CNN: The Continuing Soap Opera

[Geoffrey 779]

Brianna Keilar and Boris Sanchez are back to doing the "studio stand-ups" for the afternoon DC edition of News Central.

[HSV cheesehead 88]

I don't know where else to ask, so here it goes...

 

 

Is King Charles filmed in front of a live studio audience?

[Geoffrey 779]

Strange graphic issue briefly seen at the top of AC360 just now.

 

 

[Georgie56 3059]

CNN This Morning is history.

[ATLNewsExpert 308]

“we will no longer produce morning programming in New York and will be disbanding the team that currently produces CNN This Morning in that city. Our New York-based primetime and weekend programming will continue.”

 

Very interesting quote from CEO Thompson. Didn't "Early Start", pre-COVID actually go till 7am? Also interesting that they are moving John, Sara, and Kate down two times slots. I presume that with Acosta (They are seriously giving this guy a weekday anchoring spot!!) and Brown anchoring 10-12, that "The Bulletin" has been put on pause or canned entirely.

 

Honestly, it'll be interesting to see how "News Central" translates to the network morning time slot, and how it's hard news and "European presenting" style will go against the likes of ABC GMA to Fox and Friends. Wonder if it'll get "softer" with the change. Welcome back to the 7am time slot Kate! The quote though makes me wonder what Thompson's plan is after this place holder. 

 

It sadly was just a matter of time for "This Morning". "CNN This New American Morning Day" coming up!

[Viper550 268]

The Bulletin will be at 11 instead, and Newsroom will be the 10 a.m. slot.

[Drew 147]

I wonder if Poppy or Phil will take over CNN Newsroom weekend shifts now being left open by Jim. I guess this also means CNN This Morning Weekend gets a new name as well. 

 

At this point CNN Newsroom US should just be renamed CNN News Central 

[Geoffrey 779]

Wow, lots of changes again. Very unstable.

 

I feel bad for Poppy and especially Phil, who gave up his (chief?) White House correspondent role and moved his family to New York only to be screwed over a few months later. I hope they are both taken care of as they are both excellent talents and have done everything asked of them.

 

John Berman and Kate Bolduan both separately served as co-anchors of the previous New Day, so this is a return to the timeslot for both of them.

 

Surprised they're keeping the CNN This Morning name at all. Also interesting that the new morning show, News Central, will be 7-10. They briefly had their morning show (I think during the Soledad O'Brien days?) run at these times but eventually moved it back to 6-9.

 

They're replacing one Chris Licht creation with another.

 

And now CNN Newsroom makes its return to weekdays.

 

Am I correct that only three hours of morning/daytime programming will be anchored from NY now, with the rest from DC, until 7pm?

 

Overall, this seems like a massive cut rather than an investment in mornings. 

Edited February 5 by Geoffrey

[ATLNewsExpert 308]

On 7/31/2023 at 8:29 AM, Geoffrey said:

I have definitely been enjoying the team of Poppy and Phil. Phil is smart and energetic and works well with Poppy. Sometimes he gets a little too silly or off-topic when making a point, but I think that could be an easy fix. 

 

I wonder if we'll ever see the studio that was being built for CNN This Morning, and if it'll be saved for the relaunch of the show (or whatever replaces it). 

If I was a producer at the network, I'd be glad we didn't build that new set after all!

[atlnews2 557]

They could have saved so much headache if they just moved Robin Meade to CNN instead of letting her go. 

[Geoffrey 779]

3 minutes ago, atlnews2 said:

They could have saved so much headache if they just moved Robin Meade to CNN instead of letting her go. 

 

I'm not entirely sure that would have worked. Robin's show did not have the political and international focus that the main network has. While it might have been refreshing to see CNN getting back to reporting more than three or four topics an hour, I don't think they would do that. 

[mre29 1340]

22 minutes ago, atlnews2 said:

They could have saved so much headache if they just moved Robin Meade to CNN instead of letting her go. 

 

If I remember correctly, Morning Express was often beating New Day in the ratings. Too bad Licht was focused on cloning CBS This Morning.

