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CNN to bring 'On the Story' to GW
Posted Thursday, June 23 2005 03:01:12 pm
UPDATED SUNDAY, JUNE 26, 5:30 AM
CNN is giving the news junkies of GW something to do on Friday nights.
The news network announced Thursday that it will bring its reporter's notebook-style show, “On the Story,” to GW's Jack Morton Auditorium beginning Saturday, July 9. The show will be taped Friday nights at 7:30 p.m., then air on CNN on Saturday at 7 p.m. and again at the show's current time, on Sunday at 10 a.m.
“On the Story” currently features four of CNN's female correspondents and breaks down the top news stories of the week.
In an interview with The Daily Colonial, CNN/US President Jonathon Klein said that the new show will expand to include male correspondents and feature more accounts of international stories through a mixture of satellite and in-studio interviews with CNN correspondents around the world.
The new “On the Story” will offer “in-depth information that takes viewers beyond the headlines,” said Klein. “It feels like ‘On the Story,’ offers a fresh approach to letting our viewers understand what’s going on out there in a way that newer headline services can’t provide.”
Klein said that Kyra Phillips, who currently anchors the afternoon news show “Live From…,” will moderate the show live in the Jack Morton Auditorium every Friday. Phillips, who usually works in Atlanta, will come to Washington every Friday to host her Friday afternoon show and moderate “On the Story,” said Klein.
CNN’s chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour will also anchor from the London bureau when she’s not on assignment, said Klein.
“We wanted to broaden out the subject matter to include more international coverage, since we’re so good at it, and Christiane obviously is the number one foreign correspondent in the world,” he said.
With the new live audience format, Klein hopes to create a “level of transparency,” between the viewer and the network’s correspondents.
“I think there’s a lot of confusion or misunderstanding about what journalists do and how we go about finding the information and why we choose the stories we choose. I’m excited that the prospect of being able to share some of that information with our viewers,” he said.
He said that GW’s live audience will provide the proper inquisitive atmosphere for the journalists as they share their stories.
“College students tend to ask good questions and they tend to be pretty aware of what’s going on, especially those of you at GW, so that’ll keep our correspondents on their toes, which is a good thing,” said Klein.
The new Saturday night program replaces “The Capital Gang,” which aired its last show last night after nearly 17 years on the air.
“I think that show had run its course,” said Klein. “It had a good 16 years on the air, and that’s plenty of time.”
“Although ‘[Capital] Gang’ is unmatched in its political expertise, there’s a lot more that the audience wants to hear about… In a non-election year, the audience has a greater interest in a wider range of subjects,” he said.
Klein said that as more correspondents begin to cover politics as next year’s midterm election approaches, this political expertise will be transferred into the new “On the Story,” as correspondents covering politics will come on the program to discuss their assignments.
This announcement brings the first definitive answer to a question that has been on GW minds for most of this year – what happens after “Crossfire?”
“GW is pleased and proud to continue our partnership with CNN,” said Michael Freedman, vice president for communications in a release on Thursday. “This presents a unique opportunity for our students to participate in one of the premier weekend programs on television – one that helps us all gain perspective on the top stories affecting our world.”
After “Crossfire” was cancelled in January, there was no indication by the network whether or not it intended to continue to use the facility that GW has provided CNN for over four years.
Klein, however, said that the continuation of CNN’s relationship with GW was never in question.
“We’ve always been looking for ways to make use of the GW facility,” he said. “Once we knew that we were going to phase out ‘Crossfire,’ many of our Washington producers were putting their minds around other opportunities to use the facility.”
Once they had decided to cancel “Capital Gang,” and narrowed down a list of replacements, CNN had kept GW on its mind.
Their decision to move “On the Story,” to GW’s campus was solidified after a special edition of “Reliable Sources,” aired live from the MPA Building on June 5, after Deep Throat was revealed to be a GW alum.
“It showed how well you could integrate the live audience into other shows, other than ‘Crossfire,’ said Klein. “Once we settled on ‘On the Story,’ as the show to move into the ‘Cap Gang’ slot, it just felt like a natural because we are looking for ways to have more ‘touch-points’ with the audience.”
Klein said that he will keep GW in mind for future programs whenever he feels that a live studio audience will add another depth into the network’s coverage of a story.
“We don’t simply have a live audience for its own sake,” he said. “We want to use the live audience as an enhancer to the understanding of the stories that we are covering.”
“We’re excited about ‘On the Story’ coming to campus,” said Heather Clapp Date, who will continue to serve as coordinating producer and has already begun to organize GW volunteers, interns and audience participants.
As for the first show, the agenda is still a work in progress. “There are a number of details to work out in the coming days,” said Date. “We’re already hard at work.”
Klein added, “It’s going to revolve around the events of the week, so who knows?”
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