HLN (TV channel)

"Headline News" redirects here. For the song by "Weird Al" Yankovic, see Headline News (song).

"HNN" redirects here. For History News Network, based at George Mason University, see History News Network. For mathematical construction in group theory, see HNN extension.

HLN
Launched	January 1, 1982
Owned by	Cable News Network, Inc. (Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. (A Time Warner Company))
Picture format	1080i (HDTV) 480i (SDTV/16:9 letterbox)
Slogan	News and Views
Country	United States
Language	English
Broadcast area	United States, Canada, Latin America, The Caribbean, Asia, Australia (some hotels only)
Headquarters	CNN Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Formerly called	CNN2 (January 1982 – January 1983) Headline News/CNN Headline News (January 1983 – June 17, 2007)
Sister channel(s)	CNN CNN-IBN CNN Airport Network CNN Arabic CNN en Español CNN International CNN Chile CNN Türk n-tv TNT Turner Classic Movies Cartoon Network Boomerang TruTV TBS CNNj CW Network HBO Cinemax
Website	HLN
Availability
Terrestrial
Audio via some radio stations	Check local listings
Satellite
DirecTV	Channel 204 (HD/SD)
Dish Network	Channel 202 (HD/SD)
Cignal Digital TV	Channel TBA
Cable
Available on most U.S. cable systems	Check local listings
In-House (Washington)	Channel 23
StarHub TV (Singapore)	Channel 712
SkyCable (Philippines)	Channel 84
Cablelink (Philippines)	Channel 18
Verizon FiOS	Channel 101
Destiny Cable (Philippines)	Channel TBA
Satellite radio
Sirius	Channel 116
XM	Channel 123
IPTV
AT&T U-verse	Channel 1203 (HD) Channel 203 (SD)
Bell Fibe TV (Canada)	Channel 1508(HD) Channel 508 (SD)
Internet television
CNN.com/live	Watch live (US cable subscribers only)

HLN, formerly known as CNN Headline News (often abbreviated as HN) and CNN2, is a cable television news channel based in the United States, and a spinoff of the cable news television channel, CNN. It was originally a tightly-formatted, 30-minute newscast re-airing every half-hour, 24 hours a day, with freshly-updated information that briefly covered various areas of interest (e.g., national news, sports, entertainment, weather, business). Since 2005, however, its format has increasingly shifted to long-form tabloid-, opinion-, crime-, and entertainment news-related programming. Since the mid-2000s, HLN has been available internationally on cable- and satellite-TV to viewers in parts of Asia, the Caribbean, and South America.

History

Launch

Initially broadcast as CNN2 on January 1, 1982, the channel was renamed one year later to CNN Headline News (and was often abbreviated as HN, as shown in its late 80s-early 90s logo). The inclusion of the "CNN" branding in the name occurred intermittently during its history until the mid-2000s, when it was re-branded as simply HLN.

Originally, channel programming focused around the idea that a viewer could tune in at any time of day or night (instead of having to wait for local and network news' merely once-daily national-news broadcasts), and in just 30 minutes receive up-to-date information on the top national and international stories. This "Headline News Wheel" format featured: "Dollars and Sense" business and personal finance reports at 15 and 45 minutes past each hour; Headline Sports at 20 and 50 minutes past the hour; lifestyle reports at 25 and 55 minutes past the hour; and, general news during the top (:00) and bottom (:30) of the hour. The :25/:55 lifestyle segment was designed to allow local cable systems the option of pre-empting it with a local headline "capsule" from an associated, regional cable news channel, or, a local television station. Another regular feature, the "Hollywood Minute", was often fitted-in after the Headline Sports segment. In the channel's early years, a two-minute recap of the hour's top stories, the CNN Headlines, would run after the sports segment.

Its longest-serving news anchor was Chuck Roberts, who retired on July 30, 2010, after a 28-year career with the network. During its first year, Headline News had a competitor in the form of Group W's Satellite News Channel, which lasted from June 21, 1982, until October 27, 1983. SNC's satellite slot was then purchased by Ted Turner to launch Headline News into further additional homes.

