CNN President Jon Klein has reportedly told his producers to “avoid” booking radio talk show hosts because they “too often add to the noise” in public issues debates, and their input is “all too predictable.”

I’m not sure about the “noise” complaint — healthy public debates are raucous by their nature.  But Klein has a point about the predictability.  The radio talkers who make the rounds of cable shows rarely add a unique perspective, new information or fresh insight.  Instead, they ferociously defend whatever line their ideological camp has laid down on the issue du jour.

In fairness, some of the blame for this lies with the producers at CNNand other cable nets.  Pressed for time, and lacking creativity, they call upon the same small circle of  easy-to-book talkers (some of whom are out of work) who can be relied upon to gnash their teeth and mix it up with an equally reliable counterpart from the other side of the spectrum.  At some point, long ago, this scorpions-in-a-bottle tactic was an interesting new way to add color and verve to the discussion.  Now it’s just white noise.  There is certainly a role for radio talkers on cable tv.  But the networks need to rework both their Rolodexes, and their segment concepts.

By the way, did you hear how Dial Global host Bill Press, a former CNN talking head, reacted to Klein’s new guidance?  He went on the air and called Klein the “stupidest of all” network bosses.  Predictable.