NEW YORK—CNN Weather is now available for download in Apple’s iOS App Store in the United States, CNN announced.

The app, CNN’s first standalone lifestyle product, combines meteorology and climate expertise.

CNN said that the app builds on the recent launch of the All Access subscription offering and that CNN Weather is the next step in its direct-to-consumer strategy.

As such, it is the first in a planned suite of lifestyle products that extend the value of CNN beyond global breaking news. The products will tap into CNN’s existing strengths—best-in-class video capabilities, global reach and local access—to provide audiences with new ways to engage with CNN every day. CNN Weather will be available for free at launch.

“We are creating this portfolio of lifestyle products to help our audience navigate a complex world,” said Ben French, senior vice president of new business. “CNN Weather will not only prepare people each morning for the day ahead and keep them safe and informed during severe weather events, it will also help our audience appreciate and understand the natural weather phenomena around them."

CNN Weather combines best-in-class weather and climate reporting with user-friendly features that offer real-time, reliable information, the network said. The app provides local forecasts and interactive radar, live coverage from CNN’s meteorology and climate experts as weather stories unfold and visually engaging video content to enhance users' understanding of weather phenomena, it said.

“Audiences have always come to CNN for trusted weather information because of our deep bench of meteorologists and climate experts,” said Angela Fritz, senior director, weather and climate at CNN. “Now, with CNN Weather, we can connect people directly with the science-backed insights and analysis that will help them understand the weather and climate events happening around them.”

Download the app here.

Ted Turner, the founder of CNN and Turner Broadcasting System and a larger-than-life entrepreneur who had an outsized and enduring impact on the development of TV industry, has died at 87.

No cause of death was given by his family and Turner Enterprises, which announced his death May 6. In 2018, Turner disclosed that he suffered from Lewy body dementia, a progressive brain disorder.

Turner is best known for founding CNN, the first 24-hour news network, which would dramatically upend the news business by providing viewers with around-the-clock access to news, creating a continuous 24-hour news cycle.

Turner, however, was also a pioneer in a host of other initiatives that would have a profound impact on the media landscape. After his father committed suicide and Turner inherited a nearly bankrupt billboard-advertising business in 1963. He moved into TV with his 1970 purchase of a struggling Atlanta UHF TV station. He later bought the Atlanta Braves as a way to boost the station’s ratings.

In 1976, he put that station, WTCG, up on satellite, creating the pioneering cable Superstation WTBS, which later became the cable network TBS.

That launch helped the financially struggling cable industry, which had mostly retransmitted broadcast stations in its early years, greatly expand its appeal in the late 1970s and 1980s by offering a large bouquet of original programming. His programming of Atlanta Braves baseball games on WTBS was also an early example of the shift of sports rights from broadcast to cable.

'Chicken Noodle Network'
In June of 1980, Turner took his vision one step further with the launch of the 24-hour Cable News Network. CNN was widely dismissed in its early years as the Chicken Noodle Network with its low-budget operations and no-name anchors. Over time, the public’s desire for 24-hour news access, rather than a morning newspaper or half-hour evening TV news broadcast, had forever changed the journalism business. That trend became particularly evident during the 1992 Persian Gulf War, when CNN provided around-the-clock coverage, including from behind enemy lines in Baghdad.

Turner was also instrumental in pushing U.S. media companies into international markets with the launch of CNN International in 1985.

Building on his belief in original programming, Turner was also a pioneer in the rapidly consolidating media landscape of the late 1980s and 1990s, with the $1.5 billion purchase of MGM Studios in the mid-1980s. He used its library to create Turner Classic Movies (TCM) and the Cartoon Network.

In 1996, he sold Turner Broadcasting to Time Warner Inc. for $7.5 billion, creating the kind of horizontally integrated media company, with cable networks (HBO, TBS, CNN, TNT), cable systems and Hollywood studios, that currently dominates the traditional media sector. He stayed on as vice chairman of Time Warner but, following the disastrous merger between AOL and Time Warner, Turner resigned as AOL Time Warner’s vice chairman in 2003.

Gambling Big
Throughout his career, Turner took big bets and on several occasions nearly pushed himself into bankruptcy. Following his MGM purchase, Turner was forced to give cable companies and operators like John Malone an equity stake in his company and they kept a tighter rein on his finances.

