CNN anchor Rick Sanchez fired off this cryptic tweet last night…
And today CNN says he no longer works for the company in the wake of comments he made on a radio show. What’s interesting (to us) about this whole affair is Sanchez was an early-adopter of Twitter on TV, and we suspect his Twitter account (with 144,000 followers) doesn’t get to follow him to his next adventure. That’s because it contains the CNN brand in the account name, and by extension, it’s arguably the property of the news organization.
There’s certainly a lesson in here for personalities and news organizations alike. For on-air folks especially at a national level, it’s a great promotional tool to transition to the next gig — that is, if you were able to create the account only in your name.
We doubt there will be any subsequent tweets on the Sanchez account in the days to come. The CNN-branded Twitter account for Jon Klein, who ran CNN’s U.S. operations until he was pushed out earlier this month, has been dormant. (Thanks Elisabeth for reminding us!)
Adds Don Day in comments: “The tweet actually isn’t cryptic… just oddly timed. Sanchez was referring to the ratings for his final night in primetime, which was Wednesday (he filled the gap between Campbell Brown and forthcoming Parker Spitzer). Oddly, Thursday wound up being his last day on the network period.”