What Does the Detonation of ‘New Day’ Mean For CNN and Its Top Stars?

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CNN just announced a major change to its programming: New Day, its flagship morning show for the last nine years, will be scrapped for a new program to be hosted by stars Don Lemon, Kaitlan Collins, and Poppy Harlow.

“This is not an incremental change,” CNN boss Chris Licht wrote in a note to staff obtained by Mediaite. “Our morning news program will debut with a new name, new set, and a totally new format.”

Indeed, it’s the biggest and boldest move made yet by CNN’s new boss, who inherited a network saddled with internal drama and lackluster ratings.

In his first few months on the job, Licht fired John Harwood and scrapped Sunday media affairs show Reliable Sources and its host, Brian Stelter. Aside from those moves, Licht has mostly implemented what you might call changes in vibe. He has limited the use of CNN’s breaking news banners, urged hosts to avoid using partisan language, and broadly encouraged journalists to be more reserved in their coverage.

The detonation of CNN’s morning show, which has fared particularly poorly in the ratings, marks the start of a new era for the network. As Licht noted to staff: “The next chapter of CNN is beginning to shape.”

It also raises plenty of questions about where CNN is headed next. Here are the key ones.

A Gap the Size of Don Lemon

Don Lemon’s sleep schedule is about to change drastically. The CNN veteran, who joined the network in 2006, has anchored at 10 p.m. since 2014. His show, recently renamed Don Lemon Tonight, occupied two full hours of CNN’s evening schedule. Now he’s moving 16 hours earlier, to the morning slot of 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

The question for Licht is what to do with 10 p.m. to midnight. Scratch that, the question for Licht is what to do with 9 p.m. to midnight, given he still hasn’t found a replacement for Chris Cuomo.

Licht has stressed that ratings are not a priority. His focus, passed down from overlord David Zaslav, is on reasserting CNN as a reputational asset for Warner Bros. Discovery.

That said, ratings do matter. When Lemon moves to mornings (the new show is expected to launch in October) CNN will have three hours of advertiser-coveted programming without a permanent host. The pressure is on Licht to fill that space.

A New Regime at the White House

In January 2021, days before the inauguration of President Joe Biden, CNN announced its White House team. At the top of the pyramid was a young reporter from Alabama named Kaitlan Collins.

Collins has had a pretty remarkable rise at CNN. Since making the leap from Daily Caller blogger to CNN reporter, Collins has risen up the ranks to the vaunted position of chief White House correspondent. In July, she was elected president of the White House Correspondents’ Association for 2024.

Her departure from the White House team (Licht said she will be moving from Washington D.C. to New York) leaves a vacuum. CNN has a number of options to replace her: Phil Mattingly currently serves as senior White House correspondent, while Arlette Saenz, Jeremy Diamond, MJ Lee, and Kate Bennett are also on the White House beat.

CNN has high hopes for Collins. She’s not the youngest host to ever helm a CNN morning show — that distinction goes to Kate Bolduan, who was named co-host of New Day alongside Chris Cuomo back in 2013 at just 29 — but in the few times Collins has guest-hosted a show, she’s proven to be as gifted an anchor as she is a chronicler of the Trump and Biden administrations.

A New Day For John and Brianna

The main casualties of Licht’s wrecking ball are John Berman and Brianna Keilar, the two hosts of New Day who are now without a show on CNN. The network promised in its announcement the pair would “assume new roles at the network later this year.”

Both are talented hosts who are well-liked at the network. Berman is the go-to substitute host for CNN star Anderson Cooper, and recently Keilar earned plaudits for her guest stint handling the Sunday show State of the Union.

There is one potential option for Keilar and Berman. With Poppy Harlow moving to the new morning show, there’s an open chair on CNN Newsroom, which she co-hosted from 9 to 11 a.m. with Jim Sciutto.

A Tall Task For Chris Licht

The biggest question is whether Chris Licht will be able to rescue CNN in the morning. New Day has long been a headache for the network. Since launching in 2013, it has gone through a series of hosts (Bolduan, Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, to name a few) and has always failed to achieve the success of rivals Morning Joe and Fox & Friends.

When Licht was hired to replace Jeff Zucker earlier this year, he reportedly told advisers his first priority was to revamp the morning show to give it a clearer identity and more conversational tone.

Licht has as good a chance of success as anyone. He was the founding executive producer of Morning Joe, a revolutionary morning show that would go on to become one of the most successful programs on MSNBC. After decamping from MSNBC to CBS News, he successfully reinvented CBS This Morning.

That said, about ten years ago Zucker was in the same boat. He launched New Day to much fanfare given his remarkable success as the wunderkind executive producer of the Today show at NBC.

A decade later, Zucker’s successor put New Day out of its misery. Will Licht have better luck?