CNN staffers are abuzz about the coming changes to Crossfire -- and now, to Inside Politics. TVNewser has learned that CNN may relocate Judy Woodruff's afternoon program to the George Washington University. The program would air from the 250-seat Jack Morton Auditorium, where Crossfire is based

Crossfire would continue, perhaps as multiple segments during Inside Politics. It won't happen overnight; the changes are probably months away. Will the DC set, with a view of the Capitol dome, be used for the new afternoon show David Bohrman is developing?...

If you missed Crossfire this afternoon, here are three clips from Tucker Carlson's farewell show (in WMV format):

> Exit Stage Right: The show intro

> Looking Back: Carlson's finest Crossfire moments

> A Personal Note: Carlson's message to viewers

> Also: By 6pm, Carlson's CNN.com bio was scrubbed and his name was removed from the show page. So we ask again: Who will sit in his seat? Liz Cheney?

> When Jon Klein joined CNN in November, he said he wanted to mimic HBO's storytelling abilities. He's trying it tonight with "Saving the Children," a special on the disaster's youngest victims, at 10pm on CNN and CNN International. CNN took a full-page ad in the Wash Post today advertising the show. Anderson Cooper and Christiane Amanpour host the special, with contributions from Soledad O'Brien and Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

> Also: Alex Witt will host a special report about the disaster on MSNBC at 9pm. (Why isn't Deborah hosting it?)

NewsBlunty has the scoop: "I'm hearing that CNBC, concerned about potential defections to the news Fox business news channel, has begun asking all new hires to sign a one-year contract."
> Update: 12:45pm Friday: Three CNBC sources say this story is untrue.

Before the show started, Crossfire's audience knew it was a special broadcast. "I wonder what color bow tie Tucker will wear," one person in line remarked to his friend. When Carlson and Begala came out on stage, announcer noted that it was Carlson's last broadcast, and the audience gave him a standing ovation. "I should switch networks more often!," he joked. Carlson's family sat in the audience. CNN exec Sue Bunda was also in attendance.

"This is my last day on CROSSFIRE and, for that matter, at CNN. I'm moving on to another network," he told viewers. He thanked his co-hosts and the crew, and added that "to me, Crossfire has always been more than shouting."

Before the final segment, Begala donned a bow tie. "He never stooped so low as to call anyone an unflattering name from the part of a man's body," Begala said, as he introduced a highlight reel. (Carlson apparently hadn't seen the tape before it aired!) Here's the show transcript.

I called the Crossfire ticket line and secured a seat for this afternoon's show. I'll be blogging via my cell phone if anything notable happens. Other Crossfire notes:

> The Crossfire segments on IP will be about 10 minutes long, the Inquirer says. "We need to lower the temperature," Klein told Gail Shister. "It's time for us to do a better job of informing our audience in an engaging way, as opposed to head-butting and screaming.

> TVNewser hears that Crossfire co-host Paul Begala was "noticeably upset" after Wednesday's Crossfire. "I think he knew that his job is in jeopardy as well," an insider says. Begala is disappointed with the direction Crossfire is apparently heading in, and he's not the only one. "It's definitely a tough blow. The writers and staff all said they were going to boycott the show tomorrow -- kind of half-kidding," the insider added...

From an anonymous e-mailer: "You're missing the real sticking point on Tucker Carlson and MSNBC. One of the many things that sank Norville was the second show. Here's Carlson, a PBS show. It's a major reservation."

Carlson has said that Unfiltered will continue regardless of his Crossfire gig. When will Carlson tape the PBS show? Will he be shuttling back and forth from NJ to DC? Perhaps most importantly, will there be restrictions on what elements his MSNBC show can include? Norville's program was hindered by her ties to Inside Edition...

> Update: 1:45pm: "Carlson has more than enough time to do both programs," an e-mailer refutes. "Sean Hannity does several hours a day on ABC radio and then hosts Fox's Hannity & Colmes every day, and Tim Russert hosts a weekly program on CNBC. Norville's daily hosting responsibilities at Inside Edition and Carlson's once a week hosting gig at PBS is not an equal comparison."

