CNN spent years trying to compete in the cutthroat realm of chatty morning TV, cycling through formats in the hopes of catching up to breakfast-time staples like “Morning Joe” and “Good Morning America.”That experiment never quite caught on with viewers — and now it is coming to an end.
In his first significant programming move since joining the network in the fall, Mark Thompson, CNN’s chairman, announced on Monday that the channel would exit the morning chat-show format by the end of the month.
Instead, its morning lineup will focus on straight news coverage, the kind of bread-and-butter reporting that Mr. Thompson, a former head of The BBC and The New York Times, has championed.
The co-anchors of “CNN This Morning,” Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly, are in discussions about new roles at the network.
“I’m very aware that today’s announcement means a great deal of uncertainty for many valued colleagues,” Mr. Thompson wrote in a memo to employees, adding that “change and uncertainty are inevitable in an industry undergoing a revolution.”
Persons:
Joe ”, Mark Thompson, Thompson, Poppy Harlow, Phil Mattingly, ” Mr, ”
Organizations:
CNN, America, BBC, The New York Times