Soledad O'Brien Leaves CNN Morning Host Post, Will Return to Documentaries
Soledad O' Brien will no longer be a morning host at CNN but will stay with the network to produce a series of programming specials including documentaries on a nonexclusive basis, according to The New York Times.
O'Brien said she is returning to the role she had before she became host of Starting Point in 2011: a documentary reporter. The journalist, known for CNN documentaries like Black and America and Latino America, will form her own production company called Starfish Media, which will allow her to shop projects to other networks and air them on the Internet as well.
"There so many great stories to tell," said O'Brien, who is preparing two new installments of the Black in America franchise for CNN.
Her new production company will distribute those projects as well as old CNN documentaries like Gary and Tony Have a Baby, Unwelcome: the Muslims Next Door and Don't Fail Me: Education in America.
"We had conversations in general about my role at CNN," O'Brien told the Times. "What we ended up with was, they wanted to partner with me and I wanted to partner with them."
O'Brien will go from being an anchor to an outside producer. The host's future with the network was questioned when CNN announced that Chris Cuomo would become the new morning host. O'Brien's Starting Point made headlines but could not pick up huge ratings.
"We can take some of the discussions around these issues and carry them to new audiences," O'Brien said.
She has a number of ideas for new documentaries some of which "wouldn't necessarily be right for CNN," like ones about sports, she said.
CNN issued a press release saying it was excited to be "entering into a production and distribution agreement" with O'Brien, whom it described as a "critically acclaimed journalist."