> Update: 8:00pm: "It isn't the TIME, it's the exclusivity. MSNBC has been hamstrung from the beginning by its people appearing elsewhere. You HAVE to watch Fox to watch O'Reilly. You do NOT have to watch MSNBC to watch Matthews. Radio is a good promotional tool. Multiple TV homes is NOT."

Slate's Mickey Kaus, on Klein's statement that he is firmly in the "Jon Stewart camp:" "So when Klein gets to choose between backing his organization's employee up or associating himself with the popular comedian, Klein ... tells the press he sides with the guy who called his employee a "dick"? ... Why would anyone want to go to work for this man?"

> "I think [Stewart] made a good point about the noise level of these types of shows, which does nothing to illuminate the issues of the day," Klein told the Washington Post.

> Jon Stewart's publicist told TVNewser that Jon has "no comment."

> Oct. 15: "You have a responsibility to the public discourse, and you fail miserably."

Another round of comments from journalists covering the tsunami disaster, from CNN's special report Wednesday night:

> Aaron Brown: "I've been doing this work for 30 years. I have never experienced anything like I experienced in the last 48 hours. The level of damage, the loss of life, the totality of the destruction, the dazed look in people's eyes two weeks later, I just -- it leaves you breathless and speechless and in some respects like the people living through it in a state of shock."

> CNN's Matthew Chance: "It's sometimes logistically not easy to get to these places and when you do get there to the disaster zone there's nothing there for you. There's no water. There's no food. There's often no electricity. You have to take it all with you."

> Mark Austin, ITN: " I have witnessed the destruction wrought by nature in many countries, but nothing, nothing to compare with this." Television "is an inadequate medium when it comes to conveying what it's really like here."

Last month, TVNewser asked if MSNBC is planning to introduce two new entertainment shows in the first week of February, and if the Saturday show focus on movies, while the Sunday show focuses on general entertainment news. Today, MSNBC said yes.

"MSNBC will launch two new entertainment shows, 'MSNBC at the Movies,' and 'MSNBC Entertainment Hot List,'" the network announced today. The movies show will air Saturday from 12 to 1 and 5 to 6. The entertainment show will air at the same times on Sunday.

As TVNewser first reported, Sharon Tay will host both shows, while entertainment reporter Claudia Difolco will serve as the Los Angeles-based reporter.

"These shows will be fun, informative guides for viewers making weekend plans on what movie to see, what concert to go to and what hot new TV show to catch," EP Scott Leon says. " While some shows dwell on gossip, our show will be helping our viewers make decisions on where to spend their entertainment dollar." More...

> Update: 8:20pm: EP Leon helped make 'Showbiz Today' a franchise for CNN, TV Week notes.

Crossfire wasn't always a "shoutfest." TVNewser asked Geraldine Ferraro, the 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee and a commentator on CNN's Crossfire from 1996 to 1998, for reaction to the news that the show may be "folding:"

"I heard the rumor about a month ago. I'm sorry to see it end, but it really ended three years ago when CNN changed the format, put it before an audience and made it an afternoon show. I left in 1998 but I ended up with several very good friends as a result of my experience, Bill Press and John Sununu and on the production side, Jennifer Zeidman Bloch. When I was in Congress, I would not appear on Crossfire because I really disliked the shouting. When I was invited to participate as a host, I mentioned that and was told it was up to the hosts to set the tone of the show. I like to think that we made it more of a news show - our ratings confirmed that people wanted to see that."

I was going to report this later today, but Howard Kurtz beat me to it: CNN "plans to end 'Capital Gang,' the long-running Saturday night panel show created by Novak, later this year."

FNC programming chief Kevin Magee has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Fox News Radio, Roger Ailes announced on Wednesday. In the new role, Magee "will be responsible for all radio expansion, including programming and new business in the radio division," according to a press release.

