CNN today finalized Piers Morgan as its 9 p.m. replacement for Larry King.
The show will begin in January. King's final new show is set for December 16.
Morgan, a former British newspaper editor, is best known in the United States as a judge on "America's Got Talent." He has recently been hosting a chat show in Britain that impressed the CNN bigwigs.
In a press conference today, Morgan defended his journalistic pedigree, even though in the United States, he is not known as a journalist.
"He's honest. He's straightforward. And he'll hold people accountable," said CNN president Jon Klein.
Piers said he has been talking with CNN about working there even before King announced his pending departure from the 9 p.m. show. But once King gave his notice, the talks got serious.
As reported earlier, he had to get clearance from NBC, which has him under contract to do "America's Got Talent." (Any issues with his work visa was not true, he added.)
"I think both shows will help each other," he said. "I think they are very different audiences."
He plans to continue his chat show in the U.K. but is unsure about his future hosting "Britain's Got Talent." And like King, he will do a mix of live shows and pre-taped shows.
Morgan said he will adhere to CNN's efforts to be non-partisan. "I don't want people to view me as a political animal," he said. "I want to be provocative and aggressive and ballsy but seek out the truth."
Like King, he plans to mix it up with pop culture, politics and breaking news figures. His idyllic week might include interviews with Iman Feisal Abdul Rauf (the man behind the controversial mosque near Ground Zero), Mel Gibson, Pres.Obama, Gen. David Petraeus and Lindsey Lohan.
"That wouldn't be a bad week of television, would it?" Morgan mused.
From the press release:
"Piers has made his name posing tough questions to public figures, holding them accountable for their words and deeds," said Klein. "He is able to look at all aspects of the news with style and humor with an occasional good laugh in the process. He is a natural fit with Anderson Cooper, Eliot Spitzer and Kathleen Parker in our prime time line up, and the ideal choice to update the storied tradition of newsmaker talk on CNN."
And here's a mouthful of a press release quote from Piers Morgan:
"I am thrilled to be joining CNN, and very much looking forward to bringing my own style of interviewing to the world's biggest, and best, TV news organization," said Morgan. "As a young journalist in Britain, I watched CNN's astonishing live coverage of the 1991 Gulf War, and felt enthralled by the courage and brilliance of the journalists involved in that coverage. Years later, I watched Anderson Cooper's visceral reports from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and felt equally enthralled by his passionate and relentless search for the truth. Perhaps most pertinently, I have watched Larry King Live for much of the last 25 years, and dreamed of one day filling the legendary suspenders of the man I consider to be the greatest TV interviewer of them all. To now have the chance to work with Larry and Anderson, and to try and continue the outstanding journalistic legacy created by them, and so many others at CNN, is both a great honor, and a great challenge."
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