Ratings-challenged CNN has made another major change to its network during a series of changes that have seen some of the network’s top talents gone.
In the struggling network’s most recent change, far-left propagandist Don Lemon is being moved from his solo primetime show, “Don Lemon Tonight”, to co-host a newly created morning show, Chris Licht, CNN Worldwide Chairman and CEO, announced.
Lemon is known for his left-wing rants and verbal attacks on President Trump.
Lemon faced scrutiny in December 2021 when Jussie Smollett testified that Lemon sent him a text message warning him that police did not believe his claim that he was a victim of a racist attack. Jussie Smollett was later convicted of staging a hate crime and lying to police.
Last year Lemon was accused of a sexual assault that took place in a New York bar a few years ago.
From Licht’s announcement:
NEW YORK, NY – September 15, 2022 – CNN Worldwide Chairman and CEO Chris Licht announced today co-anchors for the network’s reimagined morning show, his first major programming move since taking the helm of CNN in May. Anchored by Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, the new morning news program will debut later this year with a fresh name, format and set.
“There is no stronger combination of talent than Don, Poppy and Kaitlan to deliver on our promise of a game-changing morning news program,” said Licht. “They are each uniquely intelligent, reliable and compelling; together they have a rare and palpable chemistry. Combined with CNN’s resources and global newsgathering capabilities, we will offer a smart, bold and refreshing way to start the day.”
Lemon will join Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow in the new morning show that is replacing “New Day”, currently hosted by John Berman and Brianna Keilar.
John Berman and Brianna Keilar will shift to other roles at CNN later in the year, according to a report by the Wrap.
Don Lemon will lose his primetime CNN show on weeknights to co-anchor the network’s reimagined morning show with Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, the network announced Thursday.
The new morning show will debut later in the year with a new name, format and set — and signals the end of “Don Lemon Tonight” after an eight-year run. CNN did not announce any plans for how it will fill Lemon’s primetime slot, which has long lagged behind Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” in the ratings.
John Berman and Brianna Keilar, who currently anchor the network’s ratings-challenged “New Day,” will shift to other roles at CNN later in the year.
CNN CEO Chris Licht, who had previously signaled that he planned to shake up the network’s morning programming, praised his newly named team. “There is no stronger combination of talent than Don, Poppy and Kaitlan to deliver on our promise of a game-changing morning news program,” he said in a statement.
The move comes after new corporate overlord Warner Bros. Discovery pledged to shift CNN away from opinion-based shows to more centrist reporting of the news.
Last month, the network ousted Brian Stelter, the outspoken host of the now-canceled “Reliable Sources.”
Early this month, liberal CNN White House Correspondent, John Harwood, announced that he was leaving the network.