Jon Petrovich was hired in the mid-1980s by Turner to lead Headline News. In 1990, Headline News developed Local Edition, a six minute-long local newscast, whose content produced by a local broadcast station in the participating market, airing at the end of each half-hour of Headline News' rolling news block.

Nearly a victim of a hoax

On January 8, 1992, Headline News was almost the victim of a hoax. When President George H.W. Bush fainted at a state dinner in Tokyo, a caller claiming to be the president's physician called and claimed that Bush had died. At 9:45 a.m., anchorman Don Harrison prepared to break the story, stating "This just in to CNN Headline News, and we say right off the bat, we have not confirmed this through any other sources..." Executive Producer Roger Bahre, off camera, yelled "No! Stop!" After glancing away momentarily, Harrison continued, "We are now getting a correction. We will not give you that story. It was regarding some rather tragic news involving President Bush, but updating that story, President Bush is reported to be resting comfortably." It turned out that an Idaho man, James Edward Smith, called CNN posing as the president's physician. A CNN employee entered the information into a centralized computer used by both CNN and Headline News, and it nearly got out on the air before it could be verified. Smith was subsequently questioned by the Secret Service and hospitalized at a private medical facility.

Jukebox effect

In the late-1990s, Headline News pioneered use of a digital video "jukebox" to recycle segments of one newscast, seamlessly into another. The new technology reduced the number of staffers needed by enabling news segments to be re-used throughout an entire day (previously, anchors read the same stories repeatedly, hour after hour, with the second 15 minutes of each half hour in the "wheel" being on videotape every third and fourth hour). This resulted in lay-offs of part of its staff, including such stalwart anchors as Lyn Vaughn, David Goodnow and Bob Losure, all of whom had been with Headline News for over 10 years.

A new look

The channel became noted for its distinct "screen" starting in August 2001, in which the news anchor (or news footage) appears in a sort of visual "window" surrounded by constantly changing text, such as breaking news, sports scores, stock market reports, and weather updates.

Format changes

Due to the growing competition from Fox News Channel and MSNBC, in 2003 Time Warner re-vamped CNN Headline News with a more flexible format, featuring live reports and two anchors co-hosting the channel's rolling news coverage.

Headline Prime title card

In 2005 the channel substantially reduced the amount of on-screen information, following much scrutiny and lampooning of their format (e.g., USA Today calling their screen a "jumbled mess"). The new look would consist of a yellow bar, which added sports scores and stock quotes to the basic "ticker" of news headlines. The channel also began a shift away from their rolling news coverage throughout primetime, to longer, personality-based programs (under the package title Headline Prime) that February.

The channel's new programs included: Showbiz Tonight with A. J. Hammer and Karyn Bryant (a daily, celebrity-news show); an eponymous legal news and discussion program hosted by Nancy Grace; and, a general, national-news program titled Prime News Tonight, hosted by Mike Galanos. This move had the unintended consequence of eliminating the main difference between CNN Headline News, and, CNN (during primetime), since CNN had always broadcast a variety of news-related programs (e.g., documentaries, and personality-based shows like Larry King Live).

Programming changes have also taken place, with the introduction of News To Me, a program featuring only user-generated content, in May, a daily broadcast of the previous evening's Larry King Live, in June, and a shift towards the channel's rolling news coverage being handled by a single anchor, deviating from the channel's traditional dual anchor format since 2003. The Larry King Live re-air has been replaced by a re-air of Showbiz Tonight from the previous evening (that in turn was dropped for an extension of "Morning Express").

1990s logo on a table in the food court at CNN Center

On December 15, 2008, in conjunction with CNN's own graphics changes, which resemble the graphics of its sister channel CNN International, Headline News replaced its news ticker with a "flipper", which features an RSS feed of the current headlines on CNN.com. The same day, the current HLN logo was introduced, initially alongside the channel's full name. Two days later, the "Headline News" name was removed from on-air use, and a new slogan, "News and Views", was introduced. The 'Headline News' name remains in use for on-screen copyright notices.^{[citation needed]}

2010s

On March 28, 2011, HLN switched its primary SD feed to a 16:9 letterbox format from 4:3. Both of HLN's standard-definition and high-definition feeds now carry the same 16:9 screen format; however, video footage broadcast in standard-definition on either feed is not pillarboxed (much like it is on parent channel CNN since its SD feed switched from 4:3 to 16:9 in January 2011), leaving black bars on the right and left sides of the screen, as well as on the top and bottom of the screen. HLN Saturday Night Mysteries, which features repurposed versions of sister channel TruTV's crime story programming, will however be broadcast in the 4:3 picture format on the HLN SD feed.

