From an August 2 post, headlined “Lou Dobbs becomes a real problem for CNN,” by Baltimore Sun TV critic David Zurawik:

Dobbs has consistently been lending credence to the “birthers” movement, which claims President Barack Obama is not a U. S. citizen, and thus, not eligible to be president because he was not allegedly born in the United States. The view has been widely and thoroughly discounted -- most notably by Obama's Hawaiian birth certificate. But despite such facts, Dobbs has persisted.

The Media Matters ads on CNN, MSNBC and Fox News will take Dobbs to task for his on-air actions in relation to that issue. It is a clever and sound strategy in the world of corporate TV.

CNN can't really afford to ditch any ads that don't violate standards and practices. And if they refuse this one, which can still be seen on their competitors, they have a credibility problem.

Credibility is the real issue here, and loss of it is the great danger for CNN.

While CNN generally has lower prime-time ratings than its angry, opinionated competitors on the right and the left, it does have credibility and a kind of journalistic highground by “playing it down the middle.” And that pays off on big news events when viewers want verified facts and information provided without partisan spin. The ratings during the election -- and even on events like Michael Jackson's death -- are consistently big for CNN.

But Dobbs' behavior is threatening that very trust on which that success is based. Worse, Jon Klein, the president of CNN/US, now seems to be backing Dobbs after initially sending out what I read as warning signals that he wanted a more responsbile approach to any “birther” stories.

If Klein continues to back Doobs, he risks losing that credibility -- and in this case, credibility is at the very heart of the CNN brand.

Previously:

AP reports Lou Dobbs has “become a publicity nightmare for CNN”