Soledad O'Brien's Leaving Her CNN Show But Launching Her Own Production Company

The rumors are true: Soledad O’Brien’s morning show has been given the boot by CNN, and will be replaced in a couple of months. But! She will still be working with the channel. O’Brien has started a production company, Starfish Media Group, and, according to the New York Times, will “supply documentaries to CNN on a nonexclusive basis.”

Jeff Zucker, the new president of CNN Worldwide says:

“We greatly value Soledad’s experience, and her first-rate storytelling will continue to be an asset to CNN,” said Zucker. “Documentaries and long-form story telling are important to our brand and we’re anticipating more of what we’ve come to expect from her – riveting content.”

Apparently he wanted to get rid of her morning show and replace it with something else as soon as he got his job.

But it’ll be really cool to see what O’Brien has up her sleeve; she spearheaded her documentary series “Black in America” as well as special reports like “Don’t Fail Me: Education in America,” “Gary and Tony Have a Baby” and “Unwelcome: the Muslims Next Door.”

From the Times:

“We can take some of the discussions around these issues and carry them to new audiences,” Ms. O’Brien said. She has a number of ideas for new documentaries, some of which “wouldn’t necessarily be right for CNN,” she said, like ones about sports.

Citing another example, she said she had been pitching a “Poverty in America” documentary “for a long time.” Under the terms of the new agreement, she could take the idea to another channel if CNN passed on it.