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Dan Harris, a former TV journalist who left prominent perches at both ABC News’ “Nightline” and the weekend editions of “Good Morning America,” is getting back into the TV-news business. Sort of.
Harris figures prominently
in the new subscriber-only “Membership” service launched last week by MS NOW. This time, however, he isn’t delivering headlines. He’s teaching people how to measure — even limit — their exposure to them.
Harris, better known these days as the central figure in “10% Happier,” a podcast, newsletter and app focused on meditation and mindfulness, will lead two shows on the MS NOW service, and both of them aim to help people navigate the always-on news cycle while still focusing on stress and mental well-being. One program, “Never Worry Alone with Dan Harris,” lets various MS NOW members ask live questions about such topics. “The Week in Sanity with Dan Harris” has the journalist talking with reporters, mental health experts, comedians, activists and others to help process the week’s biggest headlines.
In an industry that is still dominated by TV ratings, such stuff might not have much of a chance. A TV-news show that asks people to think about the effects of TV-news on one’s mental health? On a bespoke subscription service, however, the thinking is that such exploration may be helpful to members — and give them something else to chew on once they’ve digested MS NOW’s most recent stories. MS NOW even plans to limit the number of stories it puts on its app at any given time, so as not to overwhelm subscribers with an infinite scroll of heavy developments.
“I just think people are looking for help with this problem,” says Harris, who will continue with his current business. “How do I turn things off? How can I, you know, just sit down for a minute? Block it all out? Refresh, restart.”
The idea has been brewing for some time. Harris had a deal with CNN not too long ago to contribute to CNN+, an ambitious streaming outlet that was scuttled within just weeks of launch. Had the property lasted longer, Harris would have been one of the personalities contributing to it. Rebecca Kutler, president of MS NOW, helped oversee CNN+, but Harris says he’s not certain there’s a connection to his new role.
Executives at MS NOW, in research sessions with news consumers, asked them what makes staying engaged with the news more difficult, and what could be done better. People indicated they were overwhelmed by the sheer volume of news, and in some cases felt isolated. They also said the news made them feel anxious. “We know that there’s much more that our audience is navigating than just the news,” says Melissa Baretta, vice president of direct-to-consumer operations at MS NOW.
Harris won’t be the only host helping subscribers grapple with such issues. Even so, he may have a truly good idea of how they feel. Harris has for years spoken openly about a panic attack he suffered on air in 2004, while delivering some of the top A.M. headlines on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson sat just across the studio as it happened. His “10% Happier” book, and subsequent efforts, help people recognize anxieties that may drive behavior and offer thoughts about how to cope, often with meditation.
Harris was a “creator” before “creator media” was cool. He ceded duties at “Nightline” in 2019, then stepped away from weekend “GMA” in 2021. He wishes he had made the move even earlier. “I was just anxious, which is, I guess, on brand,” he says. “I was too scared to make the leap, and I think I would have benefitted massively if I had done it five years” ahead of his move. Harris says he waited to make certain his new business “could at least match my current salary.”
He knows an independent venture carries with it some risk. “In my years at ABC News, I had one place to feed. Now it’s… constant. YouTube. TikTok. The Spotify algorithm, the Apple Podcast algorithm. Substack. And on and on. To be a viable business in this space, you need to be doing so many things,” he says. “I think if you’re in my position, given how the algorithms are constantly changing — literally, Apple’s can change the way it counts downloads — when an opportunity comes, I’m innately interested.”
MS NOW can help, Dan.
Nedra Glover Tawwab, Dr. Joel Bervell, Richard Lui, and Dr. Ann-Louise Lockhart will also contribute regular programs built around health and wellness to the new service, and delve into topics such as caregiving, medicine, and relationships. The MS NOW “Membership” will also offer meditation scenarios from the popular Calm app.
In some ways, MS NOW is treading a path already explored by The New York Times, a traditional news outlet that has found games and online puzzles serve as a great way of attracting and generating audiences — and the ad and subscription dollars that can follow. Only time will tell whether this new walk also helps revitalize.
