CNN: The Continuing Soap Opera

[anchorman 94]

7 hours ago, EastCoast said:

Laura Coates’ Sirius XM show recently switched from 3-6pm ET to 7-9am ET. I think this might be a factor into why we haven’t seen Laura on air as much. 7-9am and 11pm-midnight would be a very long day, 

 

Makes sense. I have a feeling she was told by CNN that she was not the long term answer in primetime, which I would agree with. She will be much better utilized as an analyst on News Central programming moving forward, if that indeed is the plan.

[Geoffrey 856]

CNN's 1-4pm ET version of CNN News Central debuted today. The open is updated to include DC landmarks and it seems Wolf has lost his studio? (The Situation Room used a flash cam again today. I was wondering if they'd go back to using the studio once rehearsals were done.)

 

Interested to see what they do on election/primary days when they are setting up the studio and rehearsing for the evening election coverage.

[Spring Rubber 700]

I like the look of the wider shots. The shots that get a little tighter, like the "Sweet 16" and the "Suspected Chinese Agents Arrested" examples above, tend to make it look somewhat like a virtual set. But hey, I get it... you gotta do what you can with the space that you have.

 

Still no sign of overall new network graphics, I see.

[Geoffrey 856]

2 minutes ago, Spring Rubber said:

I like the look of the wider shots. The shots that get a little tighter, like the "Sweet 16" and the "Suspected Chinese Agents Arrested" examples above, tend to make it look somewhat like a virtual set. But hey, I get it... you gotta do what you can with the space that you have.

 

I'm not sure if you're suggesting that CNN is using a virtual set, but they are not. The only "virtual" part is that they're using graphics on the video wall to give the appearance of multiple smaller monitors and depth.

[jrogo 196]

Update on Laura Coates, 

CNN reportedly told Laura they wouldn’t staff the 11PM hour from D.C. due to higher costs, as a result Laura would have to chose between moving to NYC or the hosting gig. I don’t blame her for not wanting to move, sounds like both parties could’ve been more transparent about what was going on/intentions.
 

Instead “CNN is concentrating its efforts on setting permanent plans for the 9 and 10 p.m. hours”. 

 

Sounds to me like a great opportunity for CNN International broadcasts of Newsroom at 11PM, and if they were smart they’d extent that to 1AM to compete with Trace Gallagher’s midnight show on Fox. 

More here: https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/laura-coates-planned-11-pm-show-unlikely-to-go-forward-at-cnn/528547/

[Action Newsroom 1263]

CNN's airing of Who's Talking to Chris Wallace? is moving to Fridays at 10pm for its third season, starting April 28th. It previously aired on Sundays at 7pm.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Action Newsroom

[Jman7885 64]

The TV page on CNN.com needs to be updated. Not only does it still have links to old shows like New Day, Right Now, NewsRoom, At This Hour and Don Lemon Tonight, there’s still no page for CNN This Morning and it has Ana Cabrera still referenced as an anchor! 

[nathannah 2402]

1 hour ago, Action Newsroom said:

CNN's airing of Who's Talking to Chris Wallace? is moving to Fridays at 10pm for its third season, starting April 28th. It previously aired on Sundays at 7pm.

Friday at 10 is the official CNN Death Slot (it's where Rachel Nicols was burned off when CNN decided to stop covering sports), so...not a very good sign.

[Geoffrey 856]

4 minutes ago, mrschimpf said:

Friday at 10 is the official CNN Death Slot (it's where Rachel Nicols was burned off when CNN decided to stop covering sports), so...not a very good sign.

 

Not necessarily. CNN is trying new things on Friday with the Bill Maher "Overtime" and now Chris Wallace. Not sure it'll be successful but I think they want it to be.

[mountainave 597]

King Charles with Gayle King and Charles Barkley coming to CNN Wednesday nights this fall. 
 

 

[Newsjunkie24 506]

2 hours ago, mountainave said:

King Charles with Gayle King and Charles Barkley coming to CNN Wednesday nights this fall. 
 

 

 

Interesting duo, although of course this isn't the first time Gayle's been paired up with an ex-athlete with Nate Burleson as one of her CBS Mornings co-hosts, so it might work here as well.  

[Georgie56 3293]

If today’s news out of FNC wasn’t enough:  

 

 

[Georgie56 3293]

Dana Bash replacing John King on Inside Politics. 
 

 

[Geoffrey 856]

Very interesting move! Inside Politics might be my favorite CNN broadcast because it features a diverse group of reporters sharing their reporting and analyzing the news. There are no interviews with partisan newsmakers (which definitely are important to do as well, but they can often be so predictable and the person being interviewed is only interested in promoting one side) or strategists. No raised voices or arguing. Just smart discussions with people who know what they're talking about.

 

Of course Dana and John are divorced and have a son together. For a while after they split up, they were never on the screen at the same time, but are clearly doing much better and now even sometimes sit next to each other on the set. I will miss John's calm and sober anchoring but Dana is an excellent replacement and I am excited for her.

