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As reported by Digiday, CNN is turning its 5 Things newsletter into a franchise. The newsletter presents the five biggest stories of the day with a topic headline, a video, and a paragraph describing each story with links to CNN articles for more information.
The network has already expanded 5 Things, which launched in 2015, into a podcast and TV segment. In March 2021, CNN rebranded its twice-daily Daily News Briefing audio news briefing into the 5 Things podcast, which includes morning and evening editions. It now wants to air episodes on the weekend and more throughout the day in the coming months. Additionally, CNN’S morning program “New Day” began running a 5 Things segment in May. It will be a regular part of the show’s programming.
“We saw 5 Things as a brand that already had such a strong value proposition (and) voice, so we want to grow and build upon that,” Courtney Coupe, SVP of CNN Digital Productions, told Digiday.
Other potential products and extensions the CNN Digital team is experimenting with include an evening version of the 5 Things newsletter that would cover other regions of the world in different time zones, such as news from
CNN’S newsroom in Hong Kong.
The podcast could also have early morning editions for other time zones that are ahead of the U.S.