Goodbye Boys! 

Goodbye Crossfire!

Yesterday was the end of a 23-year-old tradition of CNN, Crossfire. As someone who worked on the program it was difficult to see it end, but it was also a sense of closure looking forward to a new beginning. Watching the show end made me wonder why does partisan debating work in blogs and not on Crossfire? Has the time come where "in your face" debating does not work on TV but works on the Internet?

Many believe that Jon Stewart is the reason for the end of this long-running program. But as someone who worked behind the scenes I can tell you that the show ended because the news media tends to focus on one political topic at a time. Sure the fact that people were sick of seeing men screaming at each other, hearing constant party sound bytes, and the same guests over and over, did not help the shows ratings. The show truly failed because it was the same show over and over again everyday.

The War in Iraq, Scott Peterson, confirming judges, the filibuster, were all topics that were on the program for weeks or months at the time. But the one that topped them all this year had to be Terry Schaivo. Day after day, week after week, it was keep the tube in or take the tube out. Everyday the same show. I believe that after watching all of them I am probably an expert in both sides.

The show was faced to debate these topics day after day because they saturated the media. Crossfire is a show that always needs a topic with a clear left and a right. When only one political topic is in the media it is difficult to talk about something else. That is why Crossfire is now just a memory.