Over the years as a philanthropist, sportsman and environmentalist, Turner was known for his outspoken views, including some racist comments in his early career, and his longstanding feud with Rupert Murdoch. As a philanthropist, he donated over $1 billion to the United Nations.

In announcing his death, Turner Enterprises noted that he donated “over a billion dollars, saving imperiled and endangered species, preserving more than two million acres of land and serving bison in his Ted’s Montana Grill restaurants. He was also a man known for his no-holds-barred delivery, endearing sense of humor, and undying loyalty to those around him. He charmed people he met with his warmth and general lack of conceit, despite his many successes and celebrity—an attribute made apparent in his response to anyone who addressed him as ‘Mr. Turner’—he’d always reply, ‘Call me Ted!’”

He is survived by his five children, Laura Turner Seydel (Rutherford), Robert E. (Teddy) Turner IV (Blair), Rhett Turner, Beau Turner (Georgia), Jennie Turner Garlington (Peek), fourteen grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

In a statement, Mark Thompson, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide, said: “Ted was an intensely involved and committed leader, intrepid, fearless and always willing to back a hunch and trust his own judgement. He was and always will be the presiding spirit of CNN. Ted is the giant on whose shoulders we stand, and we will all take a moment today to recognize him and his impact on our lives and the world."

Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav called Turner "a visionary, a trailblazer, and a foundational force behind many of the brands that are central to Warner Bros. Discovery today.

"Ted’s entrepreneurial spirit, creative ambition and willingness to take risks changed the media industry forever," Zaslav added. "He believed deeply in the power of ideas, in doing things differently and in building platforms that could inform, inspire and connect people around the world. That belief inspired generations of leaders, myself included. He did not just disrupt media. He transformed it.

“In 1980, many questioned the logic of launching CNN, the world’s first 24-hour news network,” Zaslav continued. “Ted believed the world deserved access to news as it happened, and he acted on that conviction. CNN fundamentally changed how the world experiences history in real time, and its impact on journalism continues to be felt every day through the work of our teams.

"With the launch of TNT in 1988, and through the sports legacy he built across Turner Sports, he helped redefine sports television and created a platform that brought iconic moments into millions of homes. In founding Turner Classic Movies in 1994, Ted ensured that great films and the history of cinema would be preserved and celebrated. TCM stands as a testament to his belief that great storytelling has no expiration date, and that honoring the past is essential to shaping the future.”

As more major media and entertainment companies jump on the vertical video bandwagon and tech providers launch products to streamline its creation, analysts at LightShed Partners are pouring cold water over Hollywood’s approach to the format.

In a note to investors, LightShed analysts Richard Greenfield, Brandon Ross and Mark Kelley said, “We believe the strategy behind almost all of these products, including Netflix, is dead wrong and misses the far larger opportunity in mobile vertical video content.”

In recent days, Netflix launched a vertical video feed in its mobile app, joining Disney+ (Verts), ESPN (Verts), Peacock (Clips), Paramount+ (Clips), and CNN (Shorts). All are responding to the growing popularity of vertical video particularly among younger audiences.

At NAB Show earlier this month, AWS launched new AI-powered tools to automate vertical video creation creation of vertical video, with data showing Gen Z viewers consume 88% of the streaming content they watch on their phones, and that users are spending more time watching vertical video than content from Netflix, Disney+ or Prime Video on their phones.

While some companies like The New York Times and CNN have been creating compelling original vertical video content, “none of the major media companies are willing to take a small portion of their massive content budgets to attack original vertical programming for mobile devices,” the LightShed analysts said.

“While it is great to see so many media companies launching vertical content for mobile devices, creating clips of existing content is underwhelming at best,” they argued. “We doubt users spend meaningful time watching short clips of long-form content, and these feeds certainly do not make you want to come back regularly the way dedicated mobile entertainment apps do.”

“Only CNN is making its own original programming specifically formatted for vertical mobile viewing,” they noted. Worse, the analysts argued, some of the repurposed content for vertical video is badly done. “ESPN and Paramount+ are simply reformatting horizontal content into a vertical feed, and it looks awful, with text impossible to read,” they said.

Read the full post, along with examples of vertical video being produced, here.

