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Thursday, March 1, 2012

Changes at CNN


CNN will have a new lineup for Newsroom beginning next week (all times ET):

Carol Costello: 9AM - 11AM
Kyra Phillips: 11AM - Noon
Suzanne Malveaux: Noon - 2 PM

Randi Kaye will anchor CNN Newsroom Weekend mornings from 6 a.m. to noon and also do investigative reporting for Anderson Cooper 360 weeknights.


On a cooperate level CNN has announced Lynn Brindell, a veteran media marketing executive, will join CNN Worldwide as senior vice president of marketing. Brindell will work across all CNN brands and businesses to lead off-channel and digital marketing efforts, as well as develop strategies and programs to drive brand strength, and audience growth and engagement on all platforms.
Brindell’s significant media marketing experience includes multi-platform brand work at The Weather Channel, Food Network and Lifetime Television. She has developed brand positioning, launched prime time series, directed off-channel and digital marketing strategies, overseen marketing initiatives for cable networks, and online ad sales and affiliate sales. She has also collaborated with national marketing partners at retail and in cause-related campaigns.

Brindell’s extensive media marketing experience includes launching a prime time series and an award-winning national environmental marketing platform for The Weather Channel; launching signature Iron Chef America and Next Food Network Star series for Food Network; and developing and managing all aspects of Television for Women branding for Lifetime Television.
Brindell earned her bachelor’s of arts degree in English, magna cum laude, from Bowdoin College, in Brunswick, Maine. She was the first woman in the college’s history to solely receive the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Award. She also studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York, New York. She has received numerous recognitions for creative excellence and achievement, including BDA, BPME/PROMAX, AWRT (now AWM), AWMS, AIGA, Telly, International Flame and New York Festivals.

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32 comments:

Anonymous said...

There you go again CNN. All CNN ever does is to
reshuffle hosts and not concentrate on content,
writing, story selection,communication, format,
presentation,productions,guests, conversation
that is intelligent, the pace of the show and flow.
This is exactly why Starting Point is a disaster,
CNN brings in Soledad and more talking heads
but leaves Christine Romans as the news anchor.
To the average viewers nothing has actually
changed. It is just more noise. What about the
fundamentals ? Most CNN shows have you
saying what ? With the exceptions of 360 &
TSR most CNN shows lack identity and if the
viewers can't identify with shows they don't
watch and turn the channel.

When Anderson is off, let Isha Sesay anchor
360, it is not like she is an inexperienced
anchor like Erin Burnett and Piers Morgan.
360 viewers have a comfort level with Isha.
She is very much a part of the show and
can't be the sub anchor . We have seen her
anchor breaking news for goodness sake
so why would CNN bring ins someone else
to anchor 360. What is she invisible ?

As far as I am concerned, CNN is wasting too
much time trying to make Erin Burnett and
Piers Morgan credible that they are losing
a once great network. CNN is not in good
hands and it shows.

Anonymous said...

CNN should have gone with Don Lemon at
9-11 AM. Carol Costello filled in for Kyra
Phillips when she was on maternity leave.
She is not a strong anchor. Most of the
time she just does Obama rants but that
is what it takes to be on CNN these days.
What a lack of imagination. Zero effect.
MSNBC here I come.

Anonymous said...

Anderson and Wolf are the only anchors I watch on a regular basis.
Carol Costello, Don Lemon and Christine Romans are all so boring. CNN needs to hire some new talent. Also I agree, Isha should fill in for Anderson.

Anonymous said...

Why on Earth did Kyra Phillips get an hour less? It should have been Suzanne. Seriously CNN? That's SO annoying!

Anonymous said...

CNN management is high on Erin Burnett. That
is why you will never see Isha Sesay as the backup
for 360. They can't admit they messed up with Out
Front. I tried to watch Erin Burnett last night and
ended up going to the Weather Channel for the
breaking news on the tornadoes. Ali Velshi,
Carol Costello & Christine Romans have already
been rejected by CNN viewers. It won't work.

Anonymous said...

I was hoping Randi Kaye would have her own program and be too busy for 360. I'm not a fan. I'd rather see Isha reporting more on the show than Randi.

Anonymous said...

