Anderson Cooper’s long-time executive producer, Charlie Moore has been named CNN’s new vice president of primetime programming. In this new role, Moore will be responsible for CNN’s weeknight lineup from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. ET.
Moore’s new role was announced on June 4 by Eric Sherling, CNN’s executive vice president of U.S. programming. “Charlie will work with our prime executive producers to grow our primetime and support each program in showcasing our world-class journalism and delivering the best possible experience for our viewers,” Sherling wrote in an email to staff that was provided to TVNewser.
An interim EP has been put in place to oversee AC360. The executive producers of the various programs within that time period will report to Moore, while he will report to Sherling.
CNN’s primetime ratings have been underperforming for some time. During the month of May, the network experienced the steepest month-to-month drop of all three cable news networks, falling -17% in total viewers and -15% in the demo during primetime.
Moore must now find a way to reverse that trend.
Anderson Cooper (l) and Charlie Moore (r) at Yellowstone National Park in 2007. (Photo by Jeff Hutchens/Getty Images for CNN)
In addition to the Moore news, a CNN spokesperson confirmed to TVNewser that the network has renewed its news partnership agreement with the Associated Press after 14 years. Since ending its previous agreement with the AP in 2010, the network has relied on its own in-house newsgathering efforts to provide content for its vast portfolio.
The network has indicated that restarting this partnership provides its journalists with another tool for reporting across TV and digital platforms. CNN says that reports coming out of the AP will still be vetted by its editorial management team before publishing or hitting the airwaves.
The move to once again use the AP as a news source has sparked fears of potential layoffs, according to Puck’s Dylan Byers, who also broke the Moore news. But a CNN spokesperson pushes back on any talk of layoffs, noting that renewing the AP deal will allow journalists to focus more on enterprise reporting.