CNN is dropping latest iteration of CNN This Morning as part of a shakeup of its morning lineup. Poppy Harlow and Phil Mattingly have anchored the show since August, after several lineup changes since its debut in the fall of 2022. Kasie Hunt’s 5 a.m. ET show, known as Early Start, will expand an hour and take on the CNN This Morning title. The changes will go into effect later this month.
The CNN anchor and chief national affairs analyst recently underwent a four-hour operation to remove what turned out to be a benign brain tumor. But getting to that diagnosis has been a long journey.
CNN chief Jeff Zucker announced Hunt’s hiring Tuesday. She is the first new hire for CNN to lead a show for its upcoming streaming offering CNN+.
CNN has snatched Kasie Hunt, the Capitol Hill correspondent long viewed as a rising star at NBC News, as part of an aggressive bid to push the WarnerMedia cable-news outlet into the new frontier of streaming video. Sources say she will focus largely on content that is produced for streaming viewers as part of a big bet being made by Jeff Zucker, president of CNN.
Kasie Hunt closed Friday’s episode of Way Too Early with a surprising announcement that it would be her last show hosting and even suggested she was leaving MSNBC. Tweets from various media beat reporters and colleagues appear to confirm Hunt’s sudden and surprise departure from NBC News.
Washington correspondent Kasie Hunt will revive the Way Too Early news program that will air at 5 a.m. ET on weekdays, leading into Morning Joe. MSNBC is also starting two new weekend evening shows on Sept. 19 that will ensure the network is on live both Saturday and Sunday until 10 p.m ET.
