NewsNation canceling ‘Early Morning,’ but what’s next isn’t clear

Nexstar’s NewsNation is cancelling its “Early Morning” newscast, according to a post its anchor made on LinkedIn May 19, 2023.

Anchor Mitch Carr, who was hired from KPNX in Phoenix, Arizona, has exited the network, NewsNation confirmed.

“We thank Mitch for his contributions to the network and wish him much success in his future endeavors,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

In his LinkedIn post, Carr wrote “… if you need a bilingual anchor or host with 14 years in the business across day parts with large local market and national cable news experience as well, I will be available.”

“Early Morning” debuted in June 2022 as an hour-long program before the newscast “Morning in America.” Carr also appeared on that program.

The show aired at 6 a.m. eastern.

“Early Morning” was still on the schedule as of May 22, 2023, but with Nick Smith, another NewsNation personality, anchoring.

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The spokesperson did not comment on future plans for the timeslot other than to note the network’s recent growth in news production.

NewsNation recently announced it would begin offering news and analysis 24 hours a day, five days a week (though the overnight schedule is, like most cable news networks, filled with repeats of its primetime programs with live updates as needed).

NewsNation as a whole has struggled to make significant headway in the ratings, though Nexstar says the channel is profitable. It originally started offering a three-hour primetime newscast before rebranding the entire channel under the news-centric name.

It then added additional programming at different dayparts, as well as interview, analysis and opinion programming in the evenings and primetime, including attracting some big names in the news industry including Ashleigh Banfield, Elizabeth Vargas and Chris Cuomo to headline shows.