Lou Dobbs to Host ‘Moneyline’ Again

Nearly two years after his acrimonious departure from CNN, Lou Dobbs will return next month as host of the once powerful nightly financial show “Moneyline.”

He’ll start as the sole “Moneyline” anchorman May 14. Willow Bay, who has been the show’s anchor, will be reassigned.

“Moneyline” has lost about 25% of its audience since Dobbs quit in June 1999 and slipped behind its chief cable competitor, CNBC’s “Business Center.”

The audiences are small but affluent, so advertisers pay a premium to run commercials. At the time Dobbs left, “Moneyline” was CNN’s most lucrative show.

Dobbs--who quit the show he started 20 years ago after feuding with then-CNN President Rick Kaplan--had been approached to return before, and demurred. But the way home was cleared when Kaplan left last summer and Stuart Varney, who was Bay’s co-host, quit last month.

The initial contact came from Dobbs’ agent, who called CNN Chairman Tom Johnson about a week ago to ask whether a no-compete clause that kept Dobbs off any other network besides CNN until next year could be waived.

Dobbs had been widely expected to join CNBC. He signed a deal to produce a financial newsletter and be host of a radio show for NBC. NBC also bought a stake in Space.com, the Web site Dobbs started after leaving CNN.

Johnson suggested a possible trade--waiving the no-compete clause in return for signing a CNBC on-air personality, perhaps Ron Insana. He also asked the agent if Dobbs would be willing to return.

There was no immediate comment from NBC. Dobbs said he will continue to do the NBC radio show, with CNN’s blessing.

“I’m not surprised that competitors are reacting to the dominance CNBC has established in financial news,” CNBC spokesman Paul Capelli said.

Dobbs said he would maintain an investment in Space.com, but would no longer have any say in running the company.

Although Dobbs was named the “Moneyline” managing editor, he was given no management responsibility. At the time he left, Dobbs was president of CNNfn, the cable business news network that is about to change its name to CNN Money.

Dobbs said combining management with on-air responsibilities “is probably not appropriate. The stress and the strain are tremendous.”

It was a much-needed shot of good news at CNN, which has seen declining ratings with increased competition from Fox News Channel, MSNBC and CNBC. The network also went through layoffs because of the merger of parent company AOL Time Warner.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.