Crossfire (television)

Crossfire
Genre	Talk/News program
Starring	On the Left Stephanie Cutter Van Jones On the Right Newt Gingrich S. E. Cupp Breaking News Wolf Blitzer
Country of origin	United States
Production
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes (1982–2002; 2003–05; 2013–14) 60 minutes (2002)
Release
Original network	CNN
Original release	1982–2005; 2013 – 2014
Chronology
Followed by	The Situation Room

Crossfire is a nightly current events debate television program that aired on CNN from 1982 to 2005 and again from 2013 to 2014. Its format was designed to present and challenge the opinions of a politically liberal pundit and a conservative pundit.

In 2013, after eight years off the air, a new version of Crossfire re-launched on September 9. The panelists for the new edition of Crossfire were former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and political commentator S. E. Cupp representing the right with political consultant Stephanie Cutter and advocate Van Jones representing the left. The version was last broadcast in July 2014 and officially cancelled later that year.

The show was hosted by two pundits, one of whom was presented as being "on the left" and one "on the right," to provide two sides of the political spectrum. The show usually featured two additional "left and right" guests on each topic of discussion. On some occasions only one guest was featured.

The concept began in 1978 when Tom Braden and Pat Buchanan co-hosted a radio show on then-NBC-owned WRC radio in Washington. The program, on which the pair debated political issues, was highly praised, but its ratings were low and, in 1982, it was cancelled. At the time, Reese Schonfeld, then President and CEO of CNN was searching for a replacement for his 10pm program. The program put the day's most important newsmaker in the spotlight, caught between a conservative and a liberal journalist. Their ratings, which were low by radio standards, were better than CNN's. Schonfeld signed the pair to a CNN contract for $75,000 each.

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