During the spring of 2011, HLN devoted a significant amount of the broadcast day to the Casey Anthony murder trial, dedicating multiple daily and primetime slots to live coverage of the proceedings followed by evening commentary. The saturation coverage of the trial led to increased ratings for the network, including a doubling in regular viewership during daytime hours and nearly triple that in primetime. HLN Executive Vice President Scot Safon called the trial "a gigantic deal" for the network. HLN also devoted a significant amount of time to the Dr. Conrad Murray trial during the fall of 2011.

On July 18, 2011, live news coverage from Headline News began to be available on mobile devices to subscribers of certain paid TV services.

On November 4, 2011, HLN launched its own website at hlntv.com. By contrast to CNN.com, the site is run by HLN's own editorial staff, emphasizing "must see and must share" stories, and content tying into its television programs.

HLN picked up the rights to telecast the 39th Daytime Emmy Awards on Saturday, June 23, 2012; marking the first time the awards ceremony has been broadcast on cable. With 912,000 viewers (not counting four repeat broadcasts, which brought the total to 2 million), the broadcast was "the most watched regularly scheduled, non-news telecast" ever on HLN.

CNN Student News

CNN Student News is a student news program targeted for the classroom that runs from 4AM to 4:10AM eastern Monday to Friday as part of the cable industry's Cable in the Classroom inititave, as anchor Carl Azuz reports the day's news in a simplified format (stories with graphic imagery or adult themes are usually left out from this newscast). CNN Student News is also available as a free podcast on the CNN Student News website or on iTunes.

Transmission and reception

Due to the channel's tradition of rolling news coverage, HLN has become popular with people who may not have time to watch lengthy news reports, in addition to places where a high demand for "get to the point" news exists, such as airports, bars, and many other places.

Since its inception, Headline News has been syndicated to network television affiliates in the United States, mainly airing in overnight time periods as stations began to be encouraged to carry a full 24-hour schedule and not go off-the-air. Audio of the channel was also simulcast on AM radio stations across the country via Westwood One; all of CNN's U.S. radio operations (including the HLN simulcast) were discontinued April 1, 2012 as part of Westwood One's dissolution into Dial Global.

The audio feed is also carried on XM Satellite Radio channel 123, and Sirius Satellite Radio channel 116. Until the early 1990s, much of Headline News' output was simulcast on CNN International.

International

In the mid-2000s, the channel has been made available to some viewers outside the US, particularly in Asia and Latin America. While the international version's programme line-up is exactly the same as in the US, weather forecasts for Asian and Latin American cities are used as break fillers in lieu of commercials (see External Links section for a YouTube clip of this).

High definition

The 1080i high definition simulcast of HLN is available nationally on most cable and satellite providers, and in Canada on Bell TV (720p only).

Programming

HLN presents a variety of programming, providing rolling news coverage from the early morning through the late afternoon (Eastern Time), followed by subject-oriented programming during primetime hours.

