Jake Tapper’s brief run as a primetime host on CNN will end after the midterm, and Sheppard Smith had his CNBC show canceled after two years.
The Daily Beast reported on Tapper:
CNN will end Jake Tapper’s primetime show after the midterm elections, shifting the anchor back to his 4 p.m. weekday slot, CNN confirmed in a statement.
“As part of a special lineup, Jake agreed to anchor the 9p hour through the midterm elections,” a spokesperson said. “At the completion of that schedule, he’ll be returning to his award-winning program The Lead. In the coming days, we will announce post-election plans for that time slot.”
Meanwhile, CNBC dumped Sheppard Smith to focus more on business programming, “Smith’s last show will air later in November, and CNBC intends to replace his program, “The News with Shepard Smith,” with an evening hour devoted to business news in early 2023. The anchors for that program will be named at a later date, and it remains to be seen whether CNBC will select candidates from among its current roster or seek to woo someone from outside its ranks.”
Sheppard Smith runs a good fact-based news program, but he was never able to find much of an audience on CNBC, so his two-year post-Fox News run will come to an end.
Jake Tapper’s move into primetime looks like a total misfire. If there is one word to describe Tapper’s show, it would be awkward. The show never seemed to find its format or footing, and it was facing some heavy-duty competition from MSNBC and Fox. Tapper will go back to finishing in third place on weekdays at 4 PM ET instead of finishing in third place at 9 PM.
Shep Smith can probably find a job at another network, and Jake Tapper will be happier not in primetime, but the failures of these shows suggest both the struggles of cable news and the potential decline of the drawing power of the white male host.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
