Candy Crowley is new anchor of CNN’s ‘State of the Union’

Posted Feb 2, 2010 by Walt Belcher

Updated Feb 2, 2010 at 05:15 PM

Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley has been named anchor of CNN’s Sunday morning political program “State of the Union.”

Jonathan Klein, president of CNN/U.S., made the announcement.

Crowley will begin hosting on Sunday (9 a.m. to 10 a.m.). She replaces John King, who is taking over a weekday 7 p.m. program to begin in February.

“Candy’s rare combination of shrewd insight and healthy irreverence for the games politicians play has made her one of the most honored political journalists and a cult figure among CNN viewers,” said Klein. “Every Sunday she’ll translate Washington-speak into plain English that every American can understand, as she has been doing better than any reporter on the beat for decades.”

“To me, Sunday morning is a sweet spot — a weekly meeting place to bring the hopes, worries and questions of everyday Americans I talk with along the campaign trail to the people I talk with in the Corridors of Power,” says Crowley. “Add to those conversations interviews with A-team experts and international heavyweights making sense of global issues, and what you have is interesting, relevant information. I can’t wait.”

Crowley becomes part of a new Sunday lineup that includes Christiane Amanpour and Fareed Zakaria. The new lineup will begin with “State of the Union” at 9 a.m., followed by “Fareed Zakaria GPS” at 10 a.m. and “Reliable Sources “at 11 a.m.

An updated edition of “State of the Union” will air at noon, followed by a replay of ‘GPS’ at 1 p.m. CNN’s Amanpour will air at 2 p.m. and replay at 5 p.m.

“State of the Union” launched one year ago.