Who is Piers Morgan and Where Did He Come From?
British Import Snags Plum U.S. Media Job
So, who is Piers Morgan and where did he come from? Piers Morgan is a 45-year-old media star from England, best known to Americans as a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice and one of the judges on America's Got Talent. Although he may seem more amiable than the acerbic Simon Cowell (with whom he co-judged the British version of America's Got Talent), don't be fooled. As a former tabloid editor, Morgan has a knack for attracting enemies the way Walmart attracts tacky dressers. He even compared himself once to marmite, according to a 2009 profile of Morgan in the UK Guardian. Marmite is a brownish food spread made of yeast sludge that British people love to hate.
Perhaps the most controversial incident in Morgan's media career as a chat show host and tabloid editor was being fired from the UK Daily Mirror in 2004. As editor of the Mirror, Morgan approved the publication of photographs that showed Iraqi prisoners being abused by British soldiers. The only problem was, the photographs turned out to be fakes. This mistake in judgment forced the Mirror to run the headline "SORRY... WE WERE HOAXED," toppling Morgan from his throne as editor of the Mirror and turning him into an inadvertent "casualty" of the Iraq war.
The resilient Morgan bounced back and eventually became an even bigger fish as a television star, first in England and now in the United States. In a classic case of foreshadowing, Morgan produce a documentary for the BBC in 2003 called "The Importance of Being Famous" just one year before his infamous ouster from the Mirror. The documentary focused on how the media covers celebrities and how people become famous.
Fittingly, Piers Morgan will soon be one of the chief operators of the media fame machine in the United States when he takes over as host for Larry King Live.
Sources:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2009/mar/09/piers-morgan-interview
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3716151.stm
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100908/ap_en_tv/us_tv_cnn_morgan
Published by Nancy Tracy - Featured Contributor in Arts & Entertainment
Nancy Tracy is a Yahoo! Featured Contributor for arts & entertainment. She enjoys writing about a variety of topics from psychology to politics to popular culture. Her article on "Transient Global Amnesia" w... View profile
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18 Comments
Post a CommentOne of the least interesting spots on CNN. I doubt he will help their fall in ratings. I'd say get someone who isn't just "famous for being famous." Maybe a more interesting person like Madonna. Go girl!
Wish Madonna had digested the roll before she threw it at him. Stuck up self infatuated prig (both of them actually). More food fights! Get better CNN hosts!
Dreadful guy. Bumptious and untalented.
So THAT's who he is. Only plce I'd seen him was AGT. But the Larry King job? Why??? I could see Dennis Miller doing this. Oh, wait a minute...he's become too conservative for CNN!!
I had no idea Piers Morgan got this job. Hmm. I only know him as a judge on "America's Got Talent"--that one season that I watched it.
I've seen Mr. Morgan a couple of times on America's Got Talent, He's about as intereting as bread. He'll fit in well taking over for an equally interesting Larry King. :-)
I think he is one of those people who has a talent for attracting controversy, so his new "job" might work in his favor.
I can't tell when he's trying to be funny. He is usually very stoic. Thanks Nancy
I didn't even know he was replacing Larry King! cheers for the report
Well, I miss Larry King and his suspenders!