Without a permanent leader, CNN announced a new lineup of shows. Most industry experts said the lineup will not matter. CNN has lost its edge, particularly to MSNBC and Fox, and some old faces, plus a few new ones on new shows, will not draw new viewers. (These world powers have the least and most press freedom.)
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One industry watcher gave The New York Post a comment that matches the industry sentiment. “Saw the line up. Ehhh. Totally dull. Will make zero difference.”

The new lineup is a mix of new faces and old. Anderson Cooper keeps his job. Christiane Amanpour remains, as does Chris Wallace. These have loyal followings. The new lineup is based on the guess that anchors few people know will draw more viewers.

Nielsen shows that, in July, CNN had an average of 470,000 viewers. Fox had 1.2 million, and MSNBC had 812,000. Fox has held its lead for so long almost no one can remember a time when it was not in first place.

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What will likely be a failed attempt puts more pressure on parent Warner Bros. Discovery. Earnings at CNN, which is led by industry veteran David Zaslav, are critical to building a new company out of two merged entities. S&P predicts CNN will have only $957 million in profits this year. The number has not been so low since 2016.

CNN has not posted a lineup that will help it. In fact, there are enough new faces in new places that the chances of its success are very small.

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