It’s tough being CNN and being clobbered in the ratings. It’s doubly tough being CNN anchor John King, since his job at “Inside Politics” is in jeopardy.
It’s beyond doubly tough for King since being considered as his replacement is CNN “State of the Union” co-anchor Dana Bash.
Bash is King’s ex-wife.
While this all sounds like a theme for a bad country song, it reflects the realities of CNN President Chris Licht having to scramble to figure out ways to keep his network viable.
Reports of the Bash-for-King switch have bubbled up from the Confider newsletter of The Daily Beast and were detailed by The New York Post.
Replacing King could be part of a CNN effort to “shake up” the “Inside Politics” program, according to The Confider.
The program, which initially ran on CNN from 1993 until its 2005 cancellation, was resurrected in 2014 with King at the helm.
King joined the network in 1997, becoming chief national correspondent in 2005, following a stint as senior White House correspondent from 1999 to 2005, according to CNN.
King and Bash were married from 2008 to 2012 and had a child together. Bash began as a CNN producer, eventually moving to on-air work.
Should CNN clean house completely and start over?
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Bash has replaced her ex-husband on “Inside Politics” before, but temporarily, serving as a substitute host.
She eventually became the network’s chief political correspondent and appears on “State of the Union” with Jake Tapper.
The Confider said Licht’s efforts to right the sinking CNN ship even resulted in him recently seeking advice from longshot Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy prior to an appearance by Ramaswamy on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
The pair discussed issues like cancel culture and free speech. They also talked about “wokeism,” a concept vehemently opposed by Ramaswamy, author of the book “Woke Inc.”
Licht reportedly wants to bring conservatives on-air at CNN to help alter its image. He and David Zaslav, CEO of CNN’s parent, WarnerBros. Discovery, want CNN moved away from opinion programs and back to more news coverage, according to the New York Post.
CNN host Don Lemon, demoted from primetime to “CNN This Morning,” has been one of Licht’s programming problems. Lemon made sexist statements about Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley, saying she “isn’t in her prime.”
That prompted an apology from Lemon. There also have been issues regarding his interactions with colleagues.
So it churns at CNN. The rough-and-tumble world of television is no picnic.
Ask John King.
