Ratings-challenged CNN will reportedly move veteran anchor Wolf Blitzer to a new slot in the mornings as part of a wider reshuffle by the embattled cable news pioneer’s boss Mark Thompson.
The 76-year-old Blitzer, one of the network’s longest-tenured anchors and current host of “The Situation Room” at 6 p.m., will be teamed with Pamela Brown on a new morning show, sources told Status newsletter on Thursday.
The shakeup could also include frequent Donald Trump antagonist Jim Acosta being bounced as anchor of “CNN Newsroom” at 10 a.m., the sources said.
Thompson, the former BBC and New York Times head honcho who was brought in by Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav to right the ship at CNN, may also shift pre-dawn anchor Kasie Hunt to the afternoons, according to the newsletter, written by former CNN media analyst Oliver Darcy.
It is unclear whether the new Blitzer-Brown pairing in the morning will adopt Blitzer’s signature “Situation Room” branding or debut under a different name.
Nonetheless, the reported change means Blitzer’s screen time will increase by an hour each day.
The rearranging of the anchor chairs is part of Thompson’s plan to pave the way for a new generation of on-air talent, according to Darcy.
The decision to shift Blitzer, who was recently mocked on social media for his outdated television setup, to mornings allows CNN to keep one of its most respected anchors on air while also gradually transitioning him out of the evening lineup.
But the change means CNN will have to tweak the rest of its lineup by cutting an hour of programming.
One scenario being considered under discussion is moving Hunt, the former MSNBC anchor and Associated Press scribe, from early mornings to 4 p.m. — a move that would elevate her profile significantly.
Hunt, who currently pulls down a salary north of $1 million per year, hosts “CNN This Morning,” which airs daily from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.
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