CNN Shakes Up TV Lineup With New Duties for Jake Tapper, Kasie Hunt, Wolf Blitzer, Audie Cornish, Rahel Solomon

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CNN is reorganizing its television programming once more, given the challenges of decreasing viewership and the necessity to reduce expenses as more people switch to online streaming services. This adjustment comes amidst backing from Warner Bros. Discovery.

Audie Cornish, previously with NPR, is set to host “CNN This Morning” at 6 am starting Thursday. Meanwhile, Rahel Solomon will be in charge of a new morning segment titled “5 Things” which airs at 5 am. Jake Tapper’s late-day show is being expanded to a two-hour block between 5 pm and 7 pm, preparing viewers for the evening lineup, and Kasie Hunt will transition from her morning role to host “The Arena” at 4 pm.

Wolf Blitzer is stepping down from his long-held position in the evening news slot, instead teaming up with Pamela Brown at 10 a.m. It remains unclear what new responsibilities CNN has planned for Jim Acosta, the assertive anchor who has made a name for himself as a White House correspondent and on-air through his direct questioning style.

The changes are slated to go into effect in March.

As a devoted viewer, I’ve noticed some significant changes unraveled recently, starting with a memo from Eric Sherling, CNN’s executive vice president of programming. These alterations come at a time when our beloved network has been grappling with declining ratings under Warner Bros. Discovery for quite some months now. Unfortunately, the fresh ideas and on-air personnel adjustments haven’t yielded the desired results, leading to the departures of several well-known faces from our screen.

As a movie reviewer, I’d put it like this:

“In the grand scheme of things, this production shift is bound to stir up some behind-the-scenes drama. According to a recent memo from the big boss, Sherling, many jobs are on the line as we bid farewell to our current locations in Atlanta and Washington D.C., and welcome new cities into our roster.

During the daylight hours, you’ll notice a hustle and bustle of change in Atlanta and Washington as staff adapt to accommodate our fresh lineup. But as the sun sets, it’s not just the primetime shows that are changing – it’s our entire production process.

Sherling himself hinted at this transformation, stating that most New York-based teams will stay put at Hudson Yards, but a significant number of control room positions, both operational and editorial, will be shifting to Atlanta and Washington to streamline our operations and cut costs.

More to come…

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2025-01-23 20:17