"Drop Dobbs": CNN Pressured To Give Up Controversial Host (VIDEO)

CNN is facing pressure on a number of fronts to drop Lou Dobbs from their roster of on-air talent, a move that would force millions of Americans seeking out news about the conspiracy to spread leprosy throughout America via illegal Mexican immigrants to turn instead to the guy who lives under the bridge by the old tire factory.

Leading the way in this effort are a coalition of organizations united under the "Drop Dobbs" banner, including Media Matters for America, the National Council of La Raza, the National Hispanic Media Coalition, the New Democrat Network, and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Writing for Media Matters' County Fair blog, John V. Santore sums up their beef:

For years, Lou Dobbs has been one of the most dangerous hosts on cable news. He benefits enormously from the legitimacy of the CNN brand, which provides him with an unparalleled platform from which to mainstream the hate speech and racially charged conspiracy theories normally relegated to Fox News and other conservative news outlets. Dobbs calls himself an "advocacy journalist," but he doesn't even live up to that ambiguous standard. Good journalism enhances the discussion of serious topics, but Dobbs helps to undermine and debase that discussion, routinely infusing it with misinformation and fear. And when it comes to issues like immigration, he has more in common with birther Orly Taitz than with Anderson Cooper.

If CNN won't drop Dobbs, it's time that his advertisers did. It's time to do more than simply highlight the damage Dobbs does and the threat he poses. We must demand accountability from the advertisers who, by their purchase of airtime on his shows, actively support his hate speech.

The group documents "Dobbs' History of Hate and Paranoia." [WATCH]

The action comes on the heels of Dobbs' decision to participate in a rally for a group called the Federation for American Immigration Reform. The Southern Poverty Law Center contends that FAIR is a "hate group":

Founded by [John] Tanton in 1979, FAIR has long been marked by anti-Latino and anti-Catholic attitudes. It has mixed this bigotry with a fondness for eugenics, the idea of breeding better humans discredited by its Nazi associations. It has accepted $1.2 million from an infamous, racist eugenics foundation. It has employed officials in key positions who are also members of white supremacist groups. Recently, it has promoted racist conspiracy theories about Mexico's secret designs on the American Southwest and an alternative theory alleging secret plans to merge the United States, Mexico and Canada. Just last February, a senior FAIR official sought "advice" from the leaders of a racist Belgian political party.

FAIR spokesperson Ira Mehlman disputed this charge in an article on HispanicBusiness.com yesterday, complaining, "Who made SPLC the arbiter of who is and is not a hate group?" and insisting, "They are going after everyone who is opposed to their point of view on this issue, trying to brand everyone as somehow beyond the pale."

But while the "Drop Dobbs" cri de coeur gains strength, it's actually running a bit behind media consumers, who have already been busy dropping Dobbs. Viewers fled CNN in August, and Lou Dobbs was one of the more noteworthy ratings albatrosses. Via Mediabistro:

Against last year's campaign coverage-heavy August, CNN saw significant decreases in total day and primetime viewership. In total day, CNN averaged 573K Total Viewers, a 13% decrease, with 162K in the demo, a 29% decrease. In primetime, CNN averaged 891K Total Viewers, a 32% decrease, with 248K in the demo, down 45%.

The biggest decreases in the demo were seen by "Lou Dobbs" (20%) and the "Situation Room" first hour (30%) and second hour (35%).

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Dobbs' ratings have been on the slide all summer, and it seems that every time he indulges himself in one of his flights of paranoid fancy, the New York Observer's Felix Gillette is there to point out the net negative impact on CNN's bottom line. Back in June, Dobbs was fretting over czars, and slipping into third place for his time slot. And in July, Dobbs went all in with the Birthers, which prompted another precipitous ratings decline.

At this point, "Drop Dobbs" is basically only encouraging people to do what they've already been doing on their own, in droves.

RELATED:
The Teflon Nativists: FAIR Marked by Ties to White Supremacy [SPLC]
Rick Ungar: Lou Dobbs lucks out as illegal immigration retakes center stage [True/Slant]

PREVIOUSLY, on the HUFFINGTON POST:
Colbert Loses Mexico-Bashing World Record To Lou Dobbs (VIDEO)
Dobbs' Ratings Take A Hit Over "Birther" Controversy

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Comments

[AmericanTeacher]

(They're not saying "Boooo." They're saying "Lou!")
CNN can do whatever it wants with the incredibly biased "journalist" Lou Dobbs.
The moment he comes on the air, I turn CNN off.

[Brenda Case]

What happen? I had watched Lou until last winter when I saw him slipping over the line.
Thank goodness CNN has some legit journalist to fill his time slot.

[imsosure]

Ain't happening, simply because he strikes a nerve with illegal immigration he ought to be awarded for being so determined and forth-wright.

[joemike127]

Lou Dobbs sensing a departure from CNN, is covertly sending an olive branch to FSN. At the end of Friday's program. His new sign off was, "We Deport, You Deride"

[Aesops]

The counter to that argument is that by giving more news outlets to people who push irrational and inflammatory opinion, you give credence to vitriol. Fox news has reach because many get its feed for free. I would rather all the wackos end up on one network, so that their views can be marginalized. Then maybe CNN can try giving access to its channel away for free as well to compete in the South.