NEW YORK—CNN has announced that its All Access subscription tier will launch in the U.S. on Oct. 28, providing audiences with a centralized destination for CNN’s journalism, including live and on-demand video programming to stream.

In the run-up to the previously announced subscription video-on-demand service, CNN said in early October that it would end its live streams on HBO Max on Nov. 17. HBO Max is owned by CNN’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Available for $6.99 per month or $69.99 a year, CNN says the new tier will deliver the most complete way to experience the network’s content within its existing suite of digital products across web, mobile and connected TV apps. Subscribers who sign up for the annual plan option by Jan. 5 can subscribe for a special introductory price of $41.99 for the first year.

“With this new subscription offering, our audience will now have access to the best of CNN across platforms, including multiple live stream channels, our signature video-led journalism and all articles on CNN.com and in the mobile app,” Alex MacCallum, executive vice president, digital products and services, CNN Worldwide, said. “It’s an essential step in CNN’s evolution as we work to give audiences the complete CNN experience in a format that reflects how audiences engage with the news today.”

Subscribers to the All Access tier will have the ability to stream a selection of CNN’s live U.S. and International programming; the award-winning CNN Originals library of more than 1,000 hours of content; the latest CNN Original Series and CNN Films, made available the day after their television airing; exclusive new video-on-demand programming and special features from CNN’s award-winning journalists; exclusive live events; and all CNN.com articles and subscriber-only content, CNN said.

The full schedule and content offering will be available at launch.

This new streaming offering will build upon the existing CNN subscription product, now called the Basic tier, which was launched in October 2024. That tier currently gives users unlimited access to CNN.com, CNN app articles and subscriber-only content, such as exclusive reporting and feature stories.

Current pay TV subscribers will also be able to log in and access the new streaming product at no additional cost. Pay TV subscribers will need to subscribe to the Basic tier to read unlimited CNN articles.

For the latest updates and information, visit CNN.com/AllAccess.

SEATTLE—LumaTouch is partnering with CNN Academy to improve mobile storytelling techniques and support training across all of CNN Academy’s training simulations, master classes, courses and workshops.

As a result of this partnership, LumaTouch’s LumaFusion, a professional multitrack editing platform for mobile devices, will become the exclusive video editing application taught across CNN Academy training programs.

CNN Academy was established to nurture the skills and talent of the next generation of journalists and content creators, offering advanced training and mentorship across multiple continents.

“This partnership marks a significant step in bridging the gap between media training and practical application in today’s rapidly-evolving digital landscape.” LoumaTouch Co-Founder Terri Morgan, co-founder of LumaTouch.

As part of the agreement, LumaTouch has also worked closely with CNN Academy in a number of areas:

• Co-Developed Course Development: CNN Academy and LumaTouch have jointly developed a course on Mobile Storytelling, featuring best practices and tutorials on using the LumaFusion app. This course will be made available to all CNN Academy Hub users.
• Training Support: LumaTouch is providing LumaFusion training support throughout the CNN Academy programs, including virtual workshops, Q&A sessions and resource materials.
• LumaFusion Free for All: CNN Academy Students: LumaTouch is also providing the LumaFusion mobile video editing app free of charge to all CNN Academy students for the duration of their participation in the program.

CNN Academy is CNN’s international training program, designed to nurture the next generation of journalists by offering hands-on learning, mentorship, and access to real-world newsroom experiences. For more information, please visit https://academy.cnn.com.

For more information about LumaTouch please visit luma-touch.com .

Broadcast and cable TV news outlets saw strong social media growth in March, according to new data from the social video analytics company Tubular Labs .

Fox News, for example, grew its U.S. unique viewers across Facebook and YouTube by 32% month-over-month, to 60.1 million, while minutes watched soared 26% to 1.6 billion (both 13-month highs).

CBS News saw a 51% bounce in unique viewers to 38.5 million and a 29% increase in minutes watched to 140.4 million in March, Tubular reported.

The growth comes amid a busy news cycle in March, with major news involving policy changes, tariffs and economic concerns.

CNN in March saw unique viewers grow by 21% to 31 million, while minutes watched grew 80% month over month to 426.3 million.

MSNBC had 35.2 million unique viewers, up 20% from a month earlier in March, but its minutes view hit 1.4 billion, up 28% month over month, according to Tubular. That made it the only one of the news organizations to come close to Fox News in minutes viewed.

