CNN continues to make significant modifications to its programming and talent as the legacy cable news network struggles to attract viewers.
This week, Insider reports that a longtime host was “stunned” to discover that she was being fired. According to the allegation, the 11 p.m. ET host of “CNN Tonight,” attorney Laura Coates, has been fired.
“The report by Insider’s Claire Atkinson is behind a paywall, but the writer tweeted that the move was intended to cut costs for the struggling network,” The Western Journal noted, citing the report.
In addition, she wrote that “insiders” were concerned about Coates’ gender or ethnicity, or possibly both, given that she is a black woman.
NEW: CNN is axing Laura Coates' 11 p.m. anchor slot to save on costs, according to sources, and insiders are concerned about on-air representation https://t.co/3fUd1YzQXI via @businessinsider
— Claire Atkinson 🏴 (@claireatki) April 18, 2023
“Laura Coates was announced as CNN’s 11 p.m. anchor in January but has not hosted the hour solo since February, the blurb of the article that appeared in her tweet said. “She’s said to be ‘stunned.’”
TVNewser took up the story as well.
“A CNN senior legal analyst and Sirius XM host based out of Washington D.C., Coates was told that CNN could not staff a separate hour at this time, and that the network is focusing on Alisyn Camerota’s New York-based show, which starts at 10 p.m., for the time being,” the outlet reported.
According to a source familiar with the situation who spoke with TVNewser, the programming block from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. is still provisional, and Camerota is currently hosting both hours. According to the source, CNN is presently developing permanent plans for the 9 and 10 p.m. time slots. The source added, however, that Laura Coates remains in the rotation for other hosting opportunities.
TVNewser noted additionally:
The absence of Coates at 11 p.m. reignites the discussion regarding the diversity of CNN’s primetime programming.
Don Lemon, who formerly anchored the 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. hours on CNN, was moved to mornings last autumn, allowing Camerota and Coates to assume those responsibilities. With Coates now seemingly out of the equation for 11 p.m., CNN’s primetime lineup from 4 p.m. through 11 p.m. consists of no people of color.
Maybe this will change. CNN, for instance, is attempting to recruit CBS Mornings co-anchor Gayle King and TNT NBA analyst Charles Barkley to help fill a primetime void, but the network has yet to corroborate these moves.
Meanwhile, network CEO Chris Licht continues to seek methods to entice more viewers to observe throughout the day. As with Lemon, this has necessitated sweeping changes, including the dismissal of some hosts and correspondents and the reassignment of others to various positions.
Now it appears that Licht will make another move, and this one is likely to affect one of the network’s most prominent presenters or personalities.
“Ratings-challenged CNN is reportedly considering replacing longtime ‘Inside Politics’ anchor John King with his ex-wife, network veteran and anchor Dana Bash,” the New York Post reported.
CNN is “looking to shake up its daily ‘Inside Politics’ show by likely replacing anchor John King with CNN’s chief political correspondent Dana Bash,” the Daily Beast’s Confider media newsletter added last week.
The report emphasized that any prospective change “would be doubly notable” in light of their prior marriage. King, 59, and Bash, 51, were previously married but divorced in 2012 after four years of cohabitation. They share a single child.
More on this story via Conservative Brief:
King, who is CNN’s chief national correspondent, has been hosting the weekday edition of “Inside Politics” since 2014. The show is broadcasted on weekdays at noon. CONTINUE READING…