[ctizzie]

The best thing CNN can do for America is keep Lou Dobbs.

In fact, they should sign him to a lifetime, exclusive contract.

Consider this: If Dobbs were to defect to Fox (which I guarantee would happen immediately were CNN to 'drop him'), he would find his audience there and have much more impact stoking the fears of the paranoid wingnuts who watch that channel than he could ever garner on a more respectable 'media outlet'.

Just a thought... but it would seem to me that forcing this eventuality would be contrary to the stated goals of those trying to affect this outcome.

[StPeteDave]

I was kind of thinking the same thing

[wombystar]

Lou's only on the air because he's an old buddy of Ted Turner's.... but we are SICK of his lies! HE NEEDS TO GO!

[Graycat]

Maybe fox can team up Glen Beck with Lou Dobbs. What a hit that would be for the wingnuts out there.
All lies all the time. Why they could have a cry fest on every show! OMG

[wags101]

That is a great idea and was my thought too!
Lou Dobbs is a great defender of America, not anti-immigration but for the LEGAL way.
La Raza can keep their rantings south of the border where they belong. They've done quite enough thank you, getting their filthy drugs into this country, war on our southern border, swine ful and still sneaking in to take the few jobs there are from us. Look at California, prime example of what they've done. Growth outpacing resources, medicaid broke, schools broke because everyone needs to offer courses in Spanish rather than English. Even the most productive valley in California is drying up because of all the water use.
So, Cnn is you ax Lou your misely viewing audience will respond by turning the channel.

[foodchain11]

Get rid of Dobbs. It is a very tired tune to blame Mexicans . It is our corporations hiring illegals to reduce costs. It is us. And please, just for our sanity, pull back on Blitzer.

[texhall00]

Dobbs is married to a Mexican. He needs to go! Instead of presenting himself as a professional he sabotage the viewers with little facts or knowledge presenting them as facts. He's so ridiculous.

[TotalRecall9]

I don't like Lou Dobbs, because, like Bill O'Reilly, he says that he is an Independent but is really a Republican. But apparently, this coalition's main problem is that Dobbs goes after illegal immigration. I don't see any problem with totally condemning illegal immigration. It's very absurd for politicians not wanting to do ANYTHING about illegal immigration because they might lose Hispanic votes. And the coalition can't claim Lou Dobbs reported on the "leprosy" from Mexican illegals when their own video shows that Christine Romans reported on it.

[onestop56]

The ratings problem for Dobbs and "The Situation Room" are understandable. First, the "Situation Room" should be hard news--like the old CNN. But, Wolf, like most of the others, wants to be known for his opinion rather than his reporting. Walter rest in peace--if you can. Wolf can be salvaged if CNN decides it wants to report the news rather than slant it. Lou is another issue, like Glen, Sean, Ed and Keith, he is attempting to shape opinion, not report news. So put him in on at 8PM in place of that other sad piece of news journalism.

[ebanks84]

There's a different in reporting news and being a commentator of daily events. None of the men you mentioned are "Reporters" per se. They are all commentators. They "comment" on the news. And among them all, I would suggest that Keith is the most honest. He doesn't tell blatant outright lies. He surely gives his opinions, like all the rest do, but his point is to tell the TRUTH of the matter and not spin it into a bunch of lies like the rest of them. THAT IS THE DIFFERENCE!

[Max01]

I agree with your comments about Keith. Another good point: He corrects anything that he may have said in error. Big Difference!

[extratime40]

The North American Union is not a conspiracy. The think tank called the Council on Foreign Relations has been proposing the idea for years. You can read about its task force report here, on the group's Web site:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/8102/building_a_north_american_community.html

[BambooHarvester]

Ratings in the Loo, dobbs ?
~

[mcmutter]

Lou is just full of too much cr.ap these days

[chomedey]

years

[spectacularbid]

time to go lou. fox will be happy to have you.

[ebanks84]

The nearest insane asylum would be happier to have him if you ask me!

[sloppybear16]

Ummm.... I don't watch CNN or any cable "news" really, but I don't no why people are so upset about Dobbs and not pissed off at the rest of the MSM. They all spew garbage.

Oh yeah, and this whole Dobbs is racist non-sense.. his wife is LATINA. Do you really think his hates Latinos when he married one??

As for the North American Union thing, read "Building a North American Community" (i think its 40 pages or so) from the Council on Foreign Relations in 2005. After reading it becomes clear that there is an idea for some sort of "NAU", not just some wild conspiracy theory. Not to mention that the idea of a NAU is an old one. People didn't the think the EU would ever happen but it just celebrated 50 years of the EU, or at least the time it took finish the process of creating the EU.

[arlandbaee]

That's exactly what we say about Obama. He's half white how can he be racist. Look how that went.

[arlandbaee]

And I hope you defended Obama the same way knowing he had a white mother.

[ebanks84]

We should be upset about Dobbs because of what he's doing to his family. His wife and kids must feel like dirt under his rampages. What kind of life can they possibly have knowing how their father and husband knocks their bloodline in the ground every chance he gets? That's too sad.