New American Morning executive producer Janelle Rodriguez is jazzing the erstwhile stodgy show out of its doldrums. Realizing that the very controlled, sterile lab-like atomosphere of AM needed some edgier eclat and elan, Rodriguez is beginning to allow her talented duo of John Roberts and Kiran Chetry to start to “let their hair down.” E.g., whilom MuchMusic VJ “J.D.” Roberts is now introducing smarter music to the show’s segment segues accompanied by fun, funky camera angles. Moreover, the exquisitely beautiful Kiran is no longer tethered to a non-negotiable script and drab attire but is allowed to ad lib and strut her stuff more. Rodriguez seems to realize that a younger, informed audience wants its news sexy, hip, and irreverent. Uncle Walter is nice, but on the history channel.
Tags: American Morning, CNN, MuchMusic, Janelle Rodriguez, Walter Cronkite
July 1, 2008 at 11:50 pm
Well, it’s a start but they have a lot more work to do. You would think with a 3 hour program they could find more time for fun segments, as well as for more serious IN-DEPTH interviews. The program is really a half-hour show rolled six times over with far too many commercial breaks. Were it not for Chetry, I wouldn’t bother tuning in.
July 2, 2008 at 6:32 pm
Take a look at the ratings for the past couple of days on AM, and you’ll see that things have dropped off quite a bit. As you said Tom, they recycle the same stuff over and over again. I guess all they want to do is cover the news, and if the ratings don’t follow, then I guess that’s okay with CNN. They are determined not to change their basic format.