CNN’s Chris Licht Had a ‘Golden Touch’ in Morning and Late Night. Now Comes His Biggest Challenge

It doesn’t take much to get Orion Sun to open up. The Philadelphia-born, New Jersey-raised singer is equally as excited to talk about the calming rain in New York (“If I don’t necessarily have to go anywhere, it can just be poetic instead of annoying”), the music she’s listening to (“I’ve been bouncing around, getting more into Deem Spencer. Still bumping that new Junglepussy record”) and all the videos she watches in her free time.

Angel Olsen has confirmed details of a new studio album. Big Time is due June 3 via Jagjaguwar and is preceded by new song "All The Good Times." You can see a video for the single below.

Traci Johnson likens her debut season on  a bit to surviving a natural disaster.«It's like a Teresa tornado blows in; you never know, just as in a tornado, what kind of weather you're going to really get,» the season 12 newbie confesses to ET, reflecting on her still-unfolding issues with OG  star Teresa Giudice. «She can definitely shock you with things she says,» Traci admits. «There's some moments that leave me scratching my head going, did she really just say that to me? But you just have to be ready for all of it and realize her bark is a lot worse than her bite most of the time.

Travis Scott has been accused in court of violating a gag order preventing him from discussing the Astroworld 2021 tragedy, the Associated Press reports. Bob Hilliard, an attorney representing some of the families of those injured and killed at the festival, made the accusation in court on Monday. Earlier this month, Scott announced Project HEAL, a philanthropic initiative that promises investment in "a tech-driven device" to boost safety at large events.

Tyler, the Creator has anounced that he'll play his sixth studio album, summer 2021's CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, in its entirety this coming Thursday, March 31, at a special performance in downtown Los Angeles. His set will stream live on Prime Video, the Amazon Music app, and the Amazon Music Twitch channel.

Saw it coming. After Teresa Giudice announced that her sister-in-law, Melissa Gorga, wouldn’t be a bridesmaid during her nuptials, Dolores Catania offered context to the decision.

With families struggling amid the cost of living crisis there are calls for more parents to be able to access free school meals.

Two quick-thinking police officers helped save a family from a 'life-threatening' fire that ripped through their home in Stockport. The drama unfolded when the two PCs who were on patrol in Brinnington spotted smoke coming from a house earlier this morning (Tuesday).

A social worker has apologised for inaccurately recording that a man under investigation by police for attacking a child could have more access to his partner’s baby than advice suggested. Jamie Chadwick went on to murder Orianna Crilly-Cifrova in October 2019 by ‘projecting’ the one-year-old at a ‘hard surface’ at home in Radcliffe. At the time, Orianna’s mum, Chelsea Crilly, was being supported by social services at Wigan Council.

BBC's Holby City is coming to an end tonight after 23 years on screen. The drama series, which follows the highs and lows of staff and patients on the wards of fictional Holby City hospital, will air its final ever episode on Tuesday night.

Twenty years seems like a long time, until you’re a person of a certain age and that length of time feels like it passes in the blink of an eye. This is the case with the David Fincher film, “Panic Room,” which was released 20 years ago this week.

A poor tabby cat is 'lucky to be alive' after it became wedged in a wall at an Oldham mill and was stuck there for at least a 'few days'. Now, a mission is underway to trace its owner as it survives on a drip at a local vets.

Sports Team have announced plans to release their second album ‘Gulp’ and shared the first taster from the record, ‘R Entertainment’ – listen below.The announcement comes swiftly after the band hinted at the release of new music yesterday (March 28).They also shared a screenshot of an email on Twitter earlier this month, the subject of which was “Album masters from Randy”. The caption of the post read: “Hits only.

Interpol and Spoon have announced a co-headlined coast-to-coast North American tour,  ‘Lights, Camera, Factions’. Tickets will be available hereThe tour kicks off on August 25 in Asbury Park at The Stone Pony Summer Stage and ends with a two-night stint at Portland, OR’s Pioneer Square on September 17 and 18.

