History Creator / HLN

[[caption-width-right:350:''[[{{Tagline}} We play favorites]]'']]

HLN was originally a [[TwentyFourHourNewsNetworks 24-hour news network]] that was spun off from CNN, and is now a [[NetworkDecay network dedicated almost entirely to true crime programming.]] The channel was established as [=CNN2=] in 1982, partly in order to double-team Creator/{{ABC}} and Westinghouse's Satellite News Channel (which had a similar format) out of existence, and changed its name to CNN Headline News the following year, although use of the word "CNN" in the title was always fairly intermittent. Its original focus was a 30-minute newscast called ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Headline News]]'' which filled viewers in on the day's most prominent stories in a half-hour "wheel" format resembling the news radio stations found in large urban areas, repeated on a 24-hour loop, thus allowing viewers to catch up on a day's worth of news in just half an hour, any time of the day (something that is very useful in places like airports and bars). This was best demonstrated in quick promos aired on other Turner networks in the early 90s- we see a really boring looking show, before an announcer points out "You ''could'' be watching the news right now." and a remote switching the image to Headline News.

* ''Radio/GlennBeck'', the first television home of the conservative talk show host. Started out comedic but quickly became the same in tone as his radio program. Eventually took his program to Creator/FoxNewsChannel in a ChannelHop, then to the Internet in 2011. Beck has since made overtures to Time Warner to purchase HLN's channel space for said Internet network, The Blaze, to increase its carriage.

[[caption-width-right:350:''We play favorites'']]

->''We play favorites''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/d0bc8602_0e2c_451e_9fce_695e1ebef3ed.png]]

The merger of [=WarnerMedia=] with Discovery in 2022 and the formation of Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery finally brought the end of HLN as a news network. The last remaining news programs ''Morning Express'' and ''Weekend Express'' were cancelled and replaced in their timeslots with a simulcast of CNN's new morning news program, in order to fulfill contractual obligations that required them to air at least one news program. The rest of the line-up consists of mostly ''Forensic Files'' reruns.

After [[Creator/WarnerMedia Time Warner]] bought [[UsefulNotes/TedTurner Turner Broadcasting]] (the channel's original owner), a few revamps were done; one in 1999 when the 30-minute newscast was split into four for different dayparts[[note]]''First Watch'' from 6AM-12PM, ''Second Watch'' from 12PM-6PM, ''Third Watch'' from 6PM-12AM, and ''Late Watch'' from 12AM-6AM; [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience each "watch" was respectively color-coded as yellow, green, red and blue]][[/note]], and another in 2001, which changed the logo, graphics and music, and introduced a "border" around the anchor which contained excessive amounts of information and took up most of the screen. This change earned the network much lampooning and criticism, being called a "jumbled mess" by ''[[UsefulNotes/AmericanNewspapers USA Today]]''. In 2005, the network responded to these criticisms by scaling back the amount of on-screen information. However, the change was likely justified as many viewers started getting basic news without elaboration [[TechnologyMarchesOn from the Internet]], and the network began to lose audience and purpose as they realized that only an older audience needed the data-packed half-hour format as time went on.

The merger of Warner Bros with Discovery, Inc. in 2022 and the formation of Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery finally brought the end of HLN as a news network. The last remaining news programs ''Morning Express'' and ''Weekend Express'' were cancelled and replaced in their timeslots with a simulcast of CNN's new morning news program, in order to fulfill contractual obligations that required them to air at least one news program. The rest of the line-up consists of mostly ''Forensic Files'' reruns.

HLN was originally a [[TwentyFourHourNewsNetworks 24-hour news network]] that was spun off from Creator/{{CNN}}, and is now a [[NetworkDecay network dedicated almost entirely to true crime programming.]] The channel was established as [=CNN2=] in 1982, partly in order to double-team Creator/{{ABC}} and Westinghouse's Satellite News Channel (which had a similar format) out of existence, and changed its name to CNN Headline News the following year, although use of the word "CNN" in the title was always fairly intermittent. Its original focus was a 30-minute newscast called ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Headline News]]'' which filled viewers in on the day's most prominent stories in a half-hour "wheel" format resembling the news radio stations found in large urban areas, repeated on a 24-hour loop, thus allowing viewers to catch up on a day's worth of news in just half an hour, any time of the day (something that is very useful in places like airports and bars). This was best demonstrated in quick promos aired on other Turner networks in the early 90s- we see a really boring looking show, before an announcer points out "You ''could'' be watching the news right now." and a remote switching the image to Headline News.

HLN is a [[TwentyFourHourNewsNetworks 24-hour news network]] that was spun off from Creator/{{CNN}}, though the [[CoversAlwaysLie "news" part is currently questionable]]. The channel was established as [=CNN2=] in 1982, partly in order to double-team Creator/{{ABC}} and Westinghouse's Satellite News Channel (which had a similar format) out of existence, and changed its name to CNN Headline News the following year, although use of the word "CNN" in the title was always fairly intermittent. Its original focus was a 30-minute newscast called ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Headline News]]'' which filled viewers in on the day's most prominent stories in a half-hour "wheel" format resembling the news radio stations found in large urban areas, repeated on a 24-hour loop, thus allowing viewers to catch up on a day's worth of news in just half an hour, any time of the day (something that is very useful in places like airports and bars). This was best demonstrated in quick promos aired on other Turner networks in the early 90s- we see a really boring looking show, before an announcer points out "You ''could'' be watching the news right now." and a remote switching the image to Headline News.

In 2022, CNN ceased production of HLN's live programming and the channel was reorganized into WBD Networks and would be merged with [[Creator/InvestigationDiscovery ID]] as a result of the formation of Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery.

Currently, HLN's UsefulNotes/PrimeTime lineup includes:

Other programming includes:

Former programming after the "Prime" era launch includes:

[[quoteright:278:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/HLN_logo.png]]