CNN This Morning is an American morning show that formerly aired on CNN. The program first aired on November 1, 2022 succeeding New Day as CNN's morning show. The program was established as part of programming changes led by short-lived CNN president Chris Licht. For contractual reasons, the program also aired in simulcast on HLN, replacing that network's long-time morning show Morning Express with Robin Meade.
| CNN This Morning | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | News Talk |
| Created by | Chris Licht |
| Presented by | Weekdays CNN This Morning with Kasie Hunt Weekends Amara Walker Victor Blackwell |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Production locations | CNN Center Atlanta 30 Hudson Yards New York City Washington, D.C. |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 3 hours 2 hours (Saturday) |
| Original release | |
| Network | CNN HLN (simulcast) |
| Release | November 1, 2022 – February 23, 2024 |
It was initially hosted by Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins from CNN's New York City studios. Turnover began in April 2023 with the firing of Lemon from the network, and Collins departing in May 2023 to host the new CNN primetime show The Source. Their positions were filled by a rotating co-anchor until August 2023, when former CNN White House correspondent Phil Mattingly was named Harlow's permanent co-anchor.
In February 2024, new CNN CEO Mark Thompson announced that CNN This Morning would be cancelled, and replaced in its timeslot by CNN News Central which formerly aired as its lead-out. The program aired its final episode on February 23, 2024.
CNN continues to air early-morning programming under the CNN This Morning branding; on February 26, 2024, its former lead-in Early Start—anchored from Washington, D.C. by Kasie Hunt—was rebranded as CNN This Morning and receiving a graphics refresh.
CNN also continues to air a weekend morning show under the title, CNN This Morning Weekend, which is anchored by Victor Blackwell and Amara Walker from Atlanta, and follows the former New Day format.[1]
History
edit
Chris Licht became the head of CNN in April 2022, succeeding Jeff Zucker following WarnerMedia's merger with Discovery Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery. During the company's first upfronts in May 2022, Licht announced plans for a new CNN morning show, stating that "we are seeking to be a disruptor of broadcast morning shows in the space, we believe we have the people and resources to do this."[2]
Licht had prior experience with establishing morning shows at his past employers, with a particular emphasis on formats focusing upon panel discussions.[3][2] He launched Morning Joe at MSNBC in 2007, and CBS This Morning in 2012;[3][2] the latter was initially CBS's most successful format in the timeslot in years, but began to see instability and declines in 2017 after the dismissal of Charlie Rose due to sexual harassment allegations, and was ultimately rebooted as CBS Mornings in 2021.[4][2]
On September 15, CNN announced that Don Lemon would leave his primetime show Don Lemon Tonight and move to the new morning show, joined by fellow CNN anchors Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins.[5] On October 12, it was announced that the show would premiere on November 1 ahead of the U.S. midterm elections, and be titled CNN This Morning.[3] In March 2023, it was announced that Derek Van Dam would be joining as the program's meteorologist.[6]
On December 1, 2022, it was announced that the show would also be simulcast on HLN beginning on December 6, replacing Morning Express with Robin Meade.[7] CNN This Morning was the only news program remaining on HLN, and reports indicate it is being retained solely to fulfil contractual obligations to provide news content, as that channel otherwise shifts to a full-time true crime format.[8]
On April 24, 2023, Lemon was fired from CNN.[9] On May 17, 2023, Collins was announced as the network's 9 p.m. ET anchor, with her new program set to begin in June 2023. Her position with CNN This Morning would be filled on a rotating basis by current CNN staffers.[10] On August 14, 2023, CNN named Phil Mattingly, who had been the network's chief White House correspondent, as Harlow's permanent co-anchor.[11]
On February 5, 2024, new CNN CEO Mark Thompson announced that CNN This Morning had been cancelled, and would air its final broadcast later that month; it aired its final edition on February 23. Thompson stated that CNN would no longer produce any dayside programming out of New York.[12][13] On February 26, the morning block of CNN News Central with John Berman, Kate Bolduan, and Sara Sidner was moved up from 9 a.m. ET to 7 a.m. ET as a replacement, while CNN's early-morning program Early Start took on the CNN This Morning branding, relocated to Washington, D.C., and expanded back to two hours.[13][12] Both programs are produced from CNN's headquarters in Atlanta.[12] Mattingly was promoted to CNN's chief domestic correspondent.[14]
Personnel
editWeekends
editAnchors
- Amara Walker (November 1, 2022 – present)
- Victor Blackwell (March 25, 2023 – present)
- Boris Sanchez (November 5, 2022 – March 19, 2023; now on CNN News Central in Washington as a co-anchor)
Notable former staff
editWeekdays
editAnchors
- Poppy Harlow (November 1, 2022 – February 23, 2024); left network after show cancellation.
