C.J.: Elizabeth Ries' appeal is a mystery

Readers have been asking me to find out what's really behind the addition of "Twin Cities Live" host Elizabeth Ries to a new radio show on MyTalk FM107.1.

Not long after Margery Punnett got to be the lead dog on the radio show, Ries was announced as a co-host. I figured Ries must have a fairy godmother at the station, looking out for her future.

I've talked to three Hubbard Broadcasting insiders for answers.

Insider No. 1 told me that bosses at Hubbard really like Ries, although her appeal is a mystery to others at the station.

Insider No. 2 told me that station officials like Ries enough to be interested in making sure she had a job with the company after they bounced her off that not-so-good "Twin Cities Live." This source believes the show needs to be relaunched with two new co-hosts in the wake of John Hanson's departure or scrapped altogether, because the show just doesn't seem to work.

Stymied by the information from these two trusted sources, who normally agree, I needed a third.

Insider No. 3 said that one day when Ries was on the radio with Punnett the numbers were huge, so Elizabeth joined that 9 a.m.-to-noon show. No. 3 tells me the station has no plans to scrap the afternoon show, and the search for Ries' co-host is sincere.

Yet other sources tell me that the people they would like to take Hanson's place aren't interested, while the ones more interested in the job can't seem to get the seal of approval from bosses.

Elizabeth Ries is nice. I see the dimples. I thought she was cuter in person (so much so that I didn't recognize her). I prefer her radio work with these caveats: I don't need to hear that much about her upcoming wedding (listeners probably eat that up, however). But I don't know which causes me to switch over to KFAN faster — mentions of the wedding or her chickens.

However, I almost ran off the Crosstown Highway on Wednesday when Ries started analyzing the reason that Anderson Cooper's daytime talk show got canceled.

As you may have heard, Deadline.com is reporting that NBC has approached CNN's Cooper about replacing Matt Lauer on the "Today Show." NBC denies this.

Yes, it looks to me as though Lauer was likely the louse behind the ouster of Ann Curry, who probably smiles wide when she's in private these days, even though she over-emoted as co-anchor. But I don't think Cooper or, more hysterically, Ryan Seacrest, are worthy successors to Lauer, who needs to weather the storm since he whipped it up and get somebody to come up with more subtle promos that say, Gee, I'm a semi-nice guy.

But Ries' brilliant analysis of why Cooper's syndicated talk show bombed caused me to think: Mr. Kettle, have you met Mr. Pot?

"I mean, it just wasn't put together very well," she explained.

Please. Cooper's show flopped because he's dull. If Ries knows how to put a TV show together well, I wish she'd share this with her producers.

How not to dress pregnant

Between getting a butt X-ray and instigating a fake marriage to Kris Humphries, Kim Kardashian won't get much sympathy in this column.

But I'm starting to feel sorry for her as her fashion choices are getting absolutely savaged.

Oh, the plight of the pregnant fashionista! The UK's Sun has done a thorough takedown of Kardashian, pregnant fashion icon.

"Always prone to the odd fashion howler, the reality star seems to have gone to pieces during pregnancy. Too tight, too short or just plain trashy," reads the Sun. "Her recent outfits are a daily reminder of how not to flatter a bump."

The newspaper ran some photos, with scathing commentary. Example: "Black and white are always slimming, right?"

That particular photo from Star magazine looks Photoshopped. It says she's gained 65 pounds.

Tuesday on "Live With Kelly and Michael," Kim didn't look as fat as she did in the photo, and she said she's gained only 20 pounds while pregnant with rapper Kanye West's baby. She said she is sure she'll gain the other 45 pounds, but she is not there yet.

I thought the dress she had on looked cute. But it photographed HORRIBLY based on the pictures I have seen on the Web.

If Kardashian stayed away from tight clothing and the color block dresses, she'd look so much better. USA Today says she wants to launch a line of maternity wear. Thanks to her poor choices, that second K in Karadashian Kollection has never been more appropriate.

She's pregnant. That means you're fat on purpose. Fat's allowed. Most women would wear loose clothing and flats. But not Kim Kardashian.

C.J. can be reached at cj@startribune.com and seen on Fox 9's "Buzz." E-mailers, please state a subject; "Hello" does not count. Attachments are not opened.