CNN INSISTS IT’S NOT REPLACING LARRY KING

CNN is denying a spate of rumors that appeared Monday in the New York Post and numerous British newspapers saying that America’s Got Talent lead judge Piers Morgan is in talks to replace Larry King at the cable news network. But in response to inquiries from the TVNewser website, a CNN spokesperson said, “Rumors that we are close to signing a deal for a Larry King replacement are untrue. We are currently looking at replacing our 8:00 p.m. program and that is our priority. Larry is a beloved member of the team, and he will continue to be part of the CNN family into the future.” All of which begs the question, could CNN be talking to Morgan about taking over the 8:00 p.m. hour being vacated by Campbell Brown? Morgan was once a prominent figure on London’s fabled Fleet street, the editor of the Sunday tabloid News of the World and, for nine years, the Daily Mirror. However, Morgan, a vocal critic of Britain’s involvement in the Iraq war, was summarily fired by the Daily Mirror in May 2004 after refusing to apologize for publishing what turned out to be fake photographs of British troops torturing Iraqi prisoners. (Among other things, an army truck seen in one of the photos proved to be identical — down to the scratches on the chassis — with one located at an army base in England.) The scandal has echoes of the one that forced Dan Rather out at CBS. Morgan has continued to insist that the photos were not fake.