-By Warner Todd Huston
In 1982, CNN debuted a current affairs debate show titled Crossfire. The show starred Tom Braden from the left and Pat Buchanan from the right in a raucous debate on the issues of the day. The show continued until 2005 when it was canceled. But now, CNN is hinting that it is considering a re-launch of the show.
Alex Weprin reported that CNN has not made any firm announcements, but that the cable news network is considering the idea. CNN is in the midst of a wide-ranging re-working of its programming as newly minted President Jeff Zuckerman tries to reverse years of failing ratings. Dominic Patten, however, claims his source says that CNN will re-launch the show in June, though he had no other information on hosts, times, or format.
The series originated from a Braden/Buchanan radio show which began in 1978 and over its twenty-three-year history, Crossfire had over a dozen co-hosts. The show was often criticized for its hard-charging style.
In fact, Crossfire ended only months after Comedy Central comedian Jon Stewart criticized the show for “hurting America” with its “miserable” example of public discourse.
Even though then, as now, Stewart indulged in the same “partisan hackery,” he exempted himself from any blame for “hurting America” claiming he’s “just a comedian.”
Nonetheless, Crossfire was canceled in 2005 after final conservative co-host Tucker Carlson left the network for a stint at MSNBC.
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CNN Looking to Re-Launch ‘Crossfire’”
Sometimes the Internet is fun and Breitbart’s own Brandon Darby had a ball slamming the profane Wonkette after it accused him of being a “snitch” for helping the feds stop a domestic bombing in 2008 as well as lying about what he recently said about the Aryan Brotherhood.
On April 2 on Fox News’ The Five, former George W. Bush press secretary Dana Perino criticized Doctor Ben Carson for appearing on too many conservative shows. This criticism sent talk show host Mark Levin into criticism of his own saying he was sick of these “preening, elitist, country club Republican(s).”
The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio’s largest newspaper, has announced that while it will continue to print editions every day, it will cut home delivery from a seven-day-a-week schedule to but three for subscribers.
On Wednesday, April 3, President Obama announced he would be returning 5% of his paycheck to the federal treasury in a show of shared sacrifice with federal workers facing furloughs because of the sequester. The news came as he once again flew about the country pushing his anti-Second Amendment policies and only days after another lavish vacation indulged by the first family was in the news. 
MSNBC has been playing musical chairs with its on-air hosts and one move left talk show The Cycle without a steady co-host. Now that Salon senior political writer Steve Kornacki has been pegged to helm a new weekend morning show, MSNBC has announced that The Nation correspondent Ari Melber will take up Kornacki’s The Cycle co-hosting duties.
Marking its first high profile hire, Al Jazeera has announced that it has hired CNN’s chief business correspondent, Ali Velshi, for its new Al Jazeera America cable network.
A Congressional watchdog group called LegiStorm has announced a sweeping new project aimed at government transparency. But part of that project has staffers on Capitol Hill crying foul because it lists all their private Twitter accounts.
It looks like the Sunday morning political shows got the same memo that Immigration is the topic of the day for April 7.
MSNBC fabulist Chris Matthews has made a new pronouncement, this time that Hillary Clinton is in the most “commanding position” to be anointed president since the general of all the U.S. Armies in WWII, Dwight D. Eisenhower, ran for President in 1952. Matthews also gushed that she is the “most celebrated woman leader” in the entire world.
Chuck Todd presented an odd premise on last Sunday’s Meet the Press. Since the issue of gay marriage is now before the Supreme Court of the United States, Todd wondered if this meant that the economy is back on track because people’s attention has drifted from the economy to gay marriage?
The Des Moines Register courted controversy on Wednesday by posting on the Internet an interactive map featuring the locations of Iowa schools that didn’t have security guards. But after a wave of criticism, only hours later the newspaper pulled the map down and reworked it to eliminate the names and addresses of the specific schools. The map was re-launched later that evening.
In a March 28 article, Politico made to report on the situation in Texas Governor Rick Perry’s inner circle but instead of a concise report this long and oddly repetitive piece was seemingly more interested in constantly reminding readers that the Governor didn’t fare too well in the 2012 Presidential election.
CNN recently launched a new podcast project headed by Dean Obeidallah and in its second episode the trio of hosts pondered whether or not one is a bigot for opposing gay marriage.
In the wake of the Jimmy Savile sex abuse scandal, the British Broadcasting Service (BBC) is being hit with new allegations that behind the camera staffers–this time from the Doctor Who kiddy sci-fi show–sexually abused youngsters who visited the famed broadcasting studios.
Former NBA great Earvin “Magic” Johnson has seen Obamacare and has pronounced it good. According to Johnson, “a lot” of CEOs at hospitals have told him that Obamacare “is working.” 
In a front page 
The next episode of NBC’s Law & Order: SVU will feature another story “ripped from the headlines.” This time, the show that mines controversy will tackle “legitimate rape” ala former Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin.
Always looking to find some reason to smear Fox News, the website Raw Story slammed the network for airing the name of a 16-year-old rape victim in a March 18 broadcast of America’s Newsroom. But in its zeal to slap Fox, the website neglected to note that other news outlets did the same thing.
The median income for a journalist these days is around 
Catching up on how the media treated the days before Pope Francis became the new leader of the Catholic Church, as the Vatican hosted its conclave, NBC looked into the work of Asian Cardinal Luis Antonio “Chito” Tagle–a possiblePapal candidate–and came to the sad conclusion that he was just as traditional as any other cardinal. As NBC ruefully noted, Tagle is “no reformer.”
The office of the Vice President issued an apology to a University of Maryland student for staffers having forcefully deleted photographs the young man took of Biden at a public event.
The Old Media has been looking for ways to attack the new Pope, Francis I, since he was introduced to the world. Initially, the media attempted the needle the new Pontiff into “reforming” the Church or face failure, but this week it seems that there is a new line of attack: he is an advocate for dictators.
ABC has released the results of another gun poll claiming that support for background checks at gun shows has “vast public support.” But neither the poll nor ABC’s report notes that background checks already routinely occur at gun shows.
On March 12, Representative Paul Ryan (R, WI) released the GOP’s budget proposal sparking an afternoon of analysis and criticism. By Tuesday evening Reuters was contrasting Ryan’s budget with one sponsored by Senator Patty Murray (D, WA). But there is one problem with Reuters’ analysis. The Democrats didn’t actually release any budget for Reuters to analyze at the time of publication. So, Reuters simply regurgitated Murray’s talking points.
CNN’s Piers Morgan sees no reason why America shouldn’t turn into a nanny state. During his March 11 broadcast, Morgan insisted that, “people need the nanny state occasionally.”