CNN announced yesterday that Ashleigh Banfield is moving to the 11 AM ET airing of CNN Newsroom, while Kyra Phillips is moving to host her own show on HLN later this summer.

As previously reported, John Berman will be getting an Early Start, taking the place of Ashleigh Banfield as co-anchor with Zoraida Sambolin.

TVNewser has the internal memos from HLN Executive Vice-President Scott Safon and CNN Domestic Executive Vice-President Ken Jautz.

CNN Press Release - Berman to Also Contribute Reports to CNN Programs Across the Day 

John Berman, who served as a correspondent for ABC News and regular contributor to Good Morning America, joins CNN as an anchor of the morning program Early Start and will contribute reports to various CNN programs including The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, it was announced by Ken Jautz, executive vice president of CNN.

CNN's Early Start, which premiered on January 2, 2012 with hosts Ashleigh Banfield and Zoraida Sambolin, airs weekdays at 5 am to 7 am, ET/PT.

"We are so fortunate to have this talented and seasoned journalist join our morning show and become a regular presence on our air throughout the day. John is a skilled reporter with a passion and personality that shine through, whether he's covering the political season or his beloved Red Sox," said Jautz.

"John is an exceptional journalist who brings with him the perspective of having covered many of the last two decades most significant stories. His coverage of the past four Presidential elections, experience as an embedded journalist in Iraq, on-site reporting during the 2006 war in Lebanon, plus his pop culture interest and acumen, make him a strong asset to our team," said Mark Whitaker, CNN Worldwide executive vice president and managing editor.

"It is a pleasure to join the prestigious global news leader CNN. I am looking forward to being a part of the morning team and to contributing across CNN's lineup," said Berman. Berman joined ABC News in 1995 and was head writer for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings from 1997 to 1999. During that time he traveled with Jennings to cover the Columbine school shooting in Colorado and to Cuba for Pope John Paul II's historic visit. Berman was part of the World News Tonight team recognized with a 2004 Edward R. Murrow award for best broadcast.

In addition to his coverage of the presidential election seasons from 2000 through 2012, Berman reported on the Indian Ocean tsunami from Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and the steroids scandal in American sports. He has also served as regular contributor to World News with Diane Sawyer, 20/20, Nightline, and ABCNews.com. A native of Carlisle, Mass., Berman graduated from Harvard University, where he was president of Hasty Pudding Theatricals. 

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world's most extensively-syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.

CNN Domestic today debuted its new morning news block of "Early Start" and "Starting Point".

Early reaction to CNN's 5am show "Early Start" has been mixed on our forum with users commenting:

Lazlo: "It has potential to be a show that I could watch regularly when I'm up early enough."

Axl0706: "They are really working hard to come across as relaxed, cute and kinda funny. That's fine for their first show, but I hope they are going to cut it out starting tomorrow, because it's already beginning to be a little annoying."

Charles: "...the content isn't all that different from Wake Up Call, but we all know by now that CNN can never do a program with content that's truly unique from everything else on the schedule. Ashleigh and Zoraida appear to have good on air presence, but I really hope the light banter isn't permanent. I think it's in CNN's best interests to differentiate themselves from the other morning cable programs by focusing more on the news and less on anchor banter."

excel99: "Very good choice of anchors. Bright (at 5am!) and seemingly genuine chemistry. Encouraging to see the show not lead on politics. But very low 'volume' of stories, even as brief headlines. Wouldn't have wanted to watch to get updated on the latest news. Did not like the 'phoning someone up who wasn't warned in advance' feature. A best a gimmick, at worse it's what is expected from an entertainment show, not a news channel."

madaboutpenny: "Compelling reason to wake up extra early to watch this show? Not-so-much. Except I will say that this Zoraida Sambolin lady is super-solid. Ashleigh Banfield has always (and continues to) get on my nerves a bit. She's very... interrupt-y. And it's not just nerves."

Geoffrey: "...Also, the wake up call segment was weird. They teased this hugely famous person and it was Kerry Kennedy. Didn't exactly live up to the promotion and hearing someone who just woke up stumbling to come up with coherent thoughts for a few minutes is not what I want to see when I just wake up and turn on CNN. (Wolf Blitzer was the unlucky victim in the 6:00 hour.) And it didn't seem like they covered that many stories but, as someone said earlier, it could be because of Iowa (or it could just be what CNN and the rest of cable does these days: only a few stories an hour)."

Watch the first 30 seconds of "Early Start" below from CNN.



Meanwhile, "Starting Point" with Soledad O'Brien debuted with a live broadcast from Waveland Cafe in Des Moines, Iowa; kicking off CNN's coverage of Tuesday's Iowa caucuses. Watch the opening moments of "Starting Point" from CNN below.


"Early Start" with Ashleigh Banfield and Zoraida Sambolin airs weekdays from 5:00am to 7:00am (eastern) and "Early Start" with Soledad O'Brien airs weekdays from 7:00am to 9:00am (eastern).

CNN Domestic will kick off 2012 with two new programs debuting January 2.

"Early Start" with Ashleigh Banfield & Zoraida Sambolin will air 5:00am to 7:00am (eastern) weekdays and "Starting Point" with Soledad O'Brien will air 7:00am to 9:00am (eastern) weekdays.

CNN unveiled Twitter accounts for both shows on Thursday. You can follow @earlystartCNN and @startingptCNN for the latest from the show producers and hosts.

CNN has also released a video introducing new recruits Banfield & Sambolin. Watch the trailer from CNN below.