Sex Pistols series Pistol will officially be released this May.Created and written by Craig Pearce and directed by Danny Boyle, the six-episode series is set to premiere on Disney+ on May 31.The show is based on Steve Jones‘ memoir ‘Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol’ and boasts a cast of newcomers, including Toby Wallace as Jones, Jacob Slater as Paul Cook, Anson Boon as John Lydon and Christian Lees as Glen Matlock.Pistol also features Louis Partridge as Sid Vicious, Sydney Chandler as Chrissie Hynde, Talulah Riley as Vivienne Westwood, Maisie Williams as punk icon Jordan, Emma Appleton as Nancy Spungen and Thomas Brodie-Sangster as Malcolm McLaren.An official synopsis for Pistol, described as being about “a rock and roll revolution” reads: “The furious, raging storm at the centre of this revolution are the Sex Pistols– and at the centre of this series is Sex Pistols’ founding member and guitarist, Steve Jones.“Jones’ hilarious, emotional and at times heart-breaking journey guides us through a kaleidoscopic telling of three of the most epic, chaotic and mucus-spattered years in the history of music.“This is the story of a band of spotty, noisy, working-class kids with ‘no future,’ who shook the boring, corrupt Establishment to its core, threatened to bring down the government and changed music and culture forever.” Describing his experience playing Cook, Slater called his first acting job “a wonderful baptism of fire” in conversation with NME.“If you make [the band] into gods in your head, you’re never going to do them justice,” he said.“They have great music and were part of this massive cultural phenomenon, but were also just kids.

Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke has criticised the lack of punishment given to Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the “partygate” scandal at Downing Street.Earlier this year, a report by Sue Gray revealed that 16 separate alleged gatherings were being investigated in Number 10. Gray later concluded that some of these events “should not have been allowed to take place.”She went on to say “too little thought” was given to public health concerns and confirmed that the Metropolitan Police was investigating 12 of these events, on eight separate dates for alleged coronavirus rule-breaking.That included the 20 May 2020 “bring your own booze” event in Downing Street’s garden and the PM’s birthday on June 19, 2020.She went onto say “there were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times.”Speaking about the scandal to NME, Okereke has criticised the response and lack of culpability for the alleged events.“Boris has been proved to lie to Parliament and nothing has happened,” he told NME.

Will Smith’s altercation at the Oscars.At the ceremony on Sunday (March 27), Smith struck Chris Rock on-stage following a joke about his wife Jada’s shaved head. In 2018, she revealed she was diagnosed with alopecia.Jada has since shared an Instagram post on Tuesday (March 29), which reads: “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it.”It’s unclear if the post is directly referring to the Oscars incident.A post shared by Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapinkettsmith)Smith’s mum, Carolyn, recently addressed the altercation in an interview with 6abc, saying she’d never “seen him do that”.“He is a very even, people person,” Carolyn said referring to her son’s actions.

Jada Pinkett Smith is speaking out.

Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni are giving their “hardcore” fans a little fan service.

The hosts of “The View” support Will Smith in his apology after slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars, but at least one host wants to see action taken against the “King Richard” actor.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorAndrew Ross Sorkin, the New York Times journalist and CNBC morning host, will take on a new assignment for NBC News: gaining an edge in the TV-news industry’s expanding streaming wars.Sorkin will host and produce a limited-run original series for NBC News Now, the NBC News streaming service that its parent has promoted aggressively in recent weeks as rival CNN prepares to launch a new streaming venture called CNN Plus. Sorkin’s streaming debut is expected to examine “the people, trends, institutions and forces shaping our world,” according to an NBC News statement.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorTV networks have long demanded more data from Nielsen to help keep track of viewers who are leaving traditional TV for streaming video and mobile viewing. Now they say they want less.Nielsen recently began releasing new sets of information that include more granular measurement of TV audiences, available alongside its traditional measures of total linear viewership by age and gender.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorA+E Networks has long been in the business of selling advertising time for its linear cable networks. But as it moves into a new era of haggling over audiences who watch TV in decidedly non-traditional fashion, it has started to push advertisers to find new ways to spend their money.“As our industry continues to evolve, we remain focused on premium, popular and relevant stories and storytellers and are expanding the ways our viewers can find our content,’ says Paul Buccieri,” president and chairman of A+E Networks Group, in a prepared statement, adding: “In an ever-changing landscape, we are providing our advertisers more —  more programming featuring the world’s most beloved talent, more best-in-class opportunities to reach their targets, and more custom solutions to exceed their goals and deeply engage their audiences.” A+E Networks is holding a virtual upfront presentation Wednesday for advertisers.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe media industry’s measurement wars are expanding beyond counting traditional video audiences.iSpot, the measurement company that figures prominently in plans by NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia to offer alternatives to Nielsen in the sector’s looming “upfront” marketplace, will acquire Tunity, an analytics company that analyzes consumer viewing habits in public locations nationwide, including restaurants, offices, bars and hotels.“We want to account for all viewing across all screens,” says Sean Muller, iSpot’s founder and CEO, in an interview. The Tunity acquisition, he says, could be “powerful, both for our advertising clients who invest heavily in tentpole events and programs that are consumed outside the home and for our media partners.” The companies did not disclose financial terms.Keeping track of so-called “out of home” audiences has become more critical to TV networks, who understand that significant chunks of viewership for news, sports and other live programming is often found outside a consumer’s main habitat.

