Crossfire
Crossfire was a debate program that aired on the liberal news network CNN and was canceled twice due to low ratings. Relevant current events were debated in an often passionate manner, and sometimes the debates reached the point of incivility which may have been part of the reason viewers decided to tune out, as the pundits on the program represented the broken political discourse found in the United States. The first iteration ran from 1982 until 2005, and the second iteration only ran from 2013-2014. CNN designed the show to have the premise that two liberals would debate two conservatives, and two guests would appear, one liberal and one conservative, hence the name Crossfire.
The original iteration of the show aired from 1982 until 2005 and throughout its run featured hosts such as Pat Buchanan and Tucker Carlson "on the right" and such personalities as Bill Press "on the left." The original show did last for a number of years, though Buchanan did leave the program to work for the Reagan Administration, and Carlson eventually left to host the short-lived show Tucker on MSNBC.
The liberal "comedian" Jon Stewart appeared on the program under the pretense he was selling his new book America (The Book): A Citizen's Guide to Democracy Inaction he collaborated with his writers for the liberal Daily Show program on Comedy Central. Instead, he used the platform to rib the hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala, particularly Carlson, and the uncivil discourse on the program and what Stewart thought was the poisoning by the political system with the rhetoric found on this program. Cite error: Closing </ref>
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- ↑ Crossfire canceled again ==Footnotes==