CNN's got talent with Morgan succeeding King

Famous over there, less so over here, a former British tabloid editor and "Celebrity Apprentice" champ, Piers Morgan, finally was named Larry King's replacement Wednesday after a long public courtship.

"Piers has made his name posing tough questions to public figures, holding them accountable for their words and deeds," CNN president Jon Klein - amid a complete overhaul of CNN's floundering prime-time schedule - said in a statement Wednesday.

The appointment was expected but that didn't make it any less unusual. Best known in Britain for a popular interview show, "Piers Morgan's Life Stories" - which has a reputation as a solid interview news program - Morgan is best known in the States as a judge on the cheesy summer bubblegum hit "America's Got Talent."

During a conference call with reporters Wednesday, a critic did wonder about the discrepancy, and Morgan, 45, bristled: "I take my journalistic pedigree very seriously. I was a journalist for 25 years in Fleet Street. You can't glibly call me a non-journalist."

In fact, "Larry King Live" never exactly modeled itself as a pantheon of journalism, but more often a grab-bag of celebrity and newsmaker interviews with viewer call-ins. Morgan indicated that won't change, with one possible exception - the addition of a studio audience, which he says "I'm quite keen on."

He'll eschew opinion because "I don't want people to view me as a political animal, I don't put my own politics into it. CNN's one goal with the new schedule is to be provocative, aggressive."

Actually, the goal is to get ratings, but Morgan doesn't have to worry about that until January, when the appointment is official. King, 76, steps down in mid-December.