Tag: piers morgan

Jonathan Wald leaves CNN, returns to NBC

by Allan, posted in CNN

Don Lemon’s executive producer of CNN Tonight, Jonathan Wald, is returning to NBC News, where he previously served as a senior vice president of CNBC. He joined CNN to be the EP of Piers Morgan Tonight.

He will be the senior vice president of programming and development at MSNBC, reporting directly to MSNBC president Phil Griffin. He will work alongside fellow CNN alum Janelle Rodriguez.

In Griffin’s memo, obtained by TVNewser, he said, “In this new role, Jonathan will help us build on MSNBC’s success in primetime, develop new programming including long-form, and special events. He is joining MSNBC at a pivotal time.”

One of Wald’s memorable moves at CNN Tonight includes having Lemon interview a llama.

Piers Morgan mocks Anderson Cooper’s third place ratings plummet

by Allan, posted in CNN, Ratings

Former CNN host Piers Morgan, who really doesn’t get along with former colleague Anderson Cooper and advocated replacing Cooper with Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly, took to Twitter today to comment on Cooper’s ratings from August 2.

Cooper’s program, AC360, as I noted in this space yesterday, outperformed both Fox stars Bill O’Reilly and Kelly last week during the Democratic National Convention coverage.

Last night, however, Cooper fell behind Fox’s Kelly and MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow in the demo and total viewers, and Morgan felt the need to tweet about it, calling it “interesting.”

Larry King and Piers Morgan continue their feud over CNN’s 9pm slot

by Allan, posted in CNN

Piers Morgan may not have been on CNN’s air since early 2014, but that hasn’t stopped he and the man he replaced, Larry King, from re-litigating the past every few months, both on Twitter and in public.

At an event hosted by broadcaster RT called An Evening With Larry King, the veteran interviewer was asked why he thought Morgan was not as successful as he was, reports the Belfast Telegraph.

King responded, “My problem with Piers was, nothing personal, but he was the antithesis of what I was…it was all about him. So he used the word ‘I’ a lot. So when I was asked, I’m honest, I was asked, I said ‘look, I like him personally, but that’s not my type of show’. I don’t berate guests and I don’t make it about me. The guest isn’t a prop. I didn’t enjoy that.”

He went on, “And I would say that about any host who I felt didn’t serve his audience well. And I think Piers did not do that. I didn’t like that type of interview. I understand he’s back in London now.”

And, Morgan is back in London now — he has since joined ITV’s Good Morning Britain as a cohost.

Not willing to let things go, Morgan blasted back at King on Twitter:

CNN’s post-debate coverage attracted 1.1 million viewers

by Allan, posted in CNN, Ratings

CNBC’s Republican debate, which was undeniably horribly-conducted by CNBC’s team of moderators (Betty Quick, John Harwood and Carl Quintanilla), topped out at 14 million viewers.

CNN’s post-debate analysis coverage, led by Anderson Cooper, had 1,109,000 total viewers at 10pm and 1,040,000 total viewers at 11pm; in the demo, Cooper had 305,000 demo viewers for the first hour and 361,000 for the second hour, according to Nielsen.

At least one former CNN primetime anchor turned away from CNN’s post-game show last night, instead going for Fox News’ coverage.

FNC had 559,000 demo viewers in the 10pm hour, led by conservative host Sean Hannity; in the 11pm hour, Bill O’Reilly led cable news with 712,000 demo viewers (and 3,159,000 total viewers).

Piers Morgan calls CNN’s post-debate coverage “dull,” turns to Fox News

by Allan, posted in CNN

Former CNN primetime host Piers Morgan turned to CNN for analysis after the CNBC Republican debate, but he wasn’t impressed with what his former network was offering.

This makes the second former CNN employee who criticized CNN this evening.

CNN’s coverage, led by CNN’s Anderson Cooper (who Morgan doesn’t like anyways), had a panel with chief national correspondent John King, senior political reporter Nia Malika-Henderson, chief political analyst Gloria Borger, Saturday host Michael Smerconish, and CNN contributors Amanda Carpenter, Jeff Lord, Ana Navarro, and Donna Brazile.

In a later tweet, Morgan called CNN’s coverage “dull.”

Piers Morgan nears job stability once more

by Allan, posted in CNN

Dropped CNN host Piers Morgan may be close to job stability once more. Although he’s been gone from CNN for well over a year, Morgan has finally managed to land his next gig that will allow him to eat plentifully once again.

In the past spring, Morgan was filling in on Good Morning Britain in a move that was said to be “testing the water” — and viewership on ITV ticked up by 50,000 viewers when the controversial newsman was filling in.

Today, reports The Guardian, Morgan is “close” to finalizing a deal to put him in the co-host seat on a regular basis.

An ITV spokesman said, “We hope to have Piers back on the GMB sofa soon but nothing is confirmed at this time.”

Additionally, Morgan also today signed a contract extension with the tabloid magazine Daily Mail. Of it, he said, “It’s been an exhilarating experience to see my columns debated on social media from Baltimore to Beijing, often attracting a bigger audience than I enjoyed at CNN,” he added, “I look forward to two more years of stimulating debate over issues as diverse as the US presidential election and the Syrian war, to Cecil the Lion and Kim Kardashian’s torso.”

Piers Morgan mocks Anderson Cooper for being Madonna’s “CNN Unapologetic bitch”

by Allan, posted in Video

CNN primetime anchor Anderson Cooper appeared on stage with singing legend Madonna Saturday at the Barclays Center in New York, and he danced along with her as she sang ‘Unapologetic Bitch.’

And… Madonna spanked him.

On Instagram, Madonna thanked Cooper for being her bitch:

“I don’t think you need an introduction,” Madonna said after the song. “Ladies and gentlemen, a big round of applause for Anderson Cooper.” Laughing, she added, “That was like the low-key CNN style, right?” the singer said. “That’s CNN ‘Unapologetic Bitch.’ Like, I’m not gonna get too cray cray on stage, right? You now what? You did good. You’re a brave man.”

Former CNN host Piers Morgan, who has something of a history with Anderson Cooper, tweeted a link to the video, saying it was ‘breaking ewws’:

Nothing was off-limits in Larry King’s interview — except Piers Morgan

by Allan, posted in CNN

In an extensive interview for the New York Times, Larry King agreed to discuss anything with reporter Mark Leibovich — that is… anything except for ex-CNN host Piers Morgan.

When King’s show, Larry King Live, ended, Morgan was selected to take over for him. And since then, they’ve had an on-again off-again Twitter feud going on.

As Leibovich reports:

No topic between King and me was off-limits except one: Piers Morgan. King’s publicist, Jen Hobbs, requested that I refrain from asking King anything about the host who succeeded him on CNN. Things had become ornery between King and Morgan, whose own show was canceled last year. King said in an interview with Howard Stern that watching Morgan flame out in his slot was like when ‘‘your mother-in-law goes over the cliff in your new car.’’ Morgan then called King a ‘‘poisonous twerp’’ and a ‘‘graceless, petty little man’’ on Twitter.

You can read the full interview at the NYT.

(H/t TVNewser)