CNN SAYS IT’S SATISFIED WITH PARKER SPITZER

Despite last-place ratings among the four cable news networks at 8:00 p.m., CNN is vowing to stand by its newly launched Parker Spitzer. Bart Feder, senior vice president of programming at CNN/US, told today’s (Monday) Wall Street Journal: “We’re in this to launch and to let it grow. And we’re confident it will.” The Journal reported that CNN executives are sending daily notes to the hosts and production staff, while producers are looking for ways to “add energy” to the show, which presumably means encouraging political clashes with guests. “The intention of the show is to be provocative. We expect there will be feisty conversation as a result of that,” Feder told the newspaper. In a separate interview with Broadcasting & Cable, he added, “Cable shows don’t premiere with huge audiences. … They grow over time. And that’s been true of our competitors and that will be true for us too.”