Few shows in the cable news world have made as much noise in recent months as CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip.
Just yesterday, the program helmed by Phillip was in the headlines after nationally syndicated radio host Erick Erickson called it “an embarrassment”, and that “CNN should be embarrassed to air it.”
“I want no part of it and the show’s existence makes me question the direction of the whole network as it struggles to find its footing,” Erickson said after noting he had been invited a place on the panel alongside Phillip several times before telling his assistant to turn down every offer. “News Night is discrediting to the whole network. I have made the editorial decision on my own radio show to stop airing clips of the program because I do not want to give it any attention. I think the show is a cry for help from CNN and, if they think this show is a good idea, they need no help. They need to be rebuilt. Paging John Malone.”
To be forthright, I don’t sustain myself on a heavy diet of cable news. The programs — whether it is CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, Newsmax, or NewsNation — they’re almost all, in my opinion, echo chambers just parroting talking points in hopes that as many folks as possible will latch on and say “Yep, that’s what I agree with.”
Which is why I disagree with Erick Erickson’s synopsis that CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip is “not good. It is not smart or sharp. It is preening and often deeply ignorant.” It’s the equivalent of my mid-60s mother saying Taylor Swift sucks…it isn’t designed for someone like Erick Erickson to like it.
That might be the biggest criticism of CNN today in that many expect it to be the middle-of-the-road cable news channel, that simply says “Here’s what’s going on in the world,” like it was in its heyday. But, unfortunately for CNN, cable news viewers, and the American public, that doesn’t really draw much of an audience anymore. If it did, networks like HLN wouldn’t be a zombified version of a cable news channel. But I digress.
I found Phillip’s show certifiably ok. I viewed the same episode — Tuesday, December 3rd — that Erickson did. Well, let me take that back. I watched what I could of Tuesday’s episode, which is a transgression in and of itself by CNN. Apparently, they don’t want people watching this show. Is an entire replay available on the CNN app on Roku? No. Could I watch the episode on HBO Max? Also no. Maybe it was on CNN.com? Guess again. So, I settled for viewing the majority of the show in segments from YouTube. For a network that’s supposedly embracing a strong digital future, I’d say they have quite a way to go.
But that’s not on Abby Phillip or her show. And the biggest issues I had with the show weren’t her fault, either. The camera angles and camera shots used on the show often leave much to be desired. For instance, the shot below is awkward. It’s a side-angle of the host, the back of Scott Jennings, and an overloaded side of an awkwardly shaped desk.
Regardless of what conservative radio hosts may say, Abby Phillip is the star of the show. She should be prominently featured, and not taken from a side angle that makes me wonder if Scott Jennings uses Head & Shoulders.
Furthermore, having that many people on one show, simultaneously, is a recipe for disaster. Which is the biggest issue of CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip. There is a lot of talking over one another. It’s bound to happen when there are 6 people jockeying for airtime, with points to make, and a general inability to let someone complete their point before the want to interject.
I thought, as a host, Phillip did an adequate job of attempting to direct the traffic. But that job should be done pre-emptively, not reactively. A host can’t wait for the dialogue to become so mired in murmurs that someone has to throw up the proverbial stop sign. It’s too late at that point.
To her credit, she also did an excellent job of explaining the credentials of those assembled. Assuming I just tuned in, Phillip eloquently noted who New York attorney Arthur Aidala was and why his opinion on the topic at hand mattered. Because, in reality, I did just technically “tune in”, didn’t see the explanation of who the assembled panelists were, and would have been left wondering “Why in the world should I care what this guy has to say?” But when his bona fides are explained, it makes perfect sense.
There was a great moment when the panel disagreed about the importance of allegations made against Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth and his treatment of women and potential issues with alcohol. Phillip said she “didn’t see the difference” between a spousal relationship and a mother-son relationship being protected, which Aidala pounced on like a lawyer, saying “Good. Your honor, objection,” in a light-hearted moment that showed that the situation wasn’t nearly as serious as many other cable news shows would handle it. Aidala later made the point “Admit what you can’t deny and deny what you can’t admit,” about how Hegseth should handle the allegations, which is the perfect axiom for the situation.
One of the reasons the Phillip-led program works is the willingness of Scott Jennings to step into the “Lion’s Den” as a token conservative voice. Comments made by Jennings have gone viral on social media, especially in conservative circles, in recent months as he’s often outnumbered on the panel. But Jennings, for lack of a better term, is a reasonable Republican. He rarely makes outlandish, hyperbolic statements in an effort to “own the libs.” He offers a differing viewpoint that is often made in a respectful tone and manner, a rarity in today’s cable news environment.
Overall, was the show clunky at times? Definitely. Are the camera angles weird? Absolutely. But when you focus on the content at hand, I thought Abby Phillip asked pointed questions of her panelists, make interesting counterarguments, and did a good job helming what could easily be viewed as a chaotic environment in what I witnessed.
I didn’t find CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip to be “embarrassing” or “discrediting” to the network as a whole. I found it compelling and interesting, despite its flaws and problems. But then again, that might be because it’s probably geared much more to someone like me and not a conservative radio host.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
