CNN unveils major overhaul of presenter cast as ratings plummet
CNN – which continues to underperform in ratings – has announced sweeping changes to its morning and evening programming that will see new faces in key slots and launch new weekend shows for veteran presenters Chris Wallace and Christiane Amanpour.
Under new leadership, CNN has appointed Abby Phillip, a senior correspondent and host of Inside Politics Sunday, to the station’s weekday 10pm slot.
Laura Coates, anchor and chief legal analyst at CNN, will take over the station’s 11 p.m.
After the departure of CNN CEO Chris Licht, whose bumpy tenure failed to bring stability after Jeff Zucker was fired in 2022 for failing to disclose his relationship with a colleague, the network’s line-up saw flux.
Phillip and Coates are joined by Kaitlan Collins, who continues to serve as presenter at 9pm.
Collins had been moved to 9 p.m. under former CEO Chris Licht from “CBS This Morning,” the show he relaunched.
Collins co-hosted the morning show with Poppy Harlow and Don Lemon.
A series of missteps by Lemon, which included the host denouncing Collins off-camera, ended with him being fired from the network.
In the morning, Chief White House Correspondent Phil Mattingly will join Harlow as co-host of “CNN This Morning,” while Kasie Hunt will host “Early Start.”
Chief correspondent Pamela Brown will host a new daytime show in the country’s capital.
On the weekends, Victor Blackwell, Christiane Amanpour, Manu Raju and Chris Wallace will all be hosting new shows, with Blackwell being based in Atlanta and Raju taking over Sunday’s show Inside Politics while continuing to cover Capitol Hill.
Wallace will host a panel show in addition to his weekly interview program, while Amanpour will contribute her global coverage to CNN’s weekend program.
As part of the reorganization, Alisyn Camerota will take on a new long-term reporting role, primarily for the Sunday series The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper.
CNN said it will continue the Gayle King-Charles Barkley show “King Charles,” which is an idea of light.
This highly anticipated show will premiere as a limited series in the 9 p.m. slot later in the fall.
“By expanding the breadth and depth of our programming offerings across multiple segments of the day, we are strengthening our reporting quality across programming, improving our ability to tell great stories across platforms, and cementing CNN’s position as the most trusted name in the news industry,” said CNN’s global leadership team, consisting of Amy Entelis, David Leavy, Virginia Moseley and Eric Sherling, in a joint statement.
