CNN’s New Morning Show Launches With Emphasis On Conversation And Chemistry; Don Lemon Pushes Back On ‘Both Sides’ Responses To Pelosi Attack
deadline.comCNN’s new morning show CNN This Morning launched on Tuesday with a news heavy three-hours that nevertheless played up an essential element of rival shows: Conversation and chemistry. “I probably got two hours sleep,” Don Lemon, formerly part of the network’s nighttime lineup said in the opener, flanked by his co-hosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, as they each quipped about their new gigs at the network.
On a comforting, blond wood set and behind a acrylic desk, with the requisite branded coffee cups at the ready, the three hosts chatted for a bit about Halloween but appeared mindful of striking the right balance of small talk and seriousness, as they led with a report about Iranian plans to ship ballistic missiles to Russia as it wages its war in Ukraine.
Revitalizing CNN’s morning hours is a signature goal of CNN Worldwide chairman and CEO Chris Licht, who earlier in his career helped launch MSNBC’s Morning Joe and, after that, CBS’s morning show, distinguishing the shows from mainstays Today and Good Morning America with a heavier emphasis on newsier conversations and hosts’ joint interviews with guests.
Licht also tapped Ryan Kadro, who succeeded him as executive producer of the CBS show, to serve in a top content role that included remaking CNN mornings.
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