 22 years, has enjoyed relatively high ratings. TVNewser hears that CNN may be developing a new afternoon show based in D.C.

> 5:46pm: "His career aspirations and our programming needs just don't synch up," Klein tells David Bauder. "He wants to host his own nighttime show and we don't see that in the cards here. Out of respect for him and his talent, we thought it would be best to let him explore opportunities elsewhere."

"Kevin Corke and Tom Costello will join [NBC's] Washington DC Bureau as correspondents," the network announced today. "Corke will serve as general assignment correspondent. Costello will primarily cover the transportation beat, a post formerly held by Robert Hager who retired last year." More...

> Update: 5:40pm: "Good move for Tom Costello," an e-mailer says. "He escaped CNBC and proved he was better than they knew."

> Follow-up: Can anyone figure out why the Daily News and Post printed CNBC-chief-change stories on the same day? Was something expected to happen today? Who planted the rumor? Send tips...

"It seems an odd time to dive into the troubled financial TV news segment," Business Week's Tim Lowry writes, but "where others see risk...Murdoch sees a pot of money." The mag says "a cable brawl is ready to begin:"

"What's the likely plan of attack? Fox execs aren't talking, but industry insiders bet Murdoch and Ailes will differentiate Fox from CNBC by gearing Fox's financial fare less to high-end Wall Streeters and more to average folks. They're also apt to jazz up programs and generate buzz."

Here's more. (subreq; id: tvnewser, password: temp1) NewsMax also has a summary.

> Seyed Rizwan Mowlana's appearance on Fox News Channel paid off recently. Mowlana, the director of CAIR, went on FNC to appeal for medical supplies and help in the aid effort. His segment led to a call from a businessman in Modesto, CA who heard Mowlana's pleas. "The man donated two forty foot containers of the much-needed medical supplies that will help save many lives," a tipster says. "The supplies are worth around a million dollars."

> "Breaking news has always paid CNN 'ratings dividends,'" an e-mailer says, referring to the AJC story this morning. "Their problem historically has been that when the news goes away, so does the added audience. You should remember and you should note that they have never sold the post-news audience collapse problem. And never will until they pay attention to what their competitors are doing in the off-peak news periods."

> "Turning The Tide: "Something tells me Klein is attempting to draw parallels between CNN's tsunami coverage and the overall state of the network. I'd stay away from it," a TVSpyer says.

> "Videophones have given us opportunities to show the world what is happening in a way and with an immediacy that was never possible before," Matthew Chance writes on CNN.com. "But the question of how much is enough is one with which we are all forced to constantly grapple."

> CNN's Rick Sanchez is having too much fun with the telestrater this morning. He's doodling on maps of Asia...

"This is becoming Brian Williams' defining moment," a cable news EP suggests to TVNewser, calling it "a home run for him and NBC News." In addition to his NN reports, "it is his live work in the A.M. on Today, Imus and Squawk Box that is setting him apart. It is genius to have him do those three shows live each morning...Those three shows reach across all of America's demos." The EP goes so far as to say that "this story is going to be what kills off ABC and puts them in a rebuilding mode for a long time." Williams' discussion with CNBC's Mark Haines yesterday was amazing...

> Update: 12:20pm: "I caught [Williams] live on Hardball Monday, and on tape with a Q&A with Keith during Tuesday's Countdown," an e-mailer adds.

CNN was "able to flood the zone immediately" when the tsunami hit, Jon Klein told USA Today earlier this week. Matt Drudge took the cliche and turned it into a controversy, citing Klein's "appalling lack of sensitivity." Now Klein says he "totally" regrets using the phrase. "It was a horrible choice of words," he told Gail Shister. "I was intending to convey the idea that we can place more correspondents and producers on a story than anyone else. In sports, that's known as 'flooding the zone'...It certainly wasn't intentional. It's not the kind of person I am. I've got to watch my tongue."

> "If Drudge didn't point out the comment, I would have never given it a second thought," a media exec tells FTVLive...