ABC News had the second highest unique viewers, with 54 million, but the slowest growth, up 5% month over month in March. Its minutes viewed only grew 1% in March to 346.5 million.

More information about Tubular can be found here.

WASHINGTON —Longtime CNN Political Director David Chalian has been promoted to senior vice president and Washington bureau chief, the network announced.

In his expanded role, Chalian will now oversee the network’s Washington bureau and political news coverage from the nation’s capital. He will continue to supervise CNN’s daily political reporting across all platforms as well polling and decision desk operations and editorial content for special political programming. Chalian will remain CNN’s political director and continue to appear across the network as part of its on-air political coverage.

Chalian joined the network in 2013 and was named political director in 2014. The veteran journalist has set the editorial direction of CNN’s debates and town halls for nearly a decade, including the pivotal June debate between President Joe Biden and President-elect Donald Trump.

Before joining CNN, Chalian was vice president for video programming at Politico, overseeing all of its video efforts including “Politico Live” special-events coverage, new video programming and product development. He has also been Washington bureau chief for Yahoo! News; political editor an on-air political analyst for “PBS NewsHour”; and political director at ABC News.

During Chalian’s tenure at “PBS NewsHour,” its political coverage won the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He was a member of the ABC News team that won an Emmy Award for covering President Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009.

Fox News Channel easily led broadcast and cable networks in audiences for its primetime election coverage with an average of 9.8 million viewers in the 8-11 p.m. (ET) time slot, while ABC attracted 5.7 million viewers 2-plus and MSNBC pulled in 5.5 million.

NBC earned the fourth largest audience at 5.3 million, followed by CNN at 4.7 million and CBS at 3.5 million.

While the election night coverage was highly anticipated, following the most expensive campaigns in history, early indications are that viewing averaged 36.6 million viewers across the broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC) and three biggest cable news channels (CNN, FNC and NBC), according to The Hollywood Reporter. That is way down from the 50.7 million who tuned into those outlets four years ago during primetime.

Fox News Media properties (FNC, Fox Business Network, the Fox broadcast network and Fox News Digital) had 13 million viewers 2-plus, according to the division. About 4 million of those were in the adults 25-54 demo used to sell advertising, with FNC getting about 2.9 million of its 9.8 million viewers from the 25-54 age group.

ABC has about 2.2 million in that demo, followed by NBC (2.1 million), CNN (2 million) and CBS (1.2 million).

In its first coverage of a presidential election, NewsNation attracted 257,000 P2+ and about 65,000 in the 25-54 demo.

In the six p.m. to 3 a.m. ET time slot, FNC had an average of 8.2 million P2+ and 2.4 million in the 25-54 demo while CNN had 3.5 million P2+ and 1.5 million in the 25-54 age group and MSNBC has 3.9 million P2+ and 1.1 million viewers aged 25-54.

WASHINGTON—CNN said its coverage plans for Election Night next Tuesday (Nov. 5) will include around-the-clock special coverage from the CNN Election Center in Washington and will stream live, for free, on the network’s connected-TV and mobile apps, as well as on CNN.com.

Subscribers to the Max streaming service will also have access to a live stream of CNN’s coverage of the race between Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, and the Republican standard bearer, former President Donald Trump.

CNN will also extend its election-night “Magic Wall” data and storytelling technology to digital, allowing viewers to track up-to-the-minute results and follow key races from their mobile devices in real time. CNN’s app will also feature live and on-demand vertical video from correspondents stationed across the U.S., allowing app users to access CNN reporting as it happens.

Live election coverage will also be featured 24/7 on the network’s home pages and live blogs, alongside CNN’s Election Center, a data-rich home for interactive, real-time results from federal, state and local races. Viewers can also engage with reporters via the live chat feature on CNN.com or the CNN app.

CNN’s “Election Night in America” coverage will stream live and for free on Nov. 5 from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. (ET), the network said. Coverage will begin on Sunday, Nov. 3, on CNN with special “Countdown to Election Day” editions of “The Situation Room With Wolf Blitzer,” “Erin Burnett OutFront,” “Anderson Cooper 360,” “The Source With Kaitlan Collins,” “CNN NewsNight: State of the Race With Abby Philip” and “Laura Coates Live.” Special episodes of CNN’s programming lineup will also air Monday, Nov. 4.