Edited April 28, 2023 by Geoffrey

[Geoffrey 856]

New CNN graphics are expected in June. The article is paywalled but here's the beginning of it: https://www.businessinsider.com/cnn-chris-licht-brand-refresh-ad-campaign-warner-bros-discovery-2023-5?utmSource=twitter&utmContent=referral&utmTerm=topbar&referrer=twitter

 

Elegant. Hmm.

[Jase 1042]

1 hour ago, Geoffrey said:

New CNN graphics are expected in June. The article is paywalled but here's the beginning of it: https://www.businessinsider.com/cnn-chris-licht-brand-refresh-ad-campaign-warner-bros-discovery-2023-5?utmSource=twitter&utmContent=referral&utmTerm=topbar&referrer=twitter

 

Elegant. Hmm.

 

A couple of additional points (from the article)....

 

"The extensive rebranding effort comes as part of a broader strategic pivot for the network previously known for letting its anchors sound off about politics under former CNN President Jeff Zucker. Licht's mission is focused on offering viewers a more centrist perspective over the long term as the network heads into the 2024 election cycle — and avoiding getting pulled into the outrage machine."

 

"Licht has asked producers to dial down the use of the descriptor "breaking news" because it is so overused it has lost its meaning, according to a memo obtained by Axios. He also discouraged them from referring to election denial as "the big lie" — preferring "Trump election lie" or "election lies" — because it was a phrase used by the Democratic Party, according to Mediaite."

 

'Zaslav has given Licht time to find his footing without the pressure of ratings scrutiny.'

 

 

I will say I like were they're going with News Central and their attempt to contain 'opinion' to certain programs. Also, what they plan to do with the L3s sounds intriguing.

 

 

 

Edited May 3, 2023 by jase

[NBC 5 Chicago 190]

Laura Coats has been named Chief Legal Analyst. 

[mountainave 597]

18 hours ago, NBC 5 Chicago said:

Laura Coats has been named Chief Legal Analyst. 

I happen to think Elie Honig, the other senior analyst, is a better legal communicator, but she's equally qualified and this was probably her consolation for being officially kicked off of the 10pm broadcast.

 

Tangentially related... Jeffrey Toobin appeared on several CNN shows on Friday as a guest promoting his latest book.  Believe this was his first appearance on CNN since he was fired.

Edited May 6, 2023 by mountainave

[Georgie56 3293]

Looks like Licht is giving Kaitlan Collins 9pm.

 

 

[FiveNews 371]

Damn! Time to blow up CNN This Morning.

[mightynine 290]

Wonder if the fact Trump walked all over her in the Town Hall will give anyone second thoughts. 
 

Then again, she got her start at the Daily Caller, so maybe she had no intention of putting up much of a fight. 

[Geoffrey 856]

37 minutes ago, mightynine said:

Wonder if the fact Trump walked all over her in the Town Hall will give anyone second thoughts. 
 

Then again, she got her start at the Daily Caller, so maybe she had no intention of putting up much of a fight. 

 

I thought Kaitlan did an excellent job maintaining her composure while fact-checking lies in real time and asking important follow-ups. It was a tough assignment and I feel gross for having watched it, but she probably told some Republicans watching it some facts that they had never before even heard.

 

And yes, she was the White House reporter for The Daily Caller, but if you watch her, you know she has always been tough and fair on the former guy. She was fresh out of college and got a job there. Don't hold it against her. Look at her work. She's excellent. (Yes, I am a fan.)

Edited May 11, 2023 by Geoffrey

[MorningNews 1437]

CNN deserves to continue failing miserably. They've been on this re-identification thing for 10+ years now and not once have they considered going back to what made them a household name.

[Glimmer 281]

4 hours ago, Georgie56 said:

Looks like Licht is giving Kaitlan Collins 9pm.

 

 

If tonight was a test of how she’d work at 9pm, she failed massively.

[nycnewsjunkie 1439]

40 minutes ago, MorningNews said:

CNN deserves to continue failing miserably. They've been on this re-identification thing for 10+ years now and not once have they considered going back to what made them a household name.

As much as I would love for CNN to “go back to what made them a household name,” I know in my gut that people wouldn’t watch it. American cable news viewers love outrage/conflict programming that’s hyper-focused on US politics. A shift to the center barely scratches the surface of what they need to do for someone like me to watch them. Tonight’s town hall was just another example of conflict television. 
 

There are YouTube channels (like TLDR News) that, while flawed and still growing, offer more sober and intelligent coverage of the news than anything I’ve seen on CNN, Fox, MSNBC, etc. IMO, cable news as a whole deserves to fail miserably, and considering that younger viewers generally don’t watch it, there’s hope that it will.

 

Side note: The fact that the audience was basically full of Trump supporters made this whole thing a near farce. If you ask me, the audience of a town hall should be chocked full of people who are either undecided or solidly against the candidate. If the people aren’t going to scrutinize politicians, then what’s the point of a town hall anyway?

Edited May 11, 2023 by nycnewsjunkie