CNN Reportedly ‘Blowing Up’ Morning Show New Day Next

After some big-name dismissals at CNN, Chris Licht is reportedly setting his sights on the network’s long-struggling morning show New Day, according to The Daily Beast’s Confider newsletter.

The three-hour program is hosted by John Berman and Brianna Keilar.

Speculation about the fate of CNN hosts and programs has swirled anew after last week’s shakeup.

Confider reported CNN’s dismissal of Reliable Sources host Brian Stelter was supposed to be announced on Friday, but word of it leaked to the press:

The news of Stelter’s axing was actually supposed to be announced Friday with a carefully managed story placed with NPR, sources told Confider, but the news leaked early, including—perhaps curiously—to two conservative outlets, the Daily Mail and the Tucker Carlson-founded Daily Caller, which were both tipped off on Thursday morning.

The move prompted discussion on whether other big names such as Jim Acosta and Don Lemon could be next, but Confider cited sources indicating Licht’s next target is actually New Day and that Acosta and Lemon are “safe for now.”

“Instead, these insiders said, Licht will next turn his attention to ‘blowing up’ CNN’s ratings-challenged morning show New Day, having brought on his old buddy Ryan Kadro from CBS to help rework it,” Confider reported. “Nevertheless, staffers fear further cutbacks and more layoffs.”

The newsletter also said CNN employees “cannot shake the feeling” that Stelter was let go “to appease John Malone, a right-leaning billionaire, close friend of the Murdoch family, and key Warner Bros. Discovery board member who has made it well-known that he would like CNN to be more ‘centrist’—whatever that means.”

Confider cited current and former CNN employees who said Licht is aiming to make the network “more vanilla.”

The newsletter said CNN declined to comment for its story.