Alisyn Camerota: New Show, Scripps News & Candid Interviews After CNN Exit
Alisyn Camerota, the former CNN anchor, is launching a new interview series, “Connected with Alisyn Camerota,” on Scripps News, beginning Friday, March 27, at 8 p.m. The six-episode program will feature in-depth conversations with public figures, including former CNN colleague Don Lemon.
Camerota’s move to Scripps News follows her departure from CNN at the end of 2024. She will serve as a special events anchor for the network, bringing a different approach to news programming, one she describes as operating under “different rules.”
The series aims to provide a platform for extended, unfiltered discussions with guests about pivotal moments and personal experiences. Beyond Lemon, the inaugural season will include interviews with Everclear frontman Art Alexakis, federal Judge Esther Salas – whose son was killed in a targeted attack – and former U.S. Representative Gabby Giffords, who survived a shooting in 2011.
“People are hungry to peel back the curtain to see somebody’s true self,” Camerota said. “The guests for this first season are all people who you certainly are familiar with, but you don’t necessarily recognize the breadth of their backstory. I get to conduct kind of an unfiltered, uninterrupted, 30-minute conversation where we go there. These are, I think, the deepest, the deepest conversations I’ve ever had on TV.”
Scripps News is expanding its programming with an emphasis on free, ad-supported streaming. The network views Camerota as a valuable addition, citing her extensive experience across multiple media platforms and her reputation for conducting both challenging and empathetic interviews. During her time at CNN, she co-anchored the morning show opposite Chris Cuomo and also held a role in primetime as the network experimented with different evening formats.
Lemon’s interview will address his exit from CNN and his recent arrest by the U.S. Department of Justice related to coverage of a Minnesota protest against ICE. Alexakis will discuss his experiences with multiple sclerosis.
Camerota’s personal experiences have shaped her approach to interviewing. Her husband, Tim Lewis, died in 2024 after battling pancreatic cancer, and she spent time caring for him during her final year at CNN. She also navigated the experience of her children beginning college while the media industry underwent significant changes. “In the past 18 months, there’s been the depths of despair and there’s been some pockets and moments of joy,” she said. “And I’m just learning that that’s kind of the duality that I will live with now.”
She intends to bring this lived experience into her interviews, allowing for a more personal connection with her guests. “One of the hallmarks of journalism is that you are not part of the story, you take yourself out of the story,” Camerota explained. “With everything that I’ve gone through over the past 18 months, people approach into the interview…and they hug me and are like, how are you? And I allow myself to be right there with them. Grief comes up a lot in this first season…and I’m very interested in how they got through it.”
Camerota acknowledged the evolving landscape of news consumption, with audiences increasingly drawn to podcasts and alternative interview formats. “The positive side is we don’t have to be anchors in our ivory tower,” she said. “And we are allowed to connect more, and I think that people appreciate that. On the downside, the blurring of lines and the loosening of rules has left a lot of people confused about what’s journalism.”
Despite these changes, Camerota emphasized that “Connected” will remain a news program. “Nobody will be confused about what this show is,” she stated. “Viewers get to be a fly on the wall for a deeper conversation than they’re used to.”