Weekday schedule

ET	Program	Host(s)	Location	Description
6 AM – Noon	Morning Express with Robin Meade	Robin Meade with Bob Van Dillen, Jennifer Westhoven and Carlos Diaz	CNN Center	The network's morning news format with a "news wheel" of news, weather, sports, and other segments.
Noon – 1 PM	Raising America with Kyra Phillips	Kyra Phillips and Christi Paul		Described as "looking at the news through the parent's perspective".
1 – 4 PM	HLN News Now	Mike Galanos and Richelle Carey		Dayside rolling news block.
4 – 5 PM	Now in America	Vinnie Politan		Formerly Making it in America, described as "a look into how everyday Americans are getting through today's challenging economic times." Eventually became a legal analysis program with a title change to Now in America in May 2013.
5 – 7 PM	Evening Express	Ryan Smith, Clark Howard and Susan Hendricks		An extension of Morning Express that specializes in topics including parenting, education, health, personal finance and relationships.
7 – 8 PM	Jane Velez-Mitchell	Jane Velez-Mitchell	Time Warner Center New York	Program featuring legal analysis and crime stories.
8 – 9 PM	Nancy Grace	Nancy Grace	CNN Center	A justice themed/interview/debate show.
9 – 10 PM	Dr. Drew On Call	Dr. Drew Pinsky	CNN Los Angeles Bureau	Airs Monday-Wednesday; medical and psychological views about current events. Also currently on Thursdays for trial coverage.
9 – 11 PM	What Would You Do?	John Quinones	N/A	Airs Thursdays. Repeats of the ethical dilemma series hosted by ABC News' John Quinones. Currently on hiatus in this slot for trial coverage.
10 – 11 PM	HLN After Dark	Vinnie Politan and Joey Jackson	CNN Center	Airs Monday-Thursday. Focuses on stories that are matters of public opinion. Introduced during the Jodi Arias trial to provide additional nightly coverage, picked up as a permanent addition following the trial.
11 PM – Midnight	Showbiz Tonight	A.J. Hammer	Time Warner Center New York	Entertainment news analysis program.

Note:

• From Midnight – 6 AM, Dr. Drew On Call (Midnight/5 AM), Nancy Grace (10 PM/1 AM), Showbiz Tonight (2 AM/4:10 AM) and Jane Velez-Mitchell (3 AM) are replayed.

Weekend Programming

ET	Program	Host(s)	Description
7 AM – 3 PM	Weekend Express with Natasha Curry	Natasha Curry	Weekend version of Morning Express; Curry also serves as Robin Meade's substitute on weekdays.
3 PM –	Weekend Mysteries		Archive true crime programming from CourtTV's library of series.
3 – 5 PM	Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice	Dominick Dunne	Repeats of the former CourtTV series. Airs Sunday afternoon and evenings in blocks of two episodes repeated four times.
5 – 7 PM	Murder by the Book		Program involving American true crime and mystery writers accounting the stories and true crimes they wrote books about. Airs Sunday afternoon and evenings in blocks of two episodes repeated four times.
9 – 11 PM	What Would You Do?	John Quinones	See above; airs Sundays at 9 PM ET.

Note:

• The Investigators is shown on Saturdays at 5-7 AM eastern.
• Nancy Grace Mysteries is shown on Fridays at 8-9 PM and 11 PM-12 AM and on Saturdays at 3-4 AM, 5-6 AM and 11 PM-12 AM and on Sundays at 3-4 AM eastern.
• Mystery Detectives is shown on Fridays at 9-11 PM and on Saturdays at 12-3 AM, 4-5 AM, 3-11 PM and on Sundays at 12-3 AM and 4-6 AM eastern.
• On Monday mornings (Late Sunday nights), repeats of Showbiz Tonight (4:10 AM) and What Would You Do? (5 AM) are shown.

Sound logo

The channel's sonic logo, tag, audio mnemonic was produced by Musikvergnuegen and written by Walter Werzowa from the Austrian 1980s sampling band Edelweiss.

Anchors and reporters

Laura Baron-HLN Bonnie Blossman—HLN Mike Brooks—HLN Catherine Callaway—HLN Richelle Carey—HLN Joe Carter—HLN Shanon Cook—HLN/CNN Loni Coombs-HLN Natasha Curry—HLN Ray D'Alessio—HLN Carlos Diaz—HLN

Corri Fetman—HLN Holly Firfer—HLN Jeff Fischel—HLN/CNN Mike Galanos—HLN Sara Ganim—HLN/CNN Nancy Grace—HLN A.J. Hammer—HLN Susan Hendricks—HLN/CNN Stacey Honowitz—HLN Clark Howard—HLN Nikki Joel—HLN

Dr. Robi Ludwig—HLN Robin Meade—HLN Christi Paul—HLN Kyra Phillips—HLN Dr. Drew Pinsky—HLN Vinnie Politan—HLN Renee Rockwell—HLN Robin Sax—HLN Bonnie Schneider—HLN/CNN Kim Serafin—HLN Isha Sesay—HLN/CNN International

