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HLN (TV network)

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"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.
HLN
CountryUnited States
HeadquartersCNN Center,
Atlanta, Georgia
Programming
Language(s)English
Ownership
OwnerTurner Broadcasting System, Inc.
(A Time Warner Company)

HLN, formerly known as CNN Headline News 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 re-named one year later to CNN Headline News. 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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]

Nearly a victim of a hoax

On January 8, 1992, Headline News was almost the victim of a hoax. When U.S. President George Bush, Sr. 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!"[4] 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.[5]

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

Before the September 11 attacks, 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.

File:Headlineprime.png
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.[6] 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.[7] 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. [8] HLN Executive Vice President Scot Safon called the trial "a gigantic deal" for the network.[9] 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.[10]

On November 4, 2011, HLN launched its own website - hlntv.com. The parent network will continue to serve as the website's publisher but HLN will have full editorial control of what's on the site. [11]

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.[12] 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.[13]

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

HLN HD is a 1080i high definition simulcast of HLN. It 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 Lead anchor Robin Meade, Meteorologist Bob Van Dillen, personal finance anchor Jennifer Westhoven and Sports anchor Carlos Diaz with news in the fast lane.
Noon – 5 PM
HLN News Now
 Mike Galanos, Christi Paul, Richelle Carey and Susan Hendricks News Now delivers the day's events live as they happen.
5 – 7 PM
Evening Express
 Ryan Smith, Clark Howard and Isha Sesay An extension of Morning Express that will deliver news and information including parenting, education, health, personal finance and relationships. [14]
7 – 8 PM
Jane Velez-Mitchell
 Jane Velez-Mitchell New York Jane Velez-Mitchell takes a stand on topics of the day that people across the country are buzzing about.
8 – 9 PM
Nancy Grace
 Nancy Grace CNN Center Nancy Grace is a justice themed/interview/debate show.
9 – 10 PM
Dr. Drew On Call
 Dr. Drew Pinsky Los Angeles Driven by current events, Dr. Drew Pinsky focuses on the human—and human behavior—at the center of the story.
9 – 11 PM
What Would You Do?
 John Quinones ABC News A one-hour hidden camera, ethical dilemma series hosted by ABC News' John Quinones airing Thursdays at 9 and 10 PM eastern.
11 PM – Midnight
Showbiz Tonight
 A.J. Hammer New York Hosted by A.J. Hammer in New York, Showbiz Tonight reports celebrity entertainment news stories breaking every day.

Note:

Weekend Programming

ET Program Host(s) Description
6 – 7 AM
Clark Howard
 Clark Howard The TV version of consumer advocate Clark Howard's long-running radio program. Clark provides consumer advice and travel tips.
7 AM – Noon
Weekend Express with Natasha Curry
 Natasha Curry Natasha Curry helps viewers jump-start their weekend with a fast-paced look at the day's news and buzz-worthy stories.
Noon – 1 PM
Clark Howard
 Clark Howard The TV version of consumer advocate Clark Howard's long-running radio program. Clark provides consumer advice and travel tips.
1 – 3 PM
HLN News
 Natasha Curry News Now—rolling news coverage anchored by Natasha Curry.
3 PM –
Weekend Mysteries
 Programming block dedicated to real-life justice stories.
9 – 11 PM
What Would You Do?
 John Quinones A one-hour hidden camera, ethical dilemma series hosted by ABC News' John Quinones airing Sundays at 9 and 10 PM eastern.

Note:

  • Body Of Evidence: From The Case Files Of Dayle Hinman is shown on Saturdays at 3-5 PM eastern.
  • The Investigators is shown on Saturdays at 5-7 PM 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, 7-11 PM and on Sundays at 12-3 AM and 4-6 AM eastern.
  • Dominick Dunne's Power, Privilege, and Justice is shown on Sundays at 3–5 PM, 7–9 PM, 11 PM–1 AM and 3–4 AM eastern.
  • Murder by the Book is shown on Sundays at 5–7 PM and 1–3 AM eastern.
  • On Monday Mornings (Late Sunday Nights), repeats of Showbiz Tonight (4:10 AM) and What Would You Do? (5 AM) are shown.

The channel's sonic logo, tag, audio mnemonic was produced by Musikvergnuegen and written by Walter Werzowa from the Austrian 1980s sampling band Edelweiss.[15]

Anchors and reporters

Former anchors and reporters

Network slogans

  • You're In Tune with the World (1981–1983)
  • 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)

References

  1. ^ Alloca, Kevin (July 30, 2010). "Chuck Roberts departing HLN". Media Bistro. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  2. ^ "CNN.com 'Godfather' dies at 63 after battle with cancer". CNN. February 11, 2011. Retrieved 2011-02-12.
  3. ^ Brown, Rich. "Headline News gets retrans boost: Local Edition was part of deals for 45 TV stations", Broadcasting & Cable, November 8, 1993. Retrieved March 16, 2011 from HighBeam Research.
  4. ^ "TV almost reports Bush's death". The Milwaukee Sentinel. 1992-01-09. Retrieved 2011-09-12.
  5. ^ McDougal, Dennis (1992-01-10). "CNN Averts Hoax About Bush's 'Death'". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tue-rosenthal-cnnticker-rip-dec16,0,2043498.story. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ Headline News Becomes "HLN", TVNewser, December 17, 2008
  8. ^ Stelter, Brian (12 June 2011). "Casey Anthony Coverage Gives HLN an Identity". New York Times. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  9. ^ Boedeker, Hal (9 March 2011). "Casey Anthony: Trial is 'gigantic deal' for HLN, boss says". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 29 June 2011.
  10. ^ Marguerite Reardon, CNET. "CNN live news comes to iPad, other mobile devices." Jul 18, 2011. Retrieved Jul 18, 2011.
  11. ^ Weprin, Alex. "HLN Finally Launches a Website To Call Its Own". HLN Finally Launches a Website To Call Its Own. TVNewser.com. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
  12. ^ "Daytime Emmy Update". Soap Opera Digest. 2012-05-03. Retrieved May 3, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  13. ^ de Moraes, Lisa (2012-06-25). "Daytime Emmy Awards' 912,000 viewers sets record for HLN and franchise — high and low, respectively". Washington Post. Retrieved October 4, 2012.
  14. ^ http://www.hlntv.com/video/2012/05/22/evening-express-debuts-june-4
  15. ^ Paul Morley (2003-10-19). "Boot me up, Dessie". The Observer. London: Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 2009-01-17.

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