World

From CNN To Daily Mail, Piers Morgan Lands A New Gig

Piers Morgan announced Tuesday he will be joining the Daily Mail's online publication as an "editor-at-large" and report on stories in the U.S.

From CNN To Daily Mail, Piers Morgan Lands A New Gig
Getty Images / Jeff Schear
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Piers Morgan, Brit-turned-U.S.-journalist and former CNN anchor, has landed himself a position at the U.K.'s Daily Mail.   

He announced the new gig — editor-at-large for MailOnline, the paper's online American edition — in a tweet reminiscent of when he departed CNN.

In March, Morgan signed off from his last show at CNN — an evening slot he'd filled since Larry King left the network in 2011.  

PIERS MORGAN VIA CNN: "This is the final 'Piers Morgan Live' after three years, two months, 11 days and over 1,000 shows. I'm departing to spend more time with my cricket bat."

As for what he'll be doing at Daily Mail, Morgan wrote on the tabloid's site, "I plan on breaking down the biggest stories that matter to Americans and analyzing them in a way that will generate discussion and create debate."

So essentially, he'll still be in the U.S. and will do stories about life in the states, which is something one columnist for The Guardian says is remarkable given Morgan's shaky past in the world of journalism.

"The naughty boy of British journalism who has spent his career skating on thin ice ... never knows when he's down. … Few, if any, journalists could have risen above the problems he has encountered (and been responsible for)."

Morgan left his position as editor of News of the World in 1995 when he was called out by owner Rupert Murdoch for violating the paper's code of conduct by publishing photos of Princess Diana's then-sister-in-law leaving a drug clinic. 

Morgan also ended a somewhat infamous career as editor of the British Daily Mirror tabloid in 2004 when he was fired for publishing fake photos of British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners.

And Morgan was investigated in 2011 for alleged phone hacking that occurred while he worked at the Mirror. The scandal was part of a larger controversy that included many of Murdoch's other papers.

Morgan's knack for making headlines didn't end when he moved to the States for CNN. The British journalist consistently angered American gun rights advocates by calling for stricter anti-gun laws.

But it's Morgan's attention-grabbing habit, and possibly his 4.2 million Twitter followers, that some say made him so attractive to Daily Mail.

Calling it "something like Drudge Report, TMZ and Huffington Post all rolled into one," Politico writes Morgan will "fit right in with Mail Online's provocative approach to news and gossip."

And a writer at CNN Money says Morgan's hiring coincides with a push by the Daily Mail to reach a larger audience in the U.S.

Morgan will begin writing for the website immediately and will reportedly continue to look for television opportunities in the U.S.

This video includes images from Getty Images and music by Kevin MacLeod​ / CC BY NC 3.0.