Charles Barkley – Gayle King – CNN
*”King Charles” is the clever and somewhat obvious name for CNN‘s new weekly primetime live show to be headlined by the irascible Charles Barkley and veteran news anchor Gayle King.
Saturday afternoon the duo made the long-awaited announcement on TNT, which like CNN, is owned by Warner Bros Discovery. As King is employed by CBS News a competitor to CNN, we’re seeing a trend here. More about that later. The bottom line is that CBS is in agreement with the deal. Barkley’s already employed by Warner Bros. Discovery’s sports division.
First and foremost, “King Charles” will be a live discussion show. CNN bossman Chris Licht told staffers in a memo that the show will be “an exciting new way we are delivering culturally relevant programming and unique perspectives to our audience, from two incredibly dynamic personalities.”
King said that they will talk about politics on the show, but Barkley interjected and said,”But we don’t want to say we are a liberal, conservative, Republican, Democrat. That is one of the things that has already ruined television in general. She is going to be a straight shooter, and you know I am going to be a straight shooter.”
He added: “All I want is people, even if I disagree with them, to be honest with me. I don’t want them saying things to get clickbait. That is one of the things that is what drives me crazy about people in our profession right now.”
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Coming this fall, King Charles with Gayle King and Charles Barkley will air weekly on CNN in primetime running into 2024. Hear Gayle and Charles talk about their new show on @NBAonTNT. pic.twitter.com/ZMqYXdtYBw
— CNN Communications (@CNNPR) April 22, 2023
As of this posting, the one-hour live program is penciled in to air Wednesdays “in primetime (at 9pm Eastern) beginning this fall and running into 2024,” according to Licht, the CNN CEO. “This show will be an exciting new way we are delivering culturally relevant programming and unique perspectives to our audience, from two incredibly dynamic personalities,” he added.
Here’s more via Variety:
The move spotlights how big media companies are letting go something they once demanded: talent exclusivity. King, who will continue to work for CBS News, is the latest news personality to diversify her roles at a time when traditional media is fragmenting, and the audiences that might flock to a specific correspondent have dwindled.
Other news outlets have also begun to allow their journalists to tackle multiple jobs. At MSNBC, for example, early-morning anchor Jonathan Lemire also serves as the White House bureau chief for Politico, and weekend host Jonathan Capehart has continued to work for The Washington Post. CNN has enjoyed the fruits of a similar relationship with CBS News that involves Anderson Cooper. Cooper is a correspondent for CBS’ “60 Minutes,” and the stories he contributes to that long-standing newsmagazine often turn up on his CNN primetime program. ABC News famously gives “Good Morning America” co-anchor Michael Strahan much leeway to pursue his football-analyst role at Fox Sports
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