- Phil Mattingly (August 14, 2023 – February 23, 2024); promoted to Chief Domestic Correspondent.
- Don Lemon (November 1, 2022 – April 24, 2023); fired after the April 24 airing of the program.[9] Lemon was replaced with rotating fill-in anchors. It was later decided to have only two co-anchors.
- Kaitlan Collins (November 1, 2022 – May 25, 2023); departed the program after being named permanent host of CNN's 9 p.m. current affairs and talk show hour.[15] It was later titled The Source with Kaitlan Collins.[16]
Meteorologist
- Derek Van Dam (March 27, 2023 – February 23, 2024)[17]
References
edit- ^ "CNN's ATL-Based Programming Ends Use of CNN Center Studios". TVNewser. February 26, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ a b c d Steinberg, Brian (August 31, 2021). "CBS News to Launch 'Mornings' in Bid to Capture A.M. Viewers Across The Week". Variety. Retrieved August 31, 2021.
- ^ a b c Weprin, Alex (October 12, 2022). "CNN's New Morning Show Title Is a Throwback to Chris Licht's CBS Days". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 30, 2022.
- ^ Battaglio, Stephen (August 31, 2021). "'CBS This Morning' will have a new name starting Sept. 7". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (September 15, 2022). "Don Lemon, Kaitlan Collins, Poppy Harlow to Lead CNN Morning Show in Shake-Up". Variety. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
- ^ Mwachiro, Mark (March 28, 2023). "Derek Van Dam Named CNN This Morning Meteorologist". AdWeek. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (December 1, 2022). "HLN Gutted By CNN Layoffs". Variety. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ Stelter, Brian (December 2, 2022). "The End of Companion Television". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
- ^ a b Grynbaum, Michael M.; Koblin, John; Mullin, Benjamin (April 24, 2023). "Don Lemon, CNN Star Anchor, to Leave the Network". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
- ^ "Kaitlan Collins to anchor new 9 pm show on CNN | CNN Business". CNN. May 17, 2023.
- ^ Darcy, Oliver (August 14, 2023). "CNN announces sweeping new lineup ahead of 2024 election". CNN.com. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
- ^ a b c "CNN Morning Shows Say Goodbye Ahead of New Schedule". TVNewser. February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 26, 2024.
- ^ a b Steinberg, Brian (February 5, 2024). "CNN Cancels Current Morning Show in A.M. Shake-Up". Variety. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
- ^ Johnson, Ted (February 28, 2024). "Phil Mattingly Named CNN's Chief Domestic Correspondent Following Network's Overhaul Of Morning Show". Deadline. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
- ^ "Kaitlan Collins Says Goodbye to CNN This Morning, Heads to Primetime". Adweek. May 25, 2023. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
- ^ Seitz, Loree (July 11, 2023). "'The Source With Kaitlan Collins' Debuts as CNN's 2nd Most-Watched Monday Primetime Show". The Wrap.
- ^ Derek Van Dam [@VanDamCNN] (March 28, 2023). "Today marks a new chapter of my career @cnn I am humbled and honored to begin my journey as morning #meteorologist for @cnnthismorning Monday - Friday. Here we go...🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼" (Tweet) – via Twitter.