CNN’s missing $2-million anchor, Paula Zahn, finally made it back onto the air last night after nearly a seven-week absence.
Zahn returned to CNN in a one-hour show in her now-official 8 p.m. timeslot. The network had originally asked her to do a nightly, two-hour show but she thought an hour would be better.
“It has been Paula’s preference all along to anchor a one-hour broadcast, and while we considered several different options, we became convinced that a one-hour format is stronger and more accessible for viewers,” CNN U.S. general manager and executive vice president Teya Ryan said yesterday in an internal memo obtained by The Post.
Last night’s Zahn hour still fell under the “Live From the Headlines” moniker that CNN had earlier dubbed the two-hour block from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
It was originally slated to be called “American Evening,” but that may change, a source close to the show told The Post.
On the air last night, Zahn called the program “a show in progress” and said that over the next few weeks and months producers will be adding “a new name, surroundings and features.”
Anderson Cooper will continue anchoring from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. and will also get a new name for his show later this summer.