"How TV news executives plan for news coverage is part art, part science -- and a lot of financial discipline," the Hollywood Reporter says in a recap of news spending on the tsunami disaster. "By the time the last American TV crews have left Asia, the networks will have spent millions of dollars covering the tsunami tragedy..."

Is Anderson Cooper the "star" of the tsunami coverage? Jon Klein thinks Cooper "owns" it: "It's a story breaking on his watch that he grabbed hold of and has just poured himself into as all the greats have," the CNN prez tells Joe Hagan. "Dan Rather, starting with the Kennedy assassination and taking it from there, and Jennings, who did a remarkable job on 9/11. I think you're seeing that with Anderson and the tsunami. He feels it in his bones. And that's something you can't fake and that's something the audience can pick up on. It's palpable." More...

In the midst of disaster coverage and BW's first big anchor test, Tom Brokaw has "checked in with [Nightly News EP Steve] Capus several times this week," Gail Shister reports. "He's an interested observer, and he's delighted with our coverage and plans," Capus says. "He's resisting the temptation to get into the game and letting Brian have the playing field to himself."

The New York Post and New York Daily News put the CNBC chief-change rumors on paper this morning. "CNBC CEO Pamela Thomas-Graham could be exiting the business cable network soon," the Daily News says. "Numerous sources" say that Bob Wright and Jeff Zucker "are seriously considering a change at the top of the network," the Post says. "The timing of any move is uncertain, but two sources said Thomas-Graham's departure could come as soon as this month." Both papers float the name Steve Friedman...

> Jan 2: A presidential shakeup at CNBC was an easy prediction

"CNN's efforts" covering the tsunami disaster "have paid ratings dividends," CNN's hometown newspaper the Atlanta Journal-Constitution says. "Households tuned in between Dec. 26 and Jan. 3 increased 38 percent over the same period a year ago, with prime time up 46 percent." (It notes that FNC is the "clear viewing champion.")

Here's the money quote: "What this does is reaffirm the distinction between CNN and Fox News," Andrew Tyndall says. "They're not in the same business...This is a total morale boost for CNN no matter what the financial benefits may be" -- or, perhaps, no matter what the ratings are.

As an on-demand, interactive model of news takes shape, is cable news merely the "transitional phase?"

Last week I highlighted news analyst Andrew Tyndall's comments to Reuters that "there's actually no need to have news on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year." In an e-mail to TVNewser, he explained how he believes cable news will one day seem to be the "transitional phase" between broadcasting and online news:

"My argument goes like this: when we look back at the transition of television news from a mass-medium, appointment-viewing model (the network nightly newscasts) to an on-demand, constantly-updated, interactive model (the future), the cable news networks will seem to be a transitional phase between broadcasting and online news. "TV news switched from broadcast to cable first because the Internet was still immature, especially for digital video. The significant event of 2004 was the creation of ABC News Now, in which a broadcaster leapfrogged over cable and went directly online. The pricing power of CNN, FNC et al with the cable operators is undercut when consumers can get 24-hour TV news online instead. CNN and FNC are no longer offering a unique product so their ability to charge a per-subscriber fee is undercut. "I have no argument against TV news being available 24-hours-a-day so viewers can watch it when they want. That is not the same as actually watching it 24-hours-a-day. One of the main advantages of the nightly newscasts over the cable news channels is that the newscasts still rely on reported-written-edited correspondent packages, which are more densely written, more well rounded and more tightly sourced than the standard fare of 24-hour cable news: live reporter stand-ups, voiceover videotapes and interview segments. "When the cable TV news networks are superseded by interactive on-line news, viewers will have the benefits of the quality of correspondent packages, which they can download, plus the benefits of currency and availability of a 24-hour feed. "I believe that 2003 will turn out to have been the peak of the penetration of cable into the news audience. From now on, cable news will lose viewers to online digital TV (via cell phones, via browsers, via satellite...) faster than they gain them from broadcasters."