Piers Morgan takes the chair

Piers Morgan just took vigorous exception to a reporter saying he doesn’t have a journalistic background. “I was a journalist for 25 years on Fleet Street,” the newly named CNN host told Eric Deggans of the St. Petersburg Times during a conference call. On Wednesday, CNN announced that early next year, British personality Piers Morgan will replace Larry King in Mr. King’s 9 p.m. time slot. King announced in June he would end “Larry King Live” after a 25-year reign. Morgan said he would bring “journalistic rigor” to the job and said he would like one of his first interviews to be with U.S. President Barack Obama. He took a swipe at the “inter-feudal” nature of prime-time cable shows, where “Rachel attacks Bill … Morgan, best known to American viewers as a judge on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” has most recently hosted “Piers Morgan’s Life Stories” on television in the United Kingdom. “Outside of America, people love him (Obama)…I think he’s an amazing charismatic figure who’s going through a tough time at the moment, and the midterm elections are coming….I’d love to sit down with him and have a frank interview,” Morgan told The Hollywood Reporter. Keith attacks Glenn.” But he’s a serious guy, Morgan insisted, noting that he interviewed Tony Blair 56 times. “I like what he’s done for the reputation of America abroad, which I’m not sure many Americans fully understand. ” Piers has made his name posing tough questions to public figures, holding them accountable for their words and deeds,” said CNN-US President Jon Klein. Who would you least like to be stuck on a desert island with?

Morgan has hosted a variety of shows in Britain and has a reputation on “America’s Got Talent” as a caustic critic in the vein of fellow Briton Simon Cowell. Morgan will keep his job with “America’s Got Talent”.

Eastern hour this fall, which has been obvious for some time. What’s wrong with Tiger Woods?

People seem to like him on “America’s Got Talent.” They may not know he was once fired from the Mirror. He’s slated to start his new gig in January. The winner of Donald Trump’s “The Celebrity Apprentice” reality show in 2008, Morgan will however keep his job on British network ITV, where his program “Life Stories” has included interviews with celebrities and politicians, the New York Times said. Then again, they may not care. King’s last night hosting “Larry King Live” is scheduled for Dec. 16. At 28, Morgan was editor of Rupert Murdoch’s News of the World–the same tabloid that has hacked into the phone messages of the royals and other celebs, and which has reporters impersonate sheiks to trap the likes of Fergie. King’s career has included some 40,000 interviews. He moved to the Daily Mirror as editor-in-chief in 1995, a post he held for nine years. A frenzy of speculation erupted over who’d take his spot. Or will it be more about Piers? I guess we’ll find out.