There’s not much to deter veteran CNN correspondent Sara Sidner.

When Moammar Gaddafi’s regime fell in Libya in 2011, Sidner coolly and methodically reported on the celebration in the streets of Tripoli as he tried to prevent the bullets and grenades from being sprayed into the air. (“Please don’t shoot, sir,” she said as if it were a minor distraction.)

When most of the country was locked down

down during the

COVID-19

pandemic in 2020, Sidner spent 176 days on the road, many of them in Minneapolis to

Police

murder of George Floyd

by the police

. She became a fixture during the protests and

even

facilitated the first conversation between the city’s police chief and Floyd’s family.

Sidner recently returned from Turkey after watching families mourn the massive loss of life in the

great catastrophe

earthquakes that hit the region.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen such massive destruction and I’ve been at this for a minute,” Sidner said in a statement.

recent

Interview from CNN headquarters in New York.

In every situation

Sidner, 50, remains a steady, authoritative presence when surrounded by chaos. But she admits she was a little apprehensive about her new assignment that began Monday when she became part of the troika of anchors on CNN’s revamped daytime lineup.

the latest in a series of changes the network has made under Chief Executive Chris Licht.

I’m nervous because I am, Sidner said.

I know no one thinks being in a studio is scary, but for me it’s because it’s new and different. Sometimes I have to take a risk. If I’m going to do something new, how will it go? It’s the thing that pushes you to try something that isn’t your norm.

Sidner joined John Berman and Kate Bolduan, already familiar to the network’s daytime viewers, on “CNN News Central,” a three-hour block broadcast from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pacific. (A second block will launch later this month, featuring Jim Sciutto, Brianna Keilar, and Boris Sanchez.)

The new format will be put to the test on Tuesday as it covers the lead-up to former President Trump’s appearance at a Manhattan criminal courthouse where he will face charges related to allegations he paid hush money to a porn star who claimed to have had sex with him.

cnn-news-central.jpg

In the long run, “CNN News Central” is one step further

CNN CEO Chris

light

reinvent reinvent

the venerable news brand for

it’s new

owner

,

Warner Bros. Discovery. He has tried to move it to the political center because his bosses feel it swung too far to the left during the Trump years. At the same time, he has faced cost-cutting pressures caused by parent company debt.

But I I

It’s been a tough road.

as data from Nielsen showed for the first quarter of 2023

CNN’s ratings are dropping

edit

40%

year to year

in the

coveted

25 to 54 year olds in the first quarter compared to

Unpleasant

a year ago,

most coveted by advertisers compared to a year ago, according to data group Nielsen

. (In the same period in 2022, the network covered the first weeks of Russia

Ukraine

invasion

from Ukraine

.)

CNN’s failed to gain a foothold in prime time.

despite trying It tried

a mix of news-driven specials and town halls rather than headstrong personalities, which have proven to be the best way to get

regularly driven by habit

viewers of cable news. CNN This Morning is also struggling to make a profit

to audiences

although there is

now

rests on set after a tumultuous period following sexist comments from co-host Don Lemon.

Nevertheless light

still has

support from Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav, who has urged patience for the network’s new positioning, even if it means lower ratings in the near term.

During the day, CNN was more competitive with MSNBC in the 25 to 54 age group advertisers want to reach with cable news. (Fox news

leads is the dominant leader

in demographic and total viewers).

But

Licht said in an interview earlier this year that he wanted to use the daytime hours to make a statement about the network’s journalism.

While prime time is when most viewers are available to watch,

Light believes

influential people in business and government have CNN on them

office

screens

in their office all day during the day

.

and believe light said

the network’s global resources deserved a better showcase

during the day

.

The network has created a new one

New York

studio for “CNN News Central” with large screens around a circular wall. The anchors spend little time behind desks interacting with larger-than-life images of correspondents around the world as stories develop.

“Mommy needs new shoes because we’ll be standing for almost three hours,” Sidner said.

Licht said he wanted Sidner as part of “CNN News Central”.

“

here energy,

other

from experience

absent

in the field, and her “genuine excitement around the news, unlike some (people) who are caused because they have general excitement about left or right.”

he said.

“I want people who are excited about the news and can put that energy into programming,”

light said.

Based on day one, “CNN News Central” doesn’t seem like a major TV news reinvention. The network’s election coverage with its famous “magic wall”

has had

a similar feeling. Fox News also used a wide open set for “Shepard Smith Reporting” when the anchor was still with the network.

Eric Sherling, CNN’s senior vice president of oversight

the

the programs, said the goal is to

figure out a way

visualize stories in a compelling way that conveys

S

the reporting power of the network

throughout the country and the world

. Hi

expectbelieves

the appearance of the program

want

evolve with the breaking stories it covers.

While there will be several anchors on set,

said Sherling

viewers shouldn’t expect the kind of light-hearted chatter they hear on morning shows,

according to Sherling.

“It will be a conversation with a purpose,” he said.

The well-travelled Sidner represents CNN’s reporting range. She acknowledges that some colleagues have joked that her arrival in a remote location is never a good sign.

“It’s like, ‘Uh-oh, when she shows up, something bad has happened or was about to happen,'” she said. “But I am willing to break my heart again and be around people whose hearts are broken. I care about the people I talk to. have reported.”

Jonathan Klein, a former CNN president, said Sidner is the right messenger for Licht’s vision of making a definitive news source

without that not

a political inclination.

“She’s very authentic,” Klein said. “She’s not performing. She’s herself and viewers feel that.”

It’s the first time in Sidner’s 15 years with the network that he’s spent every day in the confines of a studio.

A long-time Los Angeles resident, she arrived in New York earlier this year to host a show on CNN+, the streaming service that

mother company

Warner Bros. Discovery shut down less than two weeks after launch.

The service is gone, but Sidner was persuaded to stick around to be a key ingredient in the latest experiment

CNN Chairman Chris

Licht, who took over the network last year.

“I came here to do something else anyway,” said Sidner. “So this is an extension of that.”

While Sidner has complete control of the sky,

She admits it’s not easy

with her

to process the trauma she sees around her in places like India, Afghanistan and other hot spots where she ended up. Still, it will be an adjustment

as she will

being shot in a studio for the first time in her 15 years at CNN.

“I’m still a girl on the street,” she said. “I get my juice from being around my people and I will continue to do some of that.”