 

What's Meade doing these days, anyway? Maybe she's available...

 

From the Variety article:

 

Quote

Warner Bros. Discovery was running “CNN This Morning” on HLN, now largely devoted to repeats of the series “Forensic Files,” as a replacement for that network’s own long-running A.M. program, “Morning Express,” led by anchor Robin Meade in one form or another for more than two decades. Now there is no signature morning-show format on either network.

 

This would be a damn good time to finish killing off HLN.

 

[atlnews2 557]

47 minutes ago, Geoffrey said:

 

I'm not entirely sure that would have worked. Robin's show did not have the political and international focus that the main network has. While it might have been refreshing to see CNN getting back to reporting more than three or four topics an hour, I don't think they would do that. 

I do see your point. However I would argue that CNN has failed in the mornings for 20 years and so maybe the lighter flair of Robin would have led to something more successful than what CNN has been doing. I’m sure robin could be serious if the situation called for it. 

Edited February 5 by atlnews2

[mountainave 530]

Bit of a shame.  I may be in the minority, but I think the first incarnation of CNN This Morning with Poppy Harlow, Don Lemon, and Kaitlan Collins was a quality product that just needed time.  The three of them each brought something -- Poppy as a longtime anchor with a business acumen, Kaitlan as an incisive political questioner, and Don as an older guy attuned to social issues with an ability to humanize. Yes, Lemon stuck his foot in his mouth one too many times, but in the three of them you really had an ensemble of three smart anchors with different yet complementary skills.  When there wasn't off-camera acrimony or awkward on-camera blunders, the three actually did have good TV chemistry.  To be clear, I'm not saying they should've kept Don.  Just lamenting the show's potential, had things worked properly.

 

Firing Don and plucking Kaitlan off was a one-two punch to the show.  Then it never got the new set it was promised.  Then they decided to return to a stale two-anchor format, and plopped in Phil Mattingly who has a goofy sense of humor and a great political acumen but is still somewhat awkward at the anchor desk and plays too much "inside baseball" when asking questions during his political interviews, which works for a midday show but not for morning.  The morning warmth disappeared from the show and it started to feel like any other two-anchor show of CNN's prior days. 

 

Something else that's telling.  After deciding to move News Central up, they could have moved Poppy and Phil from the morning slot into the 10a-noon slot, either together or each with their own show.  Instead, they completely took them off the schedule, brought Acosta over from the weekend, and gave Pamela her own show.  Apparently someone decided Poppy and Phil have had enough.

 

Edited February 8 by mountainave

[FiveNews 327]

Poppy and Phil will be fine. I believe Poppy was going back to school for an advanced degree before she took the morning anchor gig. This may allow her time to re-allocate her focus elsewhere. Phil was serviceable as an anchor and only filled that position for a short time. He will be back in the correspondent ranks soon enough.

[Geoffrey 779]

1 hour ago, FiveNews said:

I believe Poppy was going back to school for an advanced degree before she took the morning anchor gig. This may allow her time to re-allocate her focus elsewhere.

 

Poppy took a few years off of the 9-11am Newsroom to get a degree from Yale Law, which she completed shortly before CNN This Morning started. She was thankful to Jeff Zucker for letting her do that, and she occasionally filled in on weekends and holidays while she wasn't in class.

[Jase 818]

6 hours ago, mountainave said:

Bit of a shame.  I may be in the minority, but I think the first incarnation of CNN This Morning with Poppy Harlow, Don Lemon, and Kaitlan Collins was a quality product that just needed time.  The three of them each brought something -- Poppy as a longtime anchor with a business acumen, Kaitlan as an incisive political questioner, and Don as an older guy attuned to social issues with an ability to humanize. Yes, Lemon stuck his foot in his mouth one too many times, but in the three of them you really had an ensemble of three smart anchors with different yet complementary skills.  When there wasn't off-camera acrimony or awkward on-camera blunders, the three actually did have good TV chemistry.  To be clear, I'm not saying they should've kept Don.  Just lamenting the show's potential, had things worked properly.

