Anchors’ Desks Are So Last Year, CNN Says as It Revamps Daytime Lineup

CNN announced Wednesday that it will be ushering in a new daytime lineup—while also doing away with a staple of cable news broadcasts: the anchor’s chair and desk.

CEO Chris Licht, who assumed the role last spring after Jeff Zucker’s resignation, said the change in format is designed to give the broadcast a more dynamic feel that will better showcase the network’s “unparalleled” journalism.

“We are leaning into our greatest strengths, showcasing our unparalleled newsgathering operation and giving our anchors the room to be more authentic,” Licht said in a statement. “We’ve seen how our audience responds to this format, and we believe it will put us in a position of strength going into the evening and primetime hours.”

A CNN spokesperson explained that anchors, instead of being seated, will be moving around the network’s studios during the entirety of their shows.

This change also accompanies a switch-up in on-air talent, with the network’s 9 a.m. ET to 12 p.m. ET block featuring anchors John Berman, Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner broadcasting out of New York. The 1 p.m. ET to 4 p.m. ET block will be led by Brianna Keilar, Boriz Sanchez and Jim Sciutto out of the Washington, D.C. bureau.

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As a result, Victor Blackwell of “CNN Newsroom” will return to host CNN’s morning show out of Atlanta, while co-anchor Alisyn Camerota will anchor its 10 p.m. show—going up against MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell and Fox News’ Laura Ingraham. Laura Coates, who currently guest hosts “CNN Tonight” alongside Camerota, will move to 11 p.m. The network does not currently have a permanent host for its 9 p.m. hour—while “Anderson Cooper 360” currently airs from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. Former 9 p.m. host Chris Cuomo was fired in December 2021.

The news comes a little more than a month after the network went forward with a large round of layoffs that also saw the cancellation of live programming on CNN’s sister network HLN—one of many seismic changes under Licht’s new leadership.

Last April, the streaming service CNN+ was also discontinued only a few weeks after it launched.