In the Arena: Stories of Political Life

About this book

In the Arena is an American one-hour show on CNN that premiered October 4, 2010 as Parker Spitzer and was hosted by former New York Democratic governor Eliot Spitzer and Pulitzer Prize-winning political columnist Kathleen Parker. It was broadcast weeknights in prime time at 8 p.m. ET, replacing Campbell Brown in the same time slot. The show received consistently low ratings and there were reports of backstage fighting between Spitzer and Parker. On February 25, 2011, CNN announced that Parker had parted ways with the show to continue her work on her syndicated column but would continue to contribute to CNN. Spitzer remained on the show and the title was changed to In the Arena effective February 28. The show was canceled by CNN on July 6, 2011. The cancellation was effective August 8, 2011, when CNN went on to broadcast its flagship nightly news program AC360, anchored by Anderson Cooper, live at 8 pm and re-air in the time slot of 10 pm.