America’s Got Talent judge Piers Morgan is set to replace veteran talkshow host Larry King on CNN, it was reported yesterday.
The claim came a day after reports that NBC, which produces AGT, agreed to share Morgan with CNN, clearing the way for contract talks to begin.
Yesterday it was reported by various media outlets that Morgan was on the verge of signing an $8M four-year deal with CNN to replace King, who announced his retirement last month.
While Morgan is best known to U.S. viewers for his acerbic style on AGT, he is a journalist who held some of the biggest jobs in British media.
He was employed by Rupert Murdoch as the editor of the News of the World, a red-top tabloid specializing in kiss-and-tell scandal, before becoming editor of the Daily Mirror, a left-of-center tabloid.
And it was there that Morgan, 45, achieved notoriety after he published hoax images of British troops mistreating Iraqi prisoners. Military authorities accused Morgan of jeopardizing the safety of his country’s troops and he was fired in disgrace.
A host of U.S. celebrities were said to be in the running to replace Larry King, among them American Idol host Ryan Seacrest and CBS news presenter Katie Couric.