 

Firing Don and plucking Kaitlan off was a one-two punch to the show.  Then it never got the new set it was promised.  Then they decided to return to a stale two-anchor format, and plopped in Phil Mattingly who has a goofy sense of humor and a great political acumen but is still somewhat awkward at the anchor desk and plays too much "inside baseball" when asking questions during his political interviews, which works for a midday show but not for morning.  The morning warmth disappeared from the show and it started to feel like any other two-anchor show of CNN's prior days. 

 

Something else that's telling.  After deciding to move News Central up, they could have moved Poppy and Phil from the morning slot into the 10a-noon slot, either together or each with their own show.  Instead, they completely took them off the schedule, brought Acosta over from the weekend, and gave Pamela her own show.  Apparently someone decided Poppy and Phil have had enough.

 

No amount of time could have saved the first incarnation of CNN This Morning. Don, Poppy and Kaitlan were (are) polar opposites of each other and never truly seemed interested in making the show work nor supporting (uplifting) each other in any way from the beginning.

 

Of course building chemistry takes time, but everyone has to be willing to do the work and I never got that from them. It was a pain to watch.

 

 

 

 

 

[nickp 294]

Could CNN just admit they made a huge mistake & bring back Robin Meade
 

[MediaZone4K 1509]

5 hours ago, Jase said:

No amount of time could have saved the first incarnation of CNN This Morning. Don, Poppy and Kaitlan were (are) polar opposites of each other and never truly seemed interested in making the show work nor supporting (uplifting) each other in any way from the beginning.

Of course building chemistry takes time, but everyone has to be willing to do the work and I never got that from them. It was a pain to watch.

Yep!

12 hours ago, mountainave said:

Bit of a shame.  I may be in the minority, but I think the first incarnation of CNN This Morning with Poppy Harlow, Don Lemon, and Kaitlan Collins was a quality product that just needed time.  The three of them each brought something -- Poppy as a longtime anchor with a business acumen, Kaitlan as an incisive political questioner, and Don as an older guy attuned to social issues with an ability to humanize. Yes, Lemon stuck his foot in his mouth one too many times, but in the three of them you really had an ensemble of three smart anchors with different yet complementary skills.  When there wasn't off-camera acrimony or awkward on-camera blunders, the three actually did have good TV chemistry.  To be clear, I'm not saying they should've kept Don.  Just lamenting the show's potential, had things worked properly.

 

Firing Don and plucking Kaitlan off was a one-two punch to the show.  Then it never got the new set it was promised.  Then they decided to return to a stale two-anchor format, and plopped in Phil Mattingly who has a goofy sense of humor and a great political acumen but is still somewhat awkward at the anchor desk and plays too much "inside baseball" when asking questions during his political interviews, which works for a midday show but not for morning.  The morning warmth disappeared from the show and it started to feel like any other two-anchor show of CNN's prior days. 

 

Something else that's telling.  After deciding to move News Central up, they could have moved Poppy and Phil from the morning slot into the 10a-noon slot, either together or each with their own show.  Instead, they completely took them off the schedule, brought Acosta over from the weekend, and gave Pamela her own show.  Apparently someone decided Poppy and Phil have had enough.

 

I wasn't sorry to see Don go, he was one of many annoying cable pundits.  I just didn't like the circumstances under which it occurred.

[mountainave 530]

13 hours ago, Jase said:

No amount of time could have saved the first incarnation of CNN This Morning. Don, Poppy and Kaitlan were (are) polar opposites of each other and never truly seemed interested in making the show work nor supporting (uplifting) each other in any way from the beginning.

 

Of course building chemistry takes time, but everyone has to be willing to do the work and I never got that from them. It was a pain to watch.

 

Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos are quite different in personality, interests, demeanor, affect, etc and have been number 1 for years.  Gayle King and Charlie Rose were pretty dissimilar but helped CBSTM rise steadily.  You don't need people who are carbon copies of one another.  Your argument that the three on CNN never truly seemed interested in making the show work nor supporting each other is not a factual one. Poppy and Kaitlan were and are close friends; their chemistry has always been evident. Don may have been an issue but could have been replaced with someone else from inside or outside the network.

