The Iffy Edition: Dahl Out at KSTP? No GOP YouTube Debates?

GOP YouTube debates unraveling: The Star Tribune reports that plans for the Republican version of the recent CNN/YouTube debate among Democratic presidential hopefuls might be “falling apart.” Rudy Giuliani can’t make the Sept. 17 event, and only Sen. John McCain and Rep. Ron Paul have committed to participating. But Mitt Romney seems to have a bigger problem with the format than the scheduling. “I think the presidency ought to be held at a higher level than having to answer questions from a snowman,” he said, referring to a question about global warming submitted by Minneapolis’ Greg and Nathan Hamel. Meanwhile, some are wondering why CNN and YouTube didn’t air the question that was top vote-getter at the website Community Counts — a question about impeaching George W. Bush.

Chaos at KSTP: Slipping news quality, a revolving door of anchors, ratings that have “cratered to the point where only Bush’s and Cheney’s are lower,” and an anticipated new wave of staff departures: The Rake’s Brian Lambert covers the meltdown at KSTP-TV. His sources say lack of support from general manager Rob Hubbard and chronically bad advice from Hubbard Broadcasting’s consulting firm, Frank N. Magid Associates Inc., are leading to some changes:

News director Chris Berg will likely leave soon after the first of the month, (the end of the July ratings period), at least one veteran on-air personality, possibly weatherman Dave Dahl, may also leave, maybe on his own maybe otherwise, and the door may stay open for others.

Got a tip for Media Monitor? Email us your media news.