Kasie Hunt Aims to Shake Up CNN’s 6 A.M. Morning Show

Kasie Hunt has long been known for her work on the political beat, but soon she hopes people will think of her for news about culture, sports, or maybe even the weather. As the CNN early-morning anchor, Hunt says she is “willing to make faces on the air” when the news cycle delivers something weird or surprising.

Cable’s A.M. news shows have thrived in recent years by focusing relentlessly on politics. Now CNN and Hunt want to broaden viewers’ perceptions by expanding the network’s focus. “We want to be there for them even when politics is not the lead,” says Hunt in a recent interview.

Viewers who tuned into Monday’s “CNN This Morning,” which Hunt anchors between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m., may have noticed a few new elements on screen, especially starting at 6. New blue-and-yellow graphics echoed tones similar to “Good Morning America” or “Today.” The 6 a.m. hour opened with a three-person panel clustered around a round table strewn with current newspapers, discussing the latest in the presidential campaigns of former President Donald Trump and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

CNN has made several attempts to boost its morning efforts but with limited success. The network has long struggled to compete with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends.” In 2013, CNN positioned a new trio of anchors as a rival to the heyday of “Today.” That show, “New Day,” quickly transformed after President Trump was elected into a punchy, aggressive program that aimed to hold politicians accountable for perceived mistruths and disinformation. More recently, CNN tried a morning program with a broader focus, but it failed to generate the anchor chemistry critical to the format.

Hunt brings a new strategy for wake-up time by focusing on 6 a.m. — an hour that typically attracts not TV’s largest audience but rather an engaged viewership ready to ingest information critical to the day. Although she has covered campaigns and Capitol Hill for long, Hunt emphasizes, “we are not a politics-only morning show.” She believes there’s space for a platform that is well-rounded, straightforward, and not biased for political news, hard news, international news, as well as other topics that arise in the morning.

Hunt stands ready to offer the latest nuances in the 2024 White House race or new information from Ukraine but could also delve into stories tied to Taylor Swift or the advisability of swimming in France’s River Seine. Expect segments on her interests, such as baseball and the Baltimore Orioles, and interesting videos that captivate digital audiences. She also plans to tap the expertise of Bleacher Report and hopes to have a regular weather segment on the program.

“If people are talking about it,” Hunt says, she will bring the topic to a new round table where her guests will converse with each other rather than staring at the camera.

Hunt also plans to cultivate an “extended family” of commentators who will appear regularly. Viewers may have already noticed Michael Smerconish appearing late in the week, or analysis from David Axelrod, Kate Beddingfield, Jonah Goldberg, or David Frum.

CNN executives have long coveted the viewers of “Morning Joe,” which attracts White House regulars and political aficionados but occasionally turns to outside-the-Beltway topics. Hunt, who was part of the “Joe” extended family before joining CNN, acknowledges the significance of the show. “I have a lot of respect for my competitors. Mika has been an incredible mentor, and I owe so much of my career to her.”

Hunt argues that emulating the Scarborough roundtable might be selling CNN short. With its extensive newsgathering resources, CNN can take viewers anywhere around the globe quickly, even at the early hours when Hunt comes on air.

CNN also seems to be flipping through an older playbook. For more than two decades, the company found success with a morning program that tackled both hard news and lighter fare, broadcasting from a base outside the traditional New York City location. “Morning Express,” the HLN morning program anchored by Robin Meade, was popular among audiences in the Midwest and South. However, CNN unceremoniously canceled the long-running program in 2022 during its initial cuts under Warner Bros. Discovery.

Hunt, who joined CNN in 2021 after success at NBC News, acknowledges she has to do more than just offer headlines to viewers. “I spend a lot of time thinking about the morning audience. You become part of their daily lives and routines in a very unique way,” she says. “I really appreciate that people are willing to let me into their space. It’s not like you’re on in the background in the office.”

Hunt also believes audiences want more personality and authenticity from news anchors at a time when technology is taking over roles once left for humans. Viewers want to “know that’s a real person on the other end, and it’s all going to become more important, not less,” she says. This understanding puts even more pressure on her to stand out at the start of CNN’s day.