[nycnewsjunkie 1395]

On 2/8/2024 at 4:10 AM, Jase said:

No amount of time could have saved the first incarnation of CNN This Morning. Don, Poppy and Kaitlan were (are) polar opposites of each other and never truly seemed interested in making the show work nor supporting (uplifting) each other in any way from the beginning.

 

Of course building chemistry takes time, but everyone has to be willing to do the work and I never got that from them. It was a pain to watch.

I think this certainly applies to Don, but I don’t think it’s fair to apply this to Poppy and Kaitlan. The latter two seem to have had a good working relationship. Don shouldn’t have been put on that show to begin with; he was well “past his prime,” as he might put it.

 

IMO, the issue with CNN’s approach to things is not that “no amount of time could have saved” the show; it’s that they keep trying new things only to blow them up. If you keep doing that, you’ll have no audience to speak of. As you said, building chemistry takes time, and CNN This Morning was not given that time.

[mountainave 530]

Longtime political analyst John Avlon's last day at CNN was today.  Puck News is reporting he intends to run for Congress.

[Jase 818]

On 2/8/2024 at 4:23 PM, mountainave said:

 

Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos are quite different in personality, interests, demeanor, affect, etc and have been number 1 for years.  Gayle King and Charlie Rose were pretty dissimilar but helped CBSTM rise steadily.  You don't need people who are carbon copies of one another.  Your argument that the three on CNN never truly seemed interested in making the show work nor supporting each other is not a factual one. Poppy and Kaitlan were and are close friends; their chemistry has always been evident. Don may have been an issue but could have been replaced with someone else from inside or outside the network.

 

It's not about people being carbon copies, it's more about putting together individuals that have some level of respect toward each other or at the very least, a connection (whether it be sports, family, etc...) to build on. There was no debate that Robin and George and Gayle and Charlie had 'something.'

 

Just being colleagues and 'hoping for the best' isn't enough to make things work.

 

For example, if Don is the centerpiece, then you surround him with people he can relate with and respect. It's great Poppy and Kaitlan are friends, but this wasn't a 2-person show. Simply put, the three of them together just didn't make sense from the start and by their own accord, they said.. "the show immediately struggled, with the original trio of anchors — Harlow, Kaitlan Collins and Don Lemon — noticeably lacking on-air chemistry and reports of infighting." 

 

Had more thought (from top to bottom) been put into CNN This Morning, maybe things would have turned out differently....

Edited February 9 by Jase

[Spherix 9]

The best thing CNN could do is bring back Morning Express with Robin Meade and make it their morning show. Sure, it was originally on HLN, but it was incredibly successful - probably more so than a lot of the shows on CNN, and had in many occurrences rated much better than New Day. To this day I still cannot understand why it got the cut.

 

These latest changes are not going to pan out well for CNN.

[EastCoast 12]

25 minutes ago, Spherix said:

The best thing CNN could do is bring back Morning Express with Robin Meade and make it their morning show. Sure, it was originally on HLN, but it was incredibly successful - probably more so than a lot of the shows on CNN, and had in many occurrences rated much better than New Day. To this day I still cannot understand why it got the cut.

 

These latest changes are not going to pan out well for CNN.

I had a similar thought this morning that Morning Express would have been perfect for the 7-9/10 show on CNN Max and HLN. It was already an Atlanta based morning show and would have brought more consistency to Max over of the Walker/Whitfield/Acosta shared block.

 

The schedule changes aren’t that dramatic. In the early 2000s Daybreak ran 5-7 and American Morning ran 7-10. It’s only an hour later than the 4-6 and 6-9 schedule from the mid-late 2010s. While it feels weird to get rid of Early Start and have News Central at 7, I can see the logic. 5-7 is for the workers who are getting ready to be in the office by 8. 7-10 is for the late starters, families, and folks already at work.  You aren’t going to win the family crowd watching Today or GMA or win back the partisan politics crowd watching Morning Joe or F&F. That leaves you with doing just the news. The only thing I don’t like is that the News Central graphics are a bit cold for 7am.