Soledad's End Point on 'Starting Point'

Looking back at Soledad O'Brien's "end point" at CNN as she ended her run as host of "Starting Point." Soledad reflected on her tenure on the show and talked about her plans.

Soledad O'Brien signs off for the last time on 'Starting Point'

Soledad O'Brien reached an "end point" with Starting Point on CNN on March 29, 2013 as she signed off for the last time. O'Brien will be moving into her own production company allowing her to focus on longer form documentaries and and own her work.

O’Brien’s new production company, Starfish Media Group, will be producing long-form documentaries for CNN. The company will launch in June and will produce another installment of Black in America for CNN this year and three long-form specials for CNN in 2014. The company will also distribute media via other cable channels and on the Web.

PLAY VIDEO: Soledad O'Brien signs off for the last time on 'Starting Point'

Soledad O'Brien with Julia Stiles

Soledad with Julia Stiles on Starting Point to talk about her new movie It's A Disaster

Soledad O'Brien with Sheryl Sandberg

Soledad O'Brien with Sheryl Sandberg, author of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. Sandberg has served as the chief operating officer of Facebook since 2008. In June 2012, she was also elected to the board of directors by the existing board members, becoming the first woman to serve on its board. Before Facebook, Sandberg was Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google. She also was involved in launching Google's philanthropic arm Google.org. Before Google, Sandberg served as chief of staff for the United States Department of the Treasury. In 2012, she was named in Time 100, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world assembled by Time.

"We have to let men talk about this. I hope men enter the conversation and the controversy around my book, because we need men to talk about this, too, if it's ever going to change." -- Quote from Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg in an interview with CNN's Soledad O'Brien. (Photograph by Benjamin Lowy for Getty)

Soledad O'Brien's Next Big Story

Soledad O'Brien told The New York Times that she is returning to the role she had before she became the host of Starting Point in 2011. To borrow from her book, her next big story will be that this time she will be forming her own production company, Starfish Media, and will not be tied exclusively to CNN. She will be able to shop programs to other networks and air them on the Web as well.

"Soledad O'Brien is probably the best journalist CNN has; she asks real, hard-hitting questions, and challenges leaders regardless of their party. So obviously she's being moved out from her anchor job. Why? And what ironic choice is taking her place? Cenk Uygur breaks it down."         via youtube.com/user/TheYoungTurks/

Westminster Dog Show Winner

Soledad gets a Starting Point visit from Banana Joe, the 2013 Westminster best in show pooch.

Oscar Talk

Soledad talks Oscars with Octavia Spencer

and

 Quvenzhané Wallis, Oscar nominated for her leading role in Beasts of the Southern Wild

Soledad O'Brien Shifting Focus at CNN

Soledad O'Brien will be ending her year and a half run as host of CNN’s Starting Point this spring.

New CNN boss Jeff Zucker is moving forward with plans to revamp the network’s morning show around ABC’s Chris Cuomo, and current CNN primetime host Erin Burnett is expected to co-host.

As we predicted earlier, O’Brien will be concentrating on making and hosting documentaries for CNN with her new company Starfish Media Group.

Soledad has been with CNN since 2003 and will produce three documentaries for CNN in 2014and continue to host this year's newest installment of the Black in America series.

Richard Simmons

Soledad talked with the always entertaining (and a little bit scary) Richard Simmons for a segment on Starting Point.



Milton Teagle Simmons (born July 12, 1948), known professionally as Richard Simmons, is an American former actor and now fitness personality, who promotes weight-loss programs, prominently through his Sweatin' to the Oldies line of aerobics videos.

He is just as well known for his eccentric, outgoing and frequently flamboyant personality.

A frequent talk show guest for many years, Simmons continues to promote health and has broadened his activities to include political activism, notably in support of a bill mandating non-competitive physical education in public schools.

His many different Sweatin' videos (over 200 varieties of them!) are still top sellers in that genre and he has also authored a number of books, including his biography, Still Hungry After All These Years, cookbooks and books on exercise and healthy eating.

Soledad Talks Manology

Soledad talked to Tyrese Gibson & Rev Run (of Run D.M.C.) about their new book Manology: Secrets of Your Man's Mind Revealed.

Rev Run of Run DMC and Tyrese Gibson offer insight on life, love, exposing men and the many games they play, and how to finally find happiness in your relationships.

Tyrese and Rev are unlikely best friends—Rev is married with six kids and Tyrese is a single dad still hesitant to settle down. But after an unexpected disagreement in which Rev insisted that marriage is forever, and Tyrese pushed that you could bail when the sex went bad, the two decided not just to agree to disagree but to team up and open their debate to a larger audience. Even though they’re at different points in their journeys, both have clear insights on what it takes to make a relationship work and what can sink it instantly.