CNN needs to hire Aisha Tyler and George
Strombo now so they can be on CNN by
May. CNN is about to go down.

TVN has the ratings for Wednesday and it
is bad news for CNN. Erin Burnett can't be
the lead in for 360. Her show had just
361,000 viewers at 7 and only 89,000 in
the demo CNN can't wait on this. Drop
Out Front ASAP. Let Isha Sesay anchor
for 2 months with a temporary show.
Get rid of Out Front and come up with a
different show title.

Anonymous said...

Isn't Aisha Tyler a comedian? Why would they hire her? And what are the qualifications for Strombo? I have never heard of him.

Anonymous said...

Suzanne Malveaux wins her 2 hours for CNN..
CNN is trying to give a bump to Wolf blitzer.
Right now Chuck Todd beats CNN at 9 AM,
That will continue. Did you guys really think
Erin Burnett would work. CNN hired someone
who got lower ratings than CNN.

Anonymous said...

WOW! The comments posted above are so "spot on" it is scary. If this is the trend of comments, maybe there is some hope that CNN management will notice........then again....doubtful.

Carol Costello...goodness. In addition to being an Obama shill, she has such a snarky attitude that it is a real turnoff. Just ask Chad Myers if you need affirmation. Her on-camera presence is that of an unhappy person.

Soledad......ditto. Snarky, supercilious, and far shallower than she would ever admit. This is the second strike for her. Do we have to endure another one down the road? I refuse to watch her program or anything with her involvement.

Erin was good at CNBC but she just doesn't have the anchor "thing" down yet. Tie her hands. Make her sit up straight. Speak more slowly.......Glide Erin.....more fluid questioning rather than hyper.

The Kyra reduction is mystifying. One of the best at CNN, yet she gets only an hour. Sad. Reminds me of how they dismissed Heidi Collins.

Piers......oh my. Enough said already. He is little more than a reincarnation of Robin Leach and Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

Someone send CNN management a lifeline so we can get our network back on track.

Anonymous said...

So is Jon Stewart and he can talk about the news
and interview newsmakers. Aisha is currently on
The Talk. She is a Dartmouth grad and talks on
current affairs daily on the CBS show,

Visit CBC to watch an episode of Strombo.
There has never been a better fit for CNN.
CNN needs some fresh faces. Both are very
creative and smart.

Phebe said...

Kyra is one of my favorites too and I can only hope that her reduction in hours was her choice so she could enjoy those adorable twins. Kids grow up so quickly and work can wait.

Anonymous said...

I like Suzanne Malveaux but she is too boring to have her own two hour Newsroom block. It's just her reading a telepromter. She was SO MUCH BETTER as a Situation Room fill in for Wolf Blitzer when he was absent. It suited her more, especially being a White House correspondent.

Anonymous said...

@11:21PM:
I totally agree. I'm also very disappointed in Soledad O'Brien. I watched her show the other morning and it's all talk! If I want to see that, I will watch The View. Honestly and Zoraida Sambolin is SO BORING! Not sure why there are two Early Start anchors? CNN should just cancel Early Start and Starting Point and have Soledad anchor in the same way they do for NewsRoom. Also get rid of John King, Erin Burnett, and move Piers Morgan to the weekends. His show seems like it is being renamed The Piers Morgan Interview.

Anonymous said...

Rachel Maddow is starting to pull away from
Piers Morgan. Eventually she will catch up to
Hannity or Greta. MSNBC is not even thinking
about CNN. MSNBC is setting it;s sights on FOX.
O'Reilly is trending down and that means FOX
won't get that big lead buildup.CNN is irrelevant.
CNN has to pull the plug on John King, Erin Burnett
and Piers Morgan. The problem is that CNN has
a terrible track record creating shows. Early Start,
Starting Point and Out Front are the latest misses.
A management shakeup has to be coming.

Anonymous said...

I read in comments above that Burnett is an inexperienced anchor. Quite the contrary, she is quite experienced from CNBC. its not that she is inexperienced, its that she is bad at it. That's an important distinction. I thought she was a bit overrated at CNBC but she had potential. She really jumped in the deep end at CNN and as a result really exposed some fundamental flaws. CNBC has a small audience with a limited demographic - she was popular there for reasons that don't always translate to success at a prestigious international news channel like CNN. Inexperience can be fixed - look at how MSNBC has done a good job of developing talent that didn't have much TV experience. Bad is something you can't fix. Plus, when is CNN going to realize their bigger problem is CONTENT and not just personalities. People overlook flaws in presenters when they are engaged with the content.

