As 2022 winds down, so will the modern holiday tradition: While CNN broadcasts many New Year’s Eve festivities, Don Lemon likely isn’t throwing the shots at the camera.
The Warner Bros.-backed news outlet wants to. Discovery wants to curb some of the antics that have become a staple of its coverage into the wee hours of the last night of the year. While Anderson Cooper will still be able to imbibe during primetime hours — along with his co-host Andy Cohen — while the duo remain in Times Square, anchors and reporters who may have thrown alcoholic beverages on camera (or off) in the past will be asked to stop this. practice.
The network’s New Year’s Eve coverage was the subject of a discussion Tuesday between CNN employees and Chris Licht, the company’s chairman and CEO. The upcoming New Year’s Eve broadcast will be the first on CNN under Licht’s sponsorship. During the meeting, Licht told the staff that he felt drinking on camera eroded the credibility of the CNN staff and hurt the “respect” they might have among viewers.
However, Lemon and co-hosts like Brooke Baldwin — who has now left CNN — was something that was gaining traction on social media and generating a lot of viral chatter.
CNN’s New Year’s Eve coverage wasn’t the most watched on TV that night—Ryan Seacrest’s ABC show usually wins out larger TV crowds—but it became part of the holiday. host and it was farewell song since 2002, initially spurred to embrace the idea by his own ambivalence about the occasion.
New Year’s Eve is often “too hard and too stressful to get out of. There’s something a little depressing about it. It often ends badly for a lot of people,” said the broadcaster. diverse in 2020. But a Times Square broadcast, he believes, allows audiences to party without the risk of a bad night. “It’s two people standing in the cold and rain and watching things happen. Funny things happen, a lot of things happen, and that’s it. It’s a fun night, and that’s really all you can look for on New Year’s Eve.”
In recent years, Cohen’s influence has helped calm moods. The Bravo host isn’t shy about drinking, nodding, or screaming. He used the platform of CNN New Year’s Eve to lash out against former New York City mayor Bill DiBlasio or to convince Cooper to take more shots than would probably be advised for a TV anchor hosting a national broadcast.
If Cooper and Cohen veer toward wines, lemons tend to lean in decisively. He led CNN’s coverage of the holiday after 12:30 a.m., when things get rowdier. One year, Lemon’s ear was pierced on live television. On last year’s show, he went on a rant, telling viewers he was a “grown-up guy” who “was able to share my point of view on TV and it freaks people out and you know what,” he said. You can kiss behind me, I don’t care. I don’t care.” He was flanked by CNN’s Alisin Camerota and comedian Dulce Sloan.
The sender has always maintained that he is in complete control of himself in front of the camera. “The idea is to have fun. What can I do to make it interesting and engaging for the audience?” Lemon said diverse in 2018. “I really realize that if I’m going to get a tattoo, I’m making that decision.” His new role on the retooled CNN morning show may cause him to rethink how much fun he has to be at the plan show. CNN did not say if Lemon and Camerota will be attending this year’s coverage.
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