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TV Bulletin Board (Sept. 11) -- better fit for Stossel


John Stossel during 2007 appearance at State Capitol in Austin.

By ED BARK
John Stossel, an against-the-grain consumer reporter with an avowed libertarian streak, is the latest prominent ABC newsman to jump to Fox.

The 20/20 co-anchor made the move Thursday, and will split his time between the still nearly invisible Fox Business Network and the high-profile Fox News Channel.

Fox says he'll host the weekly Stossel for FBN, beginning sometime later this year. Stossel, 62, also will "make regular daytime and primetime appearances" on FNC and produce specials for the network. His Stossel's Take blog will appear on both foxbusiness.com and foxnews.com.

Stossel, who joined 20/20 in 1981, surprised his bosses with the ratings popularity of a series of contrarian documentaries bearing titles such as You Can't Say That!, Boys and Girls Are Different and Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity. His "Give Me a Break" segments also became a staple of 20/20.

Former ABC News colleagues Brit Hume and Chris Wallace earlier made the move to Fox.

Stossel's old network praised him Thursday as "an important part of the ABC News family for decades . . . He has engaged, and occasionally enraged, our audience with thought-provoking opinions and analysis. John is a unique figure in American journalism and will be an asset to Fox News in this next chapter of his terrific career."

That's the classy way to do it.

***Showtime is extending its L Word franchise by taking the series from the scripted to the reality realm.

The Real L Word: Los Angeles, a nine-episode venture scheduled to premiere next year, will track the lives of "high-profile, left coast lesbians as they go about their daily lives, at work and play," Showtime says.

Ilene Chaiken, executive producer of the original L Word, will retain that title with the spinoff. She'll be assisted by the Magic Elves production company, whose credits include Project Runway, Top Chef and Last Comic Standing.