Anonymous said...

CNN management is not too bright. There is no
way in the world they would hire Aisha Tyler or
George Stroumboulopoulos.CNN is falling behind
because they are not evolving. Anyone who thinks
pundits and ideological arguments will work in the
21st century is clueless. CNN needs a leader who
has a vision for the future of a news network.
Someone who will truly transform cable news.

Strombo and Aisha are smart, innovative and
creative. She could give CNN a 2 hour jump on
Rachel. She can do the news like Jon Stewart
but have a serious discussion when necessary.
Perform the musical segments like Jimmy
Fallon. Strombo has a live news show with a
studio audience.. There are people who watch
Rachel Maddow just to see what she will do
on her show. CNN needs someone who can
challenge Rachel and offer a competitive
alternative.

All networks use clips of Stewart, Colbert,
Kimmel and Fallon. What if those networks
started running clips of Strombo & Aisha
on CNN because their material is that good.

Anonymous said...

There is a rumor about CNN and Andrew
Breitbart make the rounds. If CNN was
seriously considering putting him on the
payroll the network is rewarding someone
with questionable ethics. Hello, CNN does
the Shirley Sherrod story ring a bell. Why
would CNN have been considering this ?
That is all the proof you need that CNN is
not longer committed to journalism.TEANN.

Anonymous said...

Stop bashing Suzanne Malveaux. She does
a good job. None of the New Room shows
should be 2 hours. CNN needs to have only
1 show called News Room. All of the anchors
just read scripts for the News Room. It is not
like it is unique to Suzanne Malveaux.

Anonymous said...

Yes, CNN should hire the George Strombo guy.
Just finished watching the Brooke Gladstone
interview on her book The Influencing Machine.
Watch the full segment on the media and how
we consume media. Also watched the Richard
Harris interview on The Fear Index. Amazing
connection between physicists and Wall Street.
This is good TV. CNN really could use this show.

Anonymous said...

CNN has got to stop letting Ari Fleischer come on
just to deflect attention away from a particular
topic. The discussion about Rush Limbaugh on 360
was absolutely ridiculous.. This has nothing to do
with the Huffington Post. So why was this allowed
to happen on 360. Plus Mary Matlin defended it
as satire. Are these people insane. ?That is why
CNN's political coverage is horrible. Secondly,
why did 360 have 2 Republicans and 1 Democrat.
Why stack the deck ? So CNN has no problem with
the Limbaugh comments ? CNN needs to get real.
There is a huge backlash developing about
Limbaugh. CNN is so disconnected and out of
touch. See how many advertisers abandon Rush
Limbaugh. That was irresponsible journalism.
CNN should have had a serious conversation on
the matter not an absolutely ridiculous segment.
That is also why CNN will always have a women's
problem. That was offensive how 360 handled
the conversation. Respect viewers CNN.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I saw that on 360 as well. Can't believe it. Exact same situatuon on OutFront - she had three guys to talk about Rush's slut comment and 2 were republicans. Honestly, Erin seemed entirely put out with the whole conversation. All she cared was that Rushbo handed an issue to the democrats on a silver platter. Oh, and of course she had to go on about how pwerful Rush is in Republican circles. By the way, it is also well known that Rush has a thing for Burnett because he always came to her defense when she caught heat for her public defense of the big banks and their big bonuses at the height of TARP. Apparently, Rush thought she was the only one defending capitalism and free enterprise. Erin didn't seem to interested in criticizing Rush's comments. Sandra Fluke was actually on Hardball yesterday and that was much more interesting than listening to Jon Avlon. As for Breitbart, I agree with comments above - CNN is out of their mind to even consider putting him on CNN as a host or anchor. Have they lost their mind??? No wonder CNN is sinking in the ratings. Very sad.

Anonymous said...

