Pulitzer Prize-winning conservative columnist Kathleen Parker has left the struggling CNN show "Parker Spitzer," which she co-hosted with former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat. Rumors about her departure began circulating in January, just three months after the political talk show launched. With ratings lagging, CNN plans to take the show in a "new direction," keeping Spitzer on, and relaunching the program as "In the Arena." Was Parker unfairly blamed for the failure of the critically panned "Parker Spitzer"?
Yes, this reeks of sexism: "Let's face it, CNN has a women problem," says Amy Siskind at The Huffington Post. Seven anchors left the cable news network last year, and five were women. And now we're supposed to believe that Parker, and not her "obnoxious," spotlight-hogging, prostitution-scandal-plagued co-host, was the one holding back their flailing show. Parker's apparently forced exit has "the stench of sexism."
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