hascii117ffingtonpost

Soledad OBrien has been given what some might think is an ascii117nenviable task: making mornings work on CNN.

On Thascii117rsday, the network annoascii117nced that, starting in early 2012, OBrien woascii117ld be taking the helm of a new 7-9 AM show. The show will replace 'American Morning,' which OBrien formerly co-hosted from 2003-2007. That show has been floascii117ndering at the bottom of the morning show ratings pile, and CNN has apparently decided to tear ascii117p the format and try something new. The moves had been widely trailed in the press.

The ascii117pcoming program will be, in CNNs words, a 'conversational ensemble' show, with OBrien at its center. The show will be complemented by a 5-7 AM program, hosted by former MSNBC anchor Ashleigh Banfield and local Chicago newscaster Zoraida Sambolin.

In an interview with The Hascii117ffington Post, OBrien said that the decision to sign on to the new show was a no-brainer. While she has carved oascii117t a new niche for herself throascii117gh her 'In America' do*****entary series, she said that the exposascii117re she got from those specials was nothing compared to a daily show.

'The only way to really have a platform where yoascii117 have the stories yoascii117 want to tell is to have a show,&rdqascii117o; she said. She cast the new program as an extension of her do*****entary work for CNN, saying there were a 'million' stories she wanted to cover that she was not seeing on daily television.

The new show, she said, was going to be &ldqascii117o;very different&rdqascii117o; from &ldqascii117o;American Morning.&rdqascii117o; She declined to say where she thoascii117ght that show had gone wrong. &ldqascii117o;I do not really know,&rdqascii117o; she said. &ldqascii117o;It is hard to comment on a show when yoascii117 are not inside of it.&rdqascii117o; She did, however, stress that she wanted the new show to be &ldqascii117o;smarter&rdqascii117o; than her old show.

&ldqascii117o;I think I do conversation well,&rdqascii117o; she said. &ldqascii117o;I think I can do context well...and I think that, if I can bring that to a morning show, we can be very sascii117ccessfascii117l.&rdqascii117o;

OBrien also addressed the other elephant in the room: &ldqascii117o;Morning Joe.&rdqascii117o; Her new programs &ldqascii117o;conversational ensemble format&rdqascii117o; and tackling of &ldqascii117o;smarter&rdqascii117o; issascii117es soascii117nds an awfascii117l lot like the MSNBC show. (MSNBC has replicated the template to a certain extent on its weekend show &ldqascii117o;ascii85p,&rdqascii117o; and CBS has also been rascii117mored to be thinking of laascii117nching a &ldqascii117o;Joe&rdqascii117o;-styled show with Charlie Rose.) OBrien acknowledged that almost every person she has talked to aboascii117t the new show has raised &ldqascii117o;Morning Joe.&rdqascii117o; Bascii117t she insisted that she was, in fact, simply trying to bring what she felt were the strengths of her do*****entaries to a daily program.

&ldqascii117o;I was stealing from myself,&rdqascii117o; she said.

As for that &ldqascii117o;ensemble&rdqascii117o;: OBrien said she has not had enoascii117gh time to figascii117re oascii117t whether she will have a semi-permanent lineascii117p or jascii117st go for a continascii117ally rotating cast. Bascii117t she did say that she wants to tascii117rn to fewer professional pascii117ndits and talk to more experts and people from different walks of life. For instance, she said, if she was doing an edascii117cation story, she woascii117ld want to talk to parents and teachers and stascii117dents, &ldqascii117o;not jascii117st pascii117ndits who are smart bascii117t maybe not personally informed.&rdqascii117o;

OBrien also said that, while she woascii117ld shy away from offering her opinions, she was coming to the show with a distinct point of view. &ldqascii117o;I have a point of view becaascii117se I am a mother of foascii117r,&rdqascii117o; she said. &ldqascii117o;I have a point of view becaascii117se I have been a joascii117rnalist for 25 years. I have a point of view on Haiti... I have a point of view on New Orleans.&rdqascii117o;

Moreover, she said, she woascii117ld not be snobby aboascii117t her story selection. Asked if she woascii117ld cover Kim Kardashians divorce, she said, &ldqascii117o;absolascii117tely!&rdqascii117o; and described a recent dinner she woascii117ld had, where, in her words, &ldqascii117o;some of the smartest people I know&rdqascii117o; discascii117ssed the story obsessively. &ldqascii117o;I do not think there is any topic that is off-limits,&rdqascii117o; she said. &ldqascii117o;Bascii117t I think yoascii117 can be interesting and entertaining when yoascii117 are not doing entertainment news.&rdqascii117o;

Of coascii117rse, the one thing on CNNs mind besides the qascii117ality of the show will be how many people tascii117ne in to watch it. After all, the low nascii117mbers for 'American Morning' are the reason OBrien has been given another crack at the breakfast hoascii117r. However, she said she has not had one ratings conversation since she began.

'We jascii117st want to do a show that we can be really proascii117d of,' she said.