Jennifer Smetter—HLN Melanie Snare—HLN Jim Spellman—HLN Patti Stanger—HLN Dr. Lauren Streicher—HLN Nischelle Turner —HLN Bob Van Dillen—HLN Jane Velez-Mitchell—HLN Dr. Michelle Ward—HLN Jennifer Westhoven—HLN Kelli Zink—HLN

Former anchors and reporters

Brooke Anderson—The Insider Angela Astore Rudi Bakhtiar—Director of Communications for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran | Serves as senior advisor at Voice of America Brooke Baldwin—CNN Bobbie Battista—Onion News Network Glenn Beck—TheBlaze Joy Behar—ABC Gayle Bierman Laurie Bishop—NCR Russell Biven—WBIR-TV Michelle Bonner—ESPN Richard Brown Stan Case—Death Helen Casey Virginia Cha—KGTV-TV Sophia Choi—WSB-TV Brian Christie Leesa Clark—retired Adrianna Costa Dave Cotton—KHQ Kysa Daniels—Founder and President of Clarion Communications Alisha Davis—WLUK-TV Denise Dillon—WAGA-TV Bud Elliott—KJWL

Marc Fein—KXAS Sasha Foo—KUSI-TV Peter Ford—retired Patrice Formby Judy Fortin—NewsCertified Exchange Stephen Frazier—retired Ginger Geoffrey—WKBW Courtney George Lori Geary—WSB-TV Sabrina Gibbons—WSB AM and FM David Goodnow—retired Gordon Graham—Florida's News Channel Dan Hackel-Visiting Assoc. Professor of Communications at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville Don Harrison—Death Pat Harvey—KCBS-TV Tom Haynes—WAGA-TV Kara Henderson—NFL Network Erica Hill Valerie Hoff—11 Alive John Huck—KVVU-TV Tracy Hutchins Jerome Jurenovich—FSN South and SportSouth Braves Micah Johnson Robin Johnson

Mike Kavanaugh Kathleen Kennedy Cindy Klose—KWCH-DT Sachi Koto—Board of Directors | The Japan-America Society of Georgia Nicole Lapin—CNN Denise Leclair Loretta Lepore Bob Losure—retired Richard Lui—MSNBC Pam Mason Miguel Marquez—CNN Connie Mayberry Cami McCormick—CBS News Janice McDonald Dave Michaels Kris Osborn Steve Overmeyer Christina Park—WNYW Eric Phillips Jacque Reid Marilyn Ringo—retired Chuck Roberts—retired Thomas Roberts—MSNBC Lynne Russell

Renay San Miguel—host/Managing Editor at Spark360.tv | Chief Content Officer at Splash Media Will Selva Larry Smith Kate Snow—WDRB-TV Pat St. Claire Linda Stouffer—WSB-TV Glen Summers Andrea Thompson Toria Tolley—American Profile Patti Tripathi—President, TriPath Media; Society Columnist Lyn Vaughn—Troy University Dave Walker Gary Warner—retired Shelley Walcott—WTMJ-TV Rafer Weigel—ESPN Radio Jennie West Jim Wilkerson Jack Womack Van Earl Wright—Owner, President at Wright Stuff Productions Jay Young—Death Charles Zewe—Louisiana State University

Network slogans

• You're In Tune with the World (1982–1984)
• Anytime, All the Time (1983–1999)
• Around the World in 30 Minutes (1987–1994)
• A Whole Day's News Every Half Hour (1994–1995)
• Bringing You the World for 15 Years, 30 Minutes at a Time (1997; for their 15th anniversary)
• 24 Hour Non-Stop Headlines (1999–2000)
• Get to the Point News/The Get to the Point News Network (2000–2002)
• Real News, Real Fast (2002–2008)
• News And Views (2008–present)

External links

• Official website
• Headline News clips from the 1980s and 1990s on YouTube
• Headline News idents and graphics from the 1980s and 1990s
• HLN filler for International viewers during US Commercial Breaks
• Headline News Online is a popular news aggregator news site collecting news mostly from the US but also from the world.