“Election Day in America” programming starts at midnight on Nov. 5 and continues throughout the day. Special coverage will start at 4 p.m. ET (Nov. 5) and will be anchored by Jake Tapper and Anderson Cooper, with Dana Bash, Erin Burnett, Audie Cornish and Chris Wallace. John King will man the network’s Magic Wall. John Berman and Kasie Hunt will take over anchor duties at 2 a.m. (ET) through the early morning hours.

CNN plans to reduce its workforce by about 100 employees and launch digital subscription products by the end of 2024 in a major restructuring, according to “The Wrap.”

In a memo to staff this week, CEO Mark Thompson, who took the helm in the fall of 2023, outlined his plans to layoff approximately 100 employees through job cuts and attrition. CNN currently has about 3,500 employees worldwide. He also announced that the network will combine three news divisions—US Newsgathering (TV), International Newsgathering (TV) and Global Digital News—into one unit, headed up by CNN veteran executive Virginia Moseley.

Also in the works, new subscription plans to be launched by the end of 2024 that will hopefully erase the memory of the network’s ill-fated CNN+ streaming service that was shut down less than a month after being launched in the spring of 2022, shortly after the merger of Warner Bros. and Discovery.

Although details have not been released. Thompson told staffers that “in the future our digital products need to do a far better job of reflecting CNN’s massive strength in video and anchoring/reporting talent. Video will be at the heart of our future and a re-imagined video experience on every platform–from pure digital to streaming, FAST channels and more – it is essential for CNN’s future.”

Alex McCallum, who left CNN after the failed launch of CNN+, returned to the network in January to head up digital products and services. Such streaming and on-demand programming—also available on WBD’s Max platform—will be developed and managed by a new “TV Futures Lab,” Thompson said in his memo.

NEW YORK—Nielsen is reporting that nearly 51.3 million people watched CNN’s presentation of the first presidential debate of the 2024 election season on Thursday, June 27.  

The CNN Presidential Debate between President Biden and former President Trump aired live on CNN and was simulcast on an additional 16 television networks reported by Nielsen. 

By age, Nielsen reported that 51,265,000 people aged 2 and older watched the debate and 34,531,000 households. Results for other demos included persons 18-34 (4,502,000 viewers), persons 35-54 (10,918,000) and persons 55+ (34,162,000). 

Reported networks include: ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, Scripps News, Telemundo, Univision, BET, CNN, CNNe, HLN, FOX Business, FOX News Channel, MSNBC, Newsmax, NewsNation, PBS.

CNN reported that on television, "CNN drew the highest single audience with 9.53 million viewers on its flagship channel, including 3.379 million in the advertiser coveted 25-54 demographic". Fox News drew 9.276 million viewers, ABC News saw 9.21 million viewers and MSNBC drew 4.122 million viewers, according to CNN. 

CNN.com also noted that "while the debate drew the largest television audience of the year, it represents over a 30% drop in audience from 2020, when more than 73 million people watched the first debate between Trump and Biden across all television networks. In 2016, a record 84 million tuned in to the first debate matchup between Hillary Clinton and Trump.

President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump have agreed to participate in two televised debates, the first of which will be hosted by CNN on June 17. 

ABC will host the second on Sept. 10, which will be available on ABC, the ABC News Live streaming network and Hulu. It also said that it will make its debate available to simulcast on additional broadcast and streaming news networks in America.  

The CNN debate will occur usually early, before both of the parties hold their official National conventions. 

CNN will host the debate from its Atlanta studios in the crucial battleground state of Georgia. CNN said that the debate will air on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN Max and CNN.com. 

To ensure candidates may maximize the time allotted in the debate, no audience will be present at the CNN debate. Moderators for the debate and additional details will be announced at a later date.  

ABC News reported that information on moderators, format and additional details will be provided at a later date.

Both CNN and ABC said that to be eligible for participation the candidate must appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold to win the presidency prior to the eligibility deadline; agree to accept the rules and format of the debate; and receive at least 15% in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters that meet their standards for reporting.

Those conditions would currently make all the third party candidates ineligible. 