The Late Show host Stephen Colbert was sure that Chris Licht was the right person for the job of showrunner of his CBS late-night show when the pair met over a drink six years ago.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorThe showrunner is leaving, but the show must go on.Staffers at CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” aren’t sure who the next top producer will be at the program, according to three people familiar with the matter, with top producers ready to take their time to examine the needs of the show after the departure of Chris Licht, who has been executive producer of the late-night mainstay since 2016. Licht’s decision to take a new role as the CEO of CNN once Discovery closes its acquisition of WarnerMedia leaked this weekend, well before the executive was able to formally inform George Cheeks, CEO of Paramount Global’s CBS operations, or Shari Redstone, chairman of the company, according to one of these people.

Discovery made the official announcement on Monday that Chris Licht, currently executive producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, will lead CNN after the completion of the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorCNN will have a new chief for a new chapter.Chris Licht, a veteran producer who has overseen programs like MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and CBS’ “CBS This Morning” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” was named chairman and chief executive of CNN Global — a new name for the news operation once its parent, WarnerMedia, is acquired by Discovery. Licht will report directly to David Zaslav, who will be CEO of the combined company.Discovery is expected to take control of WarnerMedia sometime in mid-April, depending on a shareholder vote, among other conditions.The prospect of a new owner and a new top executive has spurred speculation about what new programming and operating direction may be in store for the venerable cable-news outlet, which has been under scrutiny since WarnerMedia ousted former president Jeff Zucker after he failed to disclose a romantic relationship with Allison Gollust, CNN’s former chief marketing officer.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNielsen hopes to regain industry backing of its TV ratings later this year, the company’s top executive told investors Monday.Speaking on a call with analysts, Nielsen CEO David Kenny said the company expects to complete all necessary work to regain accreditation by mid year. He believes the Media Rating Council, the industry organization that certifies measurement processes, will vote on accreditation of Nielsen’s national and local TV ratings work sometime after that.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorPete Davidson won’t be live from New York on this particular Saturday night.The “Saturday Night Live” cast member has been cleared to work on the production of “The Home,” the Miramax horror movie being directed by James DeMonaco, according to two people familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for “SNL” could not be reached for immediate comment.

Chris Licht, the executive producer of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert who also launched Morning Joe on MSNBC, is poised to take over the reins of CNN after the Discovery-WarnerMedia merger closes, a source confirmed.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorChris Licht, the wunderkind producer who launched “Morning Joe,” retooled “CBS This Morning” and helped late night host Stephen Colbert gain traction on CBS, is jumping to CNN to take over the operation once its corporate parent, WarnerMedia, is acquired by Discovery in a much-anticipated merger expected to take place in April, according to a person familiar with the matter.Licht could not be reached for immediate comment and a CNN spokesperson referred an inquiry to Discovery. A Discovery executive declined to comment.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNielsen is poised to release another batch of new data about TV viewers as it battles with TV networks over which yardstick will be paramount in the industry’s coming upfront marketplace.The media measurement giant is expected as soon as Wednesday to announce it will issue streaming data from connected TV sets, according to two people familiar with the matter. The information, Nielsen is expected to tell clients, will give advertisers, media buyers and media companies more information in their efforts to understand how audiences are behaving across a range of different screens.