"I think all of the conditions exist in the radio news market that existed in the TV news market when Fox News came on eight years ago," Magee told TVNewser on Wednesday. "We have a couple of dominant players that have been in the market, basically since I were a kid...They aren't doing things much different than they were when I was working at ABC Radio twenty years ago." (Magee was a Senior Editor at ABC Radio from 1980 to 1990.)

"I think they may have lost their way a bit," he continued. "We're going to shake things up."

Last month, Ailes said he thinks that "radio will be as big as TV for Fox." Magee agreed, and said it's a natural extension of the brand. "We've got a very very strong brand at this point," he said. "The Fox News brand is a giant thing."

Magee will maintain his title as Vice President of News Programming for FNC, but some of his day-to-day duties will be re-assigned as he focuses on the radio side. Magee was also been named Chairman of the newly-formed FOX News Programming Council, which will "create and coordinate programming between radio and television." Magee said the council will meet weekly to share ideas, solutions and synergistic opportunities.

> "He does not anticipate straying from the type of content Fox News audiences expect as he creates new programming," TV Week says.

Amid the Carlson news, the bigger story is about CNN's return to its roots. Jon Klein talked at length to Bill Carter about CNN's plans for "roll-up-your-sleeves storytelling."

Carlson "wanted to host a prime-time show in which he would put on live guests and have spirited debate," Klein tells the NY Times, but "that's not the kind of show CNN is going to be doing...There are outlets for the kind of show Tucker wants to do and CNN isn't going to be one of them." (Emphasis added.)

"CNN is a different animal," Klein says that CNN "reports the news" while Fox "talks about the news:" "They're very good at what they do and we're very good at what we do." Here's the full story...

Assume for a moment that 1) MSNBC still wants Tucker Carlson, 2) Tucker Carlson still wants MSNBC, and 3) Nothing else stands in the way. What sort of show will Carlson host at 9pm? Your guess is probably as good as mine, but it won't look like Crossfire.

Carlson hopes to be "very involved in the planning process," an MSNBC insider said Monday night. "He really had very little to say about how Crossfire is run, so I'd think it might look more like his show on PBS." (Unfiltered is a far cry from the cries and shouts of Crossfire.)

Carlson's stint anchoring NewsNight last week left something to be desired, because he's not your average "news anchor" -- and last week wasn't your average news week. MSNBC must aim for a program that's smart, and more compelling than Hannity & Colmes.

"Remember, this is the first prime time show Kaplan has shepherded onto the air, so he wants to show everyone he still has what it takes," the insider said. Kaplan likely has a good idea about what format the show will take, but the details are yet to be determined.

> "I want to work for Rick Kaplan," Carlson told the Hollywood Reporter. "Rick Kaplan hired me at CNN. I would host any show he produced. I think he's a terrific producer. He's a great boss."

USAT's Peter Johnson talks to journalists in the disaster zone:

> CBS's Lee Cowan, in Banda Aceh: "You see a fellow journalist out on the street and you say, 'Are you OK?'"

> CNN's Anderson Cooper, in Sri Lanka: "It's impossible not to feel for the people you're around. This whole notion of the impassive reporter, coldly and detachedly talking about what he has seen, is a false notion. I don't think it ever existed."

> FNC's Greg Palkot, in Banda Aceh: "You have to detach yourself. If you start getting emotional, you can't report the story."

> If Brian Williams returns from Banda Aceh and still wants to travel across America next week, Nightly News is taking a road trip. Following a live broadcast from the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Williams is scheduled to go to Dallas, Las Vegas, Minneapolis and Pittsburgh, the Birmingham News reports. (Update: Nevermind, he's going to reschedule.)

> Rantingprofs is waiting for Iraq to become the #1 news story again: "Tonight Special Report is the first to push the tsunami out of the top spot, starting instead with Iraq...I'm guessing it will be a few more days before the others follow, but we'll see soon enough.."

> Matt Lauer hair watch: He "returned from vacation this week sporting near-luxuriant locks," Lloyd says.

> I wish CNN's Rick Sanchez wouldn't say "good job" so condescendingly when reporters finish their stand-ups.