CNN’s new morning show “New Day” debuted this morning, and there were plenty of familiar faces (and voices).
Christiane Amanpour and John King filed reports, and Nancy Grace–who was for a long time a regular on ABC’s “Good Morning America–delivered some legal analysis. Actor James Earl Jones, who voices the “This is CNN” slogan, also welcomed viewers to the new program by saying “This is ‘New Day,’ with Chris Cuomo, Kate Bolduan and Michaela Pereira.”
Insiders tell us they cannot remember King or Amanpour appearing on the CNN morning show in recent years, at least on any regular basis, but that the new mandate is that the day now starts at 6 AM at CNN, and you can expect to see the network’s biggest guns, including Fareed Zakaria, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Wolf Blitzer, Jake Tapper and Rachel Nichols all appearing regularly.
In other words, CNN is making sure all hands are on deck to make sure the show is a success. CNN president Jeff Zucker described what he was looking for in a morning show last month:
“It is really important that we have a good and strong morning show, because I want the day to start with a strong offering that sets the tone and the agenda for the day for the entire network,” he told reporters at the time. That tone and agenda relies heavily on CNN’s own reporting and talent, so their presence is vital.