Larry King's replacement Brit Piers Morgan is on a mission to prove that he is his own person with his own skills and does not want to be compared to King - Nan Palmero from San Antonio, TX, USA photo

Video Beat EXTRA EXTRA Part 2 - PIERS MORGAN - THE MOUTH THAT ROARED

James Loving - National Radio Text Service

Morgan has been on the air for over a month and is proving to be a credible replacement for King despite his Magic Johnson disease of living in an I, me, my world - Morgan is on a mission to prove that he is his own person with his own skills and does not want to be compared to Larry King - Recommended TV Listings

Thursday February 24, 2011

PIERS MORGAN UPDATE

When it was announced that the arrogant Brit Piers Morgan would be replacing talk show legend Larry King our first impression was this is a major mistake on CNN's part. Morgan has been on the air for over a month and is proving to be a credible replacement for King despite his Magic Johnson disease of living in an I, me, my world.

From the outset Morgan made it clear that he didn't want to be compared to King. He's determined to prove that he has his own style and talent. He started off strong with Oprah Winfry being his first guest. Winfry complimented Morgan on his interviewing skills as he skillfully delved into her private life. His key probe was how many times has she seriously been in love. "Oh you're good," she replied and went on to answer the question.

Morgan is a good interviewer as opposed to his salacious background and coming from a snooty well to do history. The 45-year-old personality is a former editor of the tabloid newspapers News of the World (1994–1995) and Daily Mirror (1995–2004). As the editor of Rupert Murdoch's News of the World he became the youngest national newspaper editor in more than half a century. He quickly gained notoriety for his invasive, thrusting style and lack of concern for celebrities' right to privacy.

Morgan was fired from the Mirror on 14 May 2004 after authorizing the newspaper's publication of photographs allegedly showing Iraqi prisoners being abused by British Army soldiers from the Queen's Lancashire Regiment. Within days the photographs were shown to be crude fakes. Under the headline "SORRY.. WE WERE HOAXED", the Mirror responded that it had fallen victim to a "calculated and malicious hoax" and apologized for the publication of the photographs.

Morgan has had some interesting personalities as his guests since he took over for King including Former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Donald Trump, Playboy Magazine Empire founder Hugh Hefner, Janice Jackson and controversy radio talk show host Howard Stern.

Morgan's production staff is not making King's production staff's mistake of being too political and covering those who are involved in crimes and murder. After years of success King's program fell into the trap of being complacent, overly confident and went away from their success of covering entertainment personalities. It was the abundant political coverage that buried King in this reporter's opinion.

Morgan is not as daring as King. He doesn't televise his show live in real time as King did thus he has the power and safety net of editing out situations that could be embarrassing to him and can insure showing himself in a positive light. This was a point that Stern noted in his interview with Morgan. Being in this position affords Morgan the power to delete an entire show and not go to air with a program that could be damaging to his reputation.

Another fault is Morgan has a tendency to be too British by being prudish and pompous about his heritage while comparing it to Americans while he's being televised on a primarily American network. This can prove to be a slippery slope for Morgan to walk on where he can alienate American viewers.

Overall up to this point Morgan's show is watch-able but not a must watch. Only time will tell just how entertaining and balanced the program will be to grow and maintain a strong and loyal following that King once had.

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