Not the best fit: But, a good start. Last night, former Fox & Friends Weekend co-anchor Alisyn Camerota made her grand debut on CNN–on CNN Tonight. Giving her fans little notice, she Tweeted an early evening missive, saying, “Thanks for asking when I’ll be back on-the-air. The answer is…tonight. 10pm – midnight et.w/@donlemon on #CNN. Hope you’ll tune in.” Of course, this long-time fan of Aly did just that.
As the two-hour special began, co-anchor Don Lemon and Aly introduced themselves and the two stories of the night, the downing of the Malaysian airline in the Ukraine and the “Showdown in Gaza.” Then, Don turned to Aly, saying, “And, Alisyn, I want to welcome you to CNN. It is an honor to work with you tonight, and it’s good to have you here.” Smiling, Aly answered, “Thanks so much! I’m happy to be here on such an important story.”*
As always, Aly was on her game–prescient, incisive, and sure-footed. However, she and Don seemed as if they were feeling each other out. And, Don appeared not necessarily quite ready to accede to Aly her equal billing.
According to Politico, Aly, Don, and New Day co-host Chris Cuomo have piloted a show called “The 10 o’clock Show”–perhaps, a play on FNC’s The Five. Last night, adventitiously or not, Chris appeared on CNN Tonight and Aly commended him on his “great reporting.” In the author’s opinion, Aly, Don, and Chris seem like an odd platonic melange a trois for a CNN evening whereas Aly, John Berman, and Kiran Chetry would make for a much more dynamic trio at the dawn of a “New Day.”
*CNN Tonight – 07/18/14 (@ 10:01 p.m. ET).
Tags: alisyn camerota, Chris Cuomo, CNN, CNN Tonight, Don Lemon, FNC, Fox & Friends, Fox & Friends Weekend, Fox and Friends, Fox and Friends First, Fox News, John Berman, Kiran Chetry, New Day, The 10 o'clock Show, The Five
Carpe Diem 
July 19, 2014 at 3:41 pm
I won’t watch any show with John Berman on it.
July 20, 2014 at 12:23 pm
Feels weird seeing Ali on CNN, gonna take some getting used to.Thought the chemistry between her and Don Lemon was lacking a little and I do think she is better suited to a morning show.As good as she is, I`m not sure she has the gravitas for primetime slot.
July 20, 2014 at 3:10 pm
Don Lemon has gravitas? LOL
July 21, 2014 at 9:18 pm
Don doesn’t need a co- host. A huge reason I liked CNN tonight is because Don Lemon is articulate, passionate and engaging to his guests as well as his audience. He does one hell of a job by himself, now I don’t know what to think! I certainly don’t like the fact that he has to share the stage!
July 22, 2014 at 4:45 am
From what I saw, Don wasn’t too happy about sharing the stage, either.
July 23, 2014 at 8:51 am
I didn’t see the broadcast, but I hope Roger Ailes begs Alysin to return to her old network within a year. Camerota deserves a raise and some better hours at her old network.
Ailes seemed to go out of his way to accommodate Gretchen Carlson, but he made a big mistake by not going to bat for Alysin Camerota.
January 9, 2015 at 1:58 pm
[…] Programming Bill Shine, FTVLive rightly reported that Aly was headed to CNN. When she did indeed, she debuted on CNN Tonight as a co-host with Don Lemon in a her usual sure-footed fashion yet as an awkward counterpart to […]
January 9, 2015 at 2:21 pm
[…] Programming Bill Shine, FTVLive rightly reported that Aly was headed to CNN. When she did indeed, she debuted on CNN Tonight as a co-host with Don Lemon in a her usual sure-footed fashion yet as an awkward counterpart to […]