CNN is in the middle of a massive upheaval.
The network may never pull out of its downward spiral.
And CNN took one top star off the air following this ugly public meltdown.
CNN’s revamped AM show “CNN This Morning” was supposed to be the centerpiece of network president Chris Licht’s attempt to pull the nose up on CNN.
In 2022 CNN averaged 735,000 primetime viewers, a 34 percent decline from 2021.
And the morning show “New Day” was an anchor around the network’s line barely cracking 400,000 viewers on average.
Licht tried to shake up both primetime and the morning programming by moving Don Lemon out of the 9 p.m. timeslot and making Lemon the new focal point of “CNN This Morning” with new co-hosts Kaitlan Collins and Poppy Harlow.
The move proved to be a disaster.
And it’s all playing out in public.
An on-air blowup last December summarized the chaos at CNN.
Last December 9, co-host Poppy Harlow announced to viewers that Lemon took the day off and would be back tomorrow.
Now everyone knows the truth about that lie.
On December 8 Lemon became condescending to Collins during a segment about how Joe Biden tried to appease the woke mob by trading the world’s number one arms dealer to Russia to free captive black, female, homosexual WNBA player Brittney Griner.
Lemon began berating Collins and even waving his finger at her.
Licht got so offended he ordered Lemon to stay home the next day as punishment.
The New York Post reports:
According to two sources with knowledge of the situation, 56-year-old Lemon approached 30-year-old Collins following the show’s Thursday, Dec. 8, broadcast — and unloaded on her in front of staffers as he accused her of “interrupting” him on air.
“Don screamed at Kaitlan, who was visibly upset and ran out of the studio,” one source with knowledge of the skirmish said.
News of the explosive incident made its way up to CNN CEO Chris Licht, who is said to have been appalled by Lemon’s behavior, according to a source. A second source said a producer talked to Lemon at the behest of Licht and told the anchor to take the next day off to “cool off.”
“CNN This Morning” was supposed to signal a renewed CNN.
Instead it’s a ratings disaster — drawing fewer viewers than “New Day” — due in large part to the unlikable and obnoxiously liberal Lemon.
“But CNN This Morning’s audience since its debut on Nov. 1 have averaged about 400,000 viewers, compared to the 412,000 viewers that its predecessor, New Day, averaged during 2022, according to Nielsen figures. CNN This Morning trails Fox News’ Fox and Friends, averaging 1.33 million, and Morning Joe, posting 905,000. In the 25-54 demo, Fox and Friends averaged 192,000, compared to 104,000 for Morning Joe and 83,000 for CNN This Morning,” Deadline reports.
Lemon was the face of the old regime’s decision to transition CNN into being a rapid response operation for the Democrat Party and wage war with Donald Trump and conservatives at every turn.
That proved to be a disastrous bet that the new management at CNN seems reluctant to cash out on and institute a full house cleaning.
Great American Daily will keep you up to date on any new developments in this ongoing story and the rest of the breaking news in politics, please bookmark our site, consider making us your homepage and forward our content with your friends on social media and email.
