There’s been a flurry of tips and chatter today about Piers Morgan joining CNN’s line-up in the very near future and The Guardian is now reporting that Morgan flew to New York for meetings “to clear the way for a possible multimillion dollar deal with the cable news company CNN, which is believed to have approached Morgan about hosting a primetime interview slot.”
Many in the British press are reporting that CNN is looking at Morgan to replace Larry King, though, as we noted earlier, it seems more plausible that the network would be looking to fill its 8pmET slot.
A CNN spokesperson tells TVNewser: “Not surprisingly, there is no shortage of people who would love to succeed Larry King if and when he moves on, but rumors that we are close to signing a deal for a Larry King replacement are untrue. We are currently looking at replacing our 8pm program and that is our priority. Larry is a beloved member of the team, and he will continue to be part of the CNN family into the future.”
U.S. viewers may know Morgan from his stints here on “America’s Got Talent” and “Celebrity Apprentice,” but some stateside might be unaware of the remainder of his resume. In the 1990s and 2000s, Morgan was editor of UK tabloids “News of the World” and the “Daily Mirror.” He’s also hosted a number of television programs in the UK including talk shows and a travel program called “Piers Morgan On…”
Two of those programs are of particular note right now.
• From 2004 to 2005, Morgan co-hosted “Morgan & Platell,” a left/right political current affairs show, with commentator Amanda Platell. A segment:
• Last year, Morgan launched “Piers Morgan’s Life Stories,” a one-on-one interview show with a studio audience. A third season of that program began in March. See part of his sit-down with Gordon Brown below:
With Morgan’s experience in celebrity interviewing — not to mention the tabloid background — it’s easy to see why his name rose so quickly as a potential replacement in the future for 25-year CNN vet Larry King.
But considering the rumors that have surfaced about a debate-type program in Campbell Brown’s 8pm slot, one could conceivably see how Morgan’s experience with a program like “Morgan & Platell” might make him a good fit for that experiment. When the British program first launched, The Guardian wrote:
Morgan, who was extremely hostile to Tony Blair, as editor of the Daily Mirror, will act as a leftwing commentator while Ms Platell will perform as the voice of the right – although friends admit Morgan is probably more rightwing than Platell in reality.
Interestingly, the Guardian also reported then: “The format is based loosely on the US show Crossfire.”