Larry King Prepares to Sign Off

Famous people liked talking to Larry King, and for many of them, there was one reason: His program was the place to go for unhurried, agendaless conversation.

“I consider Larry one of a kind, absolutely one of a kind,” said Ross Perot, one of the many subjects from politics whom Mr. King has interviewed during his 25 years on CNN. Unlike other television hosts, Mr. Perot said, “who will interrupt you if you’re not saying what they want you to say,” Mr. King will “let you finish what you’re saying.”

Bill Carter and Brian Stetler at nytimes.com write:

After about 50,000 interviews — between his radio career and his stint on television — Mr. King will end his run as the 9 p.m. fixture on CNN this week, and perhaps take with him the hourlong conversational form of interview on cable news television. It’s not certain how his replacement, Piers Morgan, will lead his program, but some change from the King format is likely.

Though he professed no regrets, Mr. King did point to what he identified as “the saddest part” of leaving the nightly interview arena, where programs that have hurt CNN and Mr. King in the ratings are led by hosts advocating a political point of view.

“If you look at media now,” he said in a telephone interview, “all the hosts of these other shows are interviewing themselves. The guests are a prop for the hosts on these cable networks. The guest to me was always paramount.”

As he leaves this week, many of those guests are returning for a last ride in the chair: Naomi and Wynonna Judd on Tuesday, Barbra Streisand on Wednesday and a host of old favorites on Thursday’s finale.

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