Lou Dobbs Leaving CNN (VIDEO)

CNN host Lou Dobbs stunned viewers on Wednesday when he announced that he would be leave the network, effective immediately.

The host of the program Lou Dobbs Tonight spoke to his viewers after covering the top headlines of the day, telling them that Wednesday’s show would be his last time sitting in the anchor’s chair.

“This will be my last broadcast,” Dobbs said.

CNN apparently permitted him to be released from his contract early.  He is currently considering a variety of options for the next stage in his career.

“I will let you know when I set my course,” he said. He said he wanted to “contribute positively to a better understanding of the great issues of our day.”

Jon Klein , CNN President, applauded Dobbs in a statement, hailing his  “appetite for big ideas, the megawatt smile and larger than life presence he brought to our newsroom.”

“With characteristic forthrightness, Lou has now decided to carry the banner of advocacy journalism elsewhere,” Klein said. “We respect his decision.”

His departure does not come without controversy as separate groups had been aggressively petitioning for Dobbs’ release.

In fact, within moments of Dobbs’ announcement going public, a coalition of Latino groups that had been rallying against Dobbs blasted out a celebratory press release (below).

Media Matters, a coalition member of a separate anti-Dobbs movement called DropDobbs.com, also released a statement (below).

Here is the video of Dobbs’ announcement, followed by the press releases mentioned above:

BastaDobbs.com Announces Victory: Lou Dobbs to Leave CNN

NEW YORK – Responding to the news Wednesday that Lou Dobbs will leave his post as a longtime anchor on CNN, the leaders of BastaDobbs.com – a national Latino-led coalition that had been advocating for his ouster – released the following statement:

“Our contention all along was that Lou Dobbs – who has a long record of spreading lies and conspiracy theories about immigrants and Latinos – does not belong on the ‘Most Trusted Name in News,’” said Roberto Lovato, co-founder of Presente.org, a national online advocacy organization coordinating the BastaDobbs.com campaign in conjunction with more than 40 local and regional Latino organizations from across the country. “We are thrilled that Dobbs no longer has this legitimate platform from which to incite fear and hate.”

The BastaDobbs.com campaign launched in mid-September, and included online petitions, a viral YouTube video, text-message campaign, radio PSAs and a series of events in 18 cities – organized in conjunction with the CNN special Latino in America. The message to CNN was that courting Latino viewers while keeping Dobbs on the network would not with them favor with the fastest-growing demographic in the country. Since then, more than 100,000 people have joined the effort. The events and the campaign garnered significant press coverage in both Spanish-language and mainstream media.

Lovato said the BastaDobbs.com victory marks a key turning point for the Latino community, as it moved from marching in the streets in 2006 to mounting a successful, high-tech campaign against one of the biggest and strongest media voices against common-sense immigration reform.

“The community is newly empowered and energized, and we are ready to fight for a respectful and civil media discourse when it comes to immigration coverage on mainstream news,” Lovato said. “This is only the beginning of a much longer-term effort.”

The second press release:

Under Pressure, Controversial Host Announces Immediate Departure

Washington, DC – Media Matters for America released the following statement responding to late breaking news that controversial CNN host Lou Dobbs, best known for his relentless anti-immigrant rhetoric, will be leaving his long-time cable news home effective tonight.

“For too long, CNN provided Lou Dobbs with its stamp of approval as he pursued a dangerous, one-sided and all too often false conspiracy tinged crusade against immigrants,” said Eric Burns, president of Media Matters. “This is a happy day for all those who care about this nation of immigrants and believe in the power of media to elevate the political discourse.”

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