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CNN is planning to announce it has hired former ABC anchor Chris Cuomo to host a morning show, Brian Stelter reports, confirming an earlier TMZ story.
The new president of CNN Worldwide, Jeffrey Zucker, has said that the mornings are a priority for him, and the television industry has been paying close attention to his plans because he led NBC’s “Today” show to ratings highs two decades ago.
Cuomo’s father is former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, and his brother is current New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is said to be considering a run for president. CNN’s current morning show, “Starting Point,” draws 234,000 viewers on average, Stelter writes.
In other CNN news, Managing Editor Mark Whitaker has resigned, Dylan Byers reports.
“[W]ith Jeff Zucker’s arrival, we have a new leader with his own forceful ideas about where to take CNN’s reporting, programming and brand,” Whitaker wrote in an email to CNN staff. “For him to succeed, I believe he deserves his own team and management structure and the freedom to communicate one clear vision to the staff. I have shared that conclusion with him and he has agreed to let me step down as Managing Editor and move on from CNN.”
Whitaker “credited himself with attracting much of its new talent, including Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper, who joined the network from ABC News; Ryan Lizza, the D.C.-based New Yorker staff writer; and ESPN sports reporter Rachel Nichols,” Byers writes. Whitaker was the highest-ranking African American at CNN, Richard Prince writes.
Correction: This post originally botched a reference to “Starting Point”‘s network, which should have read CNN.
Related: Erick Erickson is leaving CNN, along with Mary Matalin and James Carville
Previously: Zucker, Tapper enter new roles at CNN | CNN names Jeff Zucker its new president | CNN ratings drop not bad (yet) for its bottom line | CNN’s historically dismal ratings are just one of many headaches for broadcasters
