CNN's new primetime shows will officially launch on September 8th, the network confirmed on Tuesday.

Anderson Cooper 360 at 7pm and Paula Zahn Now at 8pm will replace the current two-hour block of Live From the Headlines - a placeholder show put on air after the tabloid-style Connie Chung Tonight was cancelled during the war in Iraq.

Cooper's show will target younger viewers and offer a fast-paced wrap of world news in the first twenty minutes, before going into more analytical pieces on culture, media and entertainment news. In an interview with the Washington Times, Cooper discussed how he plans to reach out to younger audiences on his new show:

"There's been a generational shift in the audience. They take in all sorts of things. You can be a foreign policy wonk and still love MTV. That's who's watching news."

Zahn's new show will be more feature-driven, with a cast of contributors analysing news events in a more traditional hard-news format. Zahn previously hosted American Morning, the network's breakfast news programme.