Fox:
Day: Megyn Kelly
Prime: Greta Van Susteren
Weekend: Harris Faulkner

MSNBC:
Day: Tamron Hall
Prime: Rachel Maddox
Weekend: Melissa Harris-Perry

CNN
Day: Brooke Baldwin
Prime: Erin Burnett
Weekend: Fredricka Whitfield

And they wonder why they are in last place in ratings. The anchors at CNN seriously can not compete with the ladies from Fox and MSNBC. Nothing is wrong with hiring a pretty face, but that pretty face needs to have some kind of journalistic talent or at least be an effective commentator or have the ability to provide competent analysis. That is where CNN fails on every level.

Anonymous said...

The comments here show why CNN is all over the map. Cause everyone here is too! You all are floating competing ideas. One person says each show should have it's own identity (I agree) while another says that Soledad should just anchor like newsroom (boring!). I think both Early Start and Starting Point are great and better then what they replaced. Soledad's show is designed to compete with Morning Joe (clearly) and in those parameters she does a good job (way too obsessed with what's on everyone's iPod though!). I do agree about the snarky tone of Carol Costello though. It is a turn off and I don't enjoy watching 2 minutes of her much less 2 hours. Not sure what they were thinking here. Krya is the best anchor on their daytime lineup. Not sure why she only has an hour now. Isha isn't used as a 360 anchor most likely because of her accent. A little is fine, but most Americans aren't going to connect with an hour of it. As for the notion that they can just pull in these people from other networks, well there are these things called contracts that have to be honored. Who's to say those people would even be interested in moving?

Anonymous said...

Good grief, why did Kyra Phillips time get cut!!!!??? Get RID OF Suzanne Malveaux - fire her, break her contract/pay her off if necessary to get her off CNN; she's a total waste!

Anonymous said...

Excellent points - it is rather obvious why CNN is third. My only comment is that there is something kinda wrong with hiring a pretty face. If you're hiring for SI swimsuit model, by all means, she better be hot. But for CNN anchor, she darn well better be smart and competent - attractiveness is irrelevant. Sorry, but if that standard applies to men (which it obviously does) it should be equally applied to women. That pretty face may catch the attention of some men, but women can tell very quickly if she is dumb as a stump.

Anonymous said...

The thing is, women anchors dominate the day line-up (hence the pretty face point). It's apparent Fox goes for the pretty face, but their pretty faces can certainly anchor a show and have shown they have the moxy to handle an interview.
The pretty faces CNN hires, the majority of them only possess minimal skills.

And why wouldn't the comments be all over the place? The people commenting on this board are from all over the country. We have different ideas and different thoughts. It's not our responsibility to think similiar. It would be smart of CNN to read all of these various comments and take some into consideration. Isn't that what these boards are for?

Anonymous said...

Harris Faulkner is a perfect example of why CNN is failing and Fox News is a success.
I remember Harris Faulkner doing little bits from Atlanta, bulletins, and updates, wearing a lot of makeup, very pretty and very competent.
Roger Ailes took notice and made her a regular anchor.
This man is smart, and knows how to market his talent.
CNN has no one at the helm like Roger Ailes to recognize who can do what, nor do they look for it.
If they were in retail, they'd be in Chapter 11 by now.
And for the last time, it isn't only the pundits that make CNN bad, it's EVERYTHING, from poor leadership to poor content to anchors who are over paid, and yes, that includes Anderson Cooper.

Anonymous said...

The general complaint is that CNN has no focus and just keeps throwing things at the wall to make things stick. But that is kind of a silly thing to complain about when the suggestions here consist of the same grasp at straws. That was my point when I said that people were all over the map here. How does anyone expect CNN to satisfy all these different points of view?

That being siad, I still would like to know what their thinking was with giving Carol two hours though. People didn't like her in the morning, even the wee hours of the morning wasn't good enough, so why would she fare well in this new timeslot? It makes no sense.

PJL said...

Heidi was the bomb! Lost a lot of respect for cnn management when they didn't resign her!

Anonymous said...

Why was Kyra Phillip's spot given to Carol Costello? Carol is trying but just does not have the right stuff for an anchor. She is too casual and does not have a good grasp of the subject matter. What happened here?

LWR

Anonymous said...

I found Carol Costello to be very snarky today (10/23/12). She really is not very professional.