WASHINGTON, D.C.—C-SPAN has announced that longtime CNN executive Sam Feist will be the nonprofit public affairs network's next CEO.

Feist will be only the third CEO in the network's 45-year history, succeeding co-CEOs Rob Kennedy and Susan Swain, who have served in this role since 2012, and founding CEO Brian Lamb, who remains on the cable network's board of directors. 

In announcing the appointment, C-SPAN highlighted Feist's background as an editorial leader and a digital and television innovator with deep relationships throughout the Washington media and politics community. 

As senior vice president and Washington bureau chief, Feist currently heads CNN’s DC bureau which includes the network's largest newsgathering operation. He also leads the digital and editorial transformation of CNN en Español, CNN’s Spanish-language network. 

Feist graduated from Vanderbilt University and later earned a law degree from Georgetown University.  He is an active member of the DC Bar. 

C-SPAN chairman Pat Esser, retired Cox Communications CEO, describes Feist as "an outstanding leader who is trusted and respected by both sides of the aisle and who has a deep respect for C-SPAN's nonpartisan mission." 

“Our democracy needs C-SPAN now more than ever,” said Feist. “I look forward to working with C-SPAN’s extraordinary and dedicated team to expand the network’s reach and meet new audiences where they are.”

“C-SPAN is an American treasure and I could not be more excited to lead this essential institution,” added Feist.

Earlier this year, Lamb, Kennedy, Swain, and Esser formed a search committee on behalf of the network's board. Ann Carlsen of Carlsen Resources conducted a robust search, vetting nearly a hundred candidates for this position. In addition to executive management experience in media, the network wanted someone who would preserve C-SPAN's nonpartisan mission while also finding new distribution and funding opportunities as linear cable distribution declines. 

Kennedy and Swain had this to say about Sam Feist's selection: "Out of a small group of excellent finalists, Sam Feist stood out for his deep respect for C-SPAN, his leadership skills, his knowledge of Washington, and his digital transformation bona fides. We are confident that we are leaving C-SPAN in good hands."  

Feist will remain at CNN through the end of June to assist with his transition there. He begins his CEO duties at C-SPAN in late summer. Rob Kennedy steps down on May 17; Swain will continue as sole CEO until Feist takes over.  

C-SPAN, a nonprofit cooperative founded by the cable industry in 1979, is its premier public service, whose primary mission is to connect the public with their national government.  It operates 3 television networks available in 50 million cable and satellite households, an FM radio station in Washington DC, and numerous digital offerings. Its archives contain nearly 300,000 hours of contemporary public affairs programming. 

NEW YORK—Alex MacCallum has been named CNN Worldwide’s executive vice president of digital products and services, a new role focused on overseeing and spearheading CNN’s suite of digital products. 

MacCallum is an experienced product, business and media executive who joins from the Washington Post where she served as chief revenue officer overseeing subscriptions, partnerships and advertising. At the Post, MacCallum began the transformation of the Post’s business, from changing the way its advertising team was structured to evolving how cross-functional work happens across the company. 

She returns to CNN after previously serving as global head of product for CNN Worldwide and general manager of CNN+ where she managed product, data, design, growth marketing and business operations. 

She left CNN in 2022 after the CNN+ direct-to-consumer service was shut down. 

During her first stint at CNN, MacCallum led teams to the launch of CNN+ and restructured the core CNN.com product teams to better serve its users. 

Before joining CNN, she was at the New York Times, where she worked with the current CEO of CNN, Mark Thompson was then CEO of the New York Times.

During her eight years at The New York Times she had various roles, including head of product for standalone products, a NYT portfolio that included Cooking, Games, Wirecutter, Audio and Kids, and as the founding Masthead editor for Audience in the newsroom. She was the founding product leader on NYT Cooking, leading the creation and growth of the product in partnership with editorial. She also spent time in the newsroom overseeing NYT Video. 

At the Times, she championed a cross-functional product development process that allowed for rapid iteration, new product creation and innovation in product and in particular, direct to consumer businesses. 

She began her career in media at the Washington Post and was the first news editor for the Huffington Post. She graduated from Brown University and holds a law degree from U.C. Berkeley. 

MaCallum’s first day at CNN will be March 4. She will be based out of CNN’s New York bureau. 