Manology is a guide to regaining your relationship confidence and weeding out the cheaters, MANipulators, and pimps from the good men. Just follow Tyrese and Rev’s advice and finally understand the reasons behind your man’s actions. Some men’s behavior can’t be changed, but it’s better to face the truth. No matter how painful or distressing that truth might be, if you know it, you can confront it and move past it. Tyrese and Rev acknowledge that it can be difficult for men to open up, but they present real strategies for men and women to have honest and open discussions about relationship expectations.

With Rev’s hard-earned knowledge on what it takes to make a marriage work, and Tyrese’s sometimes uncomfortable but always straight talk on the single man’s mind-set, Manology is your one true source of knowledge to help you take control of your love life and truly understand your man. 

Mornings Are Being Revamped at CNN

Less than a month into his presidency of CNN Worldwide, Jeff Zucker announced a revamping of the network’s management and programming. That includes reshuffling the morning lineup.

Zucker, Soledad O'Briens's former boss at NBC, is given credit for for making NBC’s Today show the most watched TV news show in his time there.

He announced at the end of January that Chris Cuomo, co-anchor of ABC’s 20/20, would be teaming up with CNN evening anchor Erin Burnett to take over the morning slot that Soledad had occupied hosting Starting Point.

Starting Point, and CNN generally, has had ratings issues. CNN’s 6 a.m.–to–9 a.m. slot (Starting Point and Early Start) drew about 220,000 viewers in January as compared to MSNBC’s Morning Joe with 446,000 viewers and Fox & Friends led the cable morning with 1.2 million viewers. In 2012 Starting Point averaged only 234,000 viewers. Of course, the morning shows on CBS, ABC and NBC had millions more than any of those programs.

The announcement received additional buzz online because it was noted that the program's small audience was also “too ethnic, based on the high concentration of minority viewers.”

The morning changes doesn't mean Soledad will be leaving the network. CNN told Politico that "Soledad is very important to the network, and we're discussing various options with her.”

It may be that Soledad will return to the long form documentaries that she was hosting before Starting Point such as the popular "In America" series. Those documentaries included multiple installments of "Black in America" as well as special on being gay, Latino and Muslim in America.

In a time when reaching out to minorities has become a hot button issue for the GOP, many commentators see it as ironic that the idea that the program attracted a stronger minority audience became a negative.

Others have said that it was more the small audience that was the issue and that the fact that it was predominately comprised of minorities was secondary.


At this time, there are no immediate plans for what Soledad will be doing next.

Soledad is a Runway Model for the Heart Truth Red Dress Fashion Show

Soledad, Gabby Douglas and Kelly Osborne

Soledad O"brien was one of the runway models at the 2013 Heart Truth Red Dress Fashion Show (2/6/13) at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City in a benefit to support the Heart Truth campaign.

This year during American Heart Month, The Heart Truth is honoring the shared stories of women who have been touched by heart disease. For more than a decade, The Heart Truth has been uniting women in the fight against their #1 killer, increasing awareness of their personal risk factors and empowering them to take healthy steps to reduce their risk. Every day, as new women make healthier choices to protect their hearts, the power of The Heart Truth grows.

But you need to check out the video of her as shown the next morning on Starting Point to really appreciate her 5-inch-heel runway walk.

Post Super Bowl Buzz

Soledad with Jesse Heiman, whose Super Bowl Godaddy.com commercial where he lip-locked model Bar Rafaeli, became very buzzworthy (if not uncomfortable to watch).

Celebrating 25 years of "Phantom of the Opera"

Celebrating 25 years of Phantom of the Opera with Sierra Boggess & Hugh Panaro on Starting Point .

Soledad With Belafonte and Bennett

with singer Harry Belafonte at a charity event

with singer Tony Bennett on CNN Starting Point

New Look

New glasses this morning on Starting Point. 
Looking more like a Hrvard grad?  
http://instagr.am/p/Sff6niBUyI/

 

With James Van Der Beek on Starting Point
http://instagr.am/p/RNQVefhU5H/

with comedian David Alan Grier via http://instagr.am/p/RxXzQwBU6S/

Starting Point at Democratic National Convention

via CNN

Soledad O'Brien doing a Starting Point show from the CNN Grill at the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

CNN Ratings Take a Dip for 2012 First Quarter

CNN made three big programming changes to their weekday schedule in the past half year - Soledad O’Brien as the morning host, Erin Burnett as the 7 p.m. host, and Piers Morgan in the 9 p.m. hosting chair, but the hoped for ratings lift has not materialized

CNN's new morning shows Early Start and Starting Point had the lowest quarterly average demographic (for adults 25-54) ratings viewership and total viewership in the first quarter of 2012 for any CNN morning shows in the 5-7am and 7-9am (Starting Point) slots in more than a decade.

CNN was knocked out of the #1 position in cable news channels by Fox News awhile ago, but in the coveted advertising prime time, CNN has had fewer viewers than MSNBC for 22 of the last 24 months. CNN generally still brings in more viewers than MSNBC during the day.