Canceling Larry King Live - the Middle Ground Continues to Erode

Larry King announced today that he will ending his iconic news talk show this fall after 25 years on the air. The famous announcer came to the attention to bring a close to the longest lasting television chat in United States history through a short piece that was posted on his blog today and a brief message on his Twitter account that cited the 76-year old host's desire to spend more time with his immediate family. Here is a brief overview of Larry King's history in the media and some details concerning the voluntary termination of the Larry King Live program.

Larry King had been hosting a national news radio program for quite some time when he was approached by Ted Turner in 1985 concerning the possibility of taking his growing media presence to the television format. In the years following his decision to host Larry King Live, the journalist and host became a household name and his program rapidly evolved into must see TV for anyone who wanted to keep his or her finger on the pulse of the general public. By the 1990's Larry King Live was considered one of the small handful of media outlets that every aspiring politician needed to appear on. Soon, the program began to use it's media presence to attract a wide swath of celebrity guests and athletes in addition to the news makers on commentators who orignally appeared on Larry King Live.

Although Larry King has continued to be a prominent figure in the national media in recent years, the actual ratings for his CNN program Larry King Live have steadily declined over the course of the last decade. While Larry King himself remains as iconic of a media figure as ever, the fact of the matter is that media landscape has changed so dramatically since Ted Turner recruited Larry King 1985 that it is scarcely recognizable. Many of us may have continued to tune in to Larry King Live in recent years, but there is an increasingly limited place for a gentle but compelling voice in today's fractured media marketplace.

In the weeks to come, we will no doubt see gracious tips of the hat to Larry King from the newest generation of television news host. Regardless of whether a viewer leans toward the left or the right, the end of the Larry King Live marks termination of yet another classic news program that encouraged us to try to meet in the middle.

Sources:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65S73420100629?type=domesticNews
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10457092.stm
http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/29/larry.king.steps.down/