On the air, viewers will begin to notice the changes later this month, when Phillip becomes the anchor of “Inside Politics Sunday” on January 24. John King will continue to present the Monday through Friday edition of the iconic CNN program.
On the same day, Bash will become a co-anchor for “State of the Union”, switching on Sundays with current anchor Jake Tapper.
Bash will remain the network’s top political correspondent “and will also feature special quarterly interviews in prime time,” CNN announced.
Tapper’s role is also expanding. In April, he will become “the main anchor for all of Washington’s big events,” CNN said, like election nights. This means, for example, that when it comes time to project the winner of the 2024 presidential election, Tapper will deliver the news.
Also on the April weekday afternoon news, “The Lead” will expand to a second hour, extending from 4pm to 6pm.
Wolf Blitzer and “The Situation Room”, described by CNN as “the network’s nightly subscription news”, will remain in operation at 6 pm
Blitzer, a CNN legend who joined the network 31 years ago, “will also have a major anchor role for all breaking news and will continue to host CNN special reports,” the network said.
CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker, when making the announcements on Monday morning, told employees that Blitzer will remain on CNN for a long time.
Acosta, CNN’s top White House correspondent during the Trump years and a frequent target of the outgoing president, will become the top domestic correspondent along with an anchor role over the weekend. His schedule will be announced shortly, CNN said.
Brown, currently a senior White House correspondent, will be the anchor on weekends from 6 pm to 9 pm, a key period for breaking news coverage and analysis. She will remain in DC and will be a senior correspondent in Washington.
All of Monday’s announcements were about postings in DC, and more announcements are expected about time slots and anchor functions in other cities.
Some Biden reporters will also take on new positions in Washington, now that the former vice president’s campaign is over.
Arlette Saenz will become a White House correspondent alongside Jeremy Diamond, John Harwood, MJ Lee and Kate Bennett. Jasmine Wright will become a White House reporter alongside Kevin Liptak. And Jessica Dean and Ryan Nobles, two veterans of the campaign, will move to Capitol Hill alongside Raju, Lauren Fox and Daniella Diaz.
Congressional correspondent Phil Mattingly will become a senior correspondent for the White House. “The Hill will always be my home and my love for Capitol has only grown in the past 5 days,” posted Mattingly, referring to last week’s riot, which he covered live. “But I was happy to go back down the street and work with these people.”
All corresponding changes will take effect on the Opening Day. “Joe Johns will remain a senior correspondent in Washington and shift his focus from the White House to a variety of Washington-related stories,” said the CNN press release. “Sunlen Serfaty will become a Washington correspondent covering Washington in general. Suzanne Malveaux will continue in her role as a national correspondent.”
Other networks have also made advertisements targeting Washington in recent days. Last week, NBC named Peter Alexander and Kristen Welker as top White House correspondents in the Biden years. And on Monday, CBS named Shawna Thomas, known for her years running the Vice News bureau in DC, the new executive producer of “CBS This Morning”.