CNN has employed veteran California political reporter and anchor Elex Michaelson to guide a brand new late-night newscast based mostly within the Los Angeles space.
The community introduced Thursday that Michaelson, who left Fox’s L.A. station KTTV final month, will helm a nightly two-hour reside broadcast from CNN’s studios on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank beginning in mid-October.
This system will air from 9 to 11 p.m. on the West Coast and midnight to 2 a.m. within the east. It should even be carried on CNN Worldwide in Europe and Asia.
Michaelson informed The Instances in an interview that he first pitched the concept of reside program for West Coast prime-time viewers to CNN executives 4½ years in the past. They handed.
“Generally good issues occur to those that wait,” Michaelson mentioned.
The timing could also be advantageous this time round as California Gov. Gavin Newsom has turn into an more and more distinguished nationwide political determine along with his direct challenges to and social media mockery of President Trump.
Newsom is seen as a possible main candidate for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. Eyes can even be on L.A.-based former Vice President Kamala Harris, who might additionally make one other run for the White Home.
Fox 11 anchor Elex Michaelson and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger consuming Michaelson’s mother’s baked good at a previous occasion.
(Elex Michaelson)
Michaelson believes he has interviewed Newsom greater than some other TV journalist within the state. Alongside along with his duties as anchor of KTTV’s night and late-night newscasts, he hosted “The Challenge Is,” a weekly program devoted principally to California points that aired on a number of Fox-owned TV stations within the state.
Michaelson’s CNN program, which doesn’t but have a title, would be the solely reside cable information present within the post-midnight time slot. CNN, Fox Information and MSNBC all at present run repeats in these hours as a result of the variety of properties watching tv drops off dramatically after 11 p.m. Japanese.
Michaelson’s program would be the first CNN present to be based mostly in Los Angeles since “Larry King Reside” ended its run in 2010. “Fox Information @ Evening,” the nightly newscast anchored by Hint Gallagher that airs at 11 p.m. Japanese and eight p.m. Pacific, is the one different nationwide cable information present produced within the metropolis.
Earlier this yr, CNN supplied the after-midnight shift to Washington-based anchor Jim Acosta, who was a high-profile antagonist of President Trump throughout his tenure as White Home correspondent.
Acosta was holding down a noon hour on the time, and the proposed transfer to midnight was largely considered as a demotion and a capitulation to Trump in his second time period. The plan was introduced after Warner Bros. Discovery executives signaled that CNN wanted to extend its enchantment to Republican viewers.
Acosta selected to go away the community in January as an alternative of taking the function and has been reporting for his personal Substack publication.
The appointment of Michaelson provides the late-night CNN program a clearer editorial rationale. A local of Agoura Hills, Michaelson has spent his whole journalism profession in Southern California, the place he’s a well known determine.
Michaelson mentioned his presence in Los Angeles will allow to him to ebook “West Coast thought leaders in politics, leisure, expertise, sports activities and extra.”
Michaelson’s program will launch just a few weeks earlier than Californians vote on a proposal to redraw the boundaries of the state’s congressional districts.
“The showdown on Nov. 4 over the problem of redistricting might decide who controls the U.S. Home subsequent yr and whether or not there may be truly a test and stability on the Trump administration,” Michaelson mentioned. “Though it’s a combat in California, the affect will likely be felt not simply across the nation however world wide.”
Michaelson is thought for thanking friends who appeared on “The Challenge Is” with recent baked items from his mom’s kitchen.
He acknowledged that the custom will likely be tough to keep up with a nightly two-hour program that includes a number of friends. “We might have to revise that,” he mentioned.