NEW YORK—Warner Bros. Discovery has announced that Mark Thompson has been appointed to the role of chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide. 

Former director-general of the BBC and former president and CEO of The New York Times Company takes the top job at CNN at a time when the news organization has been struggling with massive changes in its traditional business. It also follows the short, tumultuous tenure of Christopher Licht, who left the company in June. 

Thompson will report to David Zaslav, chief executive officer, Warner Bros. Discovery, and the appointment will be effective on October 9.

"There isn't a more experienced, respected or capable executive in the news business today than Mark, and we are thrilled to have him join our team and lead CNN Worldwide into the future," said David Zaslav, chief executive officer, Warner Bros. Discovery. "Mark is a true innovator who has transformed for the digital age two of the world's most respected news organizations. His strategic vision, track record in transformational leadership and sheer passion for news make him a formidable force for CNN and journalism at this pivotal time."

In his new role, Thompson will lead CNN's strategy, operations and business units, including its global portfolio of networks, channels and programming across broadcast, streaming and digital as well as CNN's approximately 4,000 employees worldwide. He will act as editor-in-chief, ultimately responsible for all CNN content, CNN said. 

"I couldn't be more excited about the chance to join CNN after years of watching it and competing against it with a mixture of admiration and envy," said Thompson. "The world needs accurate trustworthy news now more than ever and we've never had more ways of meeting that need at home and abroad. Where others see disruption, I see opportunity. I can't wait to roll up my sleeves and get down to work with my new colleagues to build a successful future for CNN."

A 40-plus-year veteran of the news business, Thompson has extensive experience as a programmer, editorial leader and successful business innovator. As president and CEO of The New York Times from 2012-2020, he led the creation of the world's largest and most successful digital business to date, increasing paid digital subscriptions to the Times tenfold and more than doubling the company's total digital revenues. During his tenure, there were also stand-out innovations in podcasting (The Daily) and life-style and features content (NYT Cooking, NYT Games, Wirecutter). Thompson has served as Chairman of Ancestry since December 2020.  

Previously, as director-general (CEO and editor-in-chief) of the BBC from 2004-2012, Thompson presided over one of the world's biggest newsrooms as well as scores of national and international TV and radio services and extensive global digital news assets. He led the development of the BBC iPlayer, the world's first streaming service from a major broadcaster, expanded web and smartphone services from news to education to entertainment, and oversaw coverage of the biggest events of the time from the global financial crisis of 2008-09 to the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Before becoming a senior executive, Thompson was a working researcher, director, field producer and award-winning showrunner in the BBC's news division.

Mark Thompson was knighted for services to Media in the King's Birthday Honours June 2023.

CNN's interim leadership team of Amy Entelis, executive vice president, talent and content development, David Leavy, COO, Virginia Moseley, executive vice president of editorial, CNN US, and Eric Sherling, executive vice president of U.S. Programming will continue in their functional roles, reporting to Thompson.

With cameras and cellphones banned from the Miami courthouse where former President Donald Trump was arraigned on 37 charges from the Dept. of Justice Tuesday, CNN formulated an elaborate plan to beat its competition in gathering news updates in real time.

The network hired a group of local Miami-area high school students to work as production assistants for the day. The students attended the hearing on Tuesday afternoon in an overflow room with CNN reporters, who made notes and then handed the notes to a student who then rushed to one of the courthouse’s only two payphones to pass the updates along to the network. 

However, because the payphones were only configured to call local phone numbers, CNN had the student dial their personal cellphone located in the network’s mobile operations in an RV, where it was answered by a CNN news director who would then transcribe the notes and pass it along to the network HQ for air. 

Their efforts allowed CNN to scoop other news outlets by reporting when the former President was in custody and entered a not guilty plea.  

“In all my years of field producing, never have I been involved in an operation as complex as this literal game of professional telephone,” Gray said after the hearing concluded.

When CNN brought Chris Licht aboard in May 2022 to replace Jeff Zucker as CEO, part of Licht’s agenda was to provide a (what it termed) a more “bipartisan” approach to the news—something the 43-year old network had touted for decades—but had departed from in recent years, based on what pundits (mostly from the right) were saying. 

In hindsight, several days after Licht’s departure from the network, data shows that perhaps that approach wasn’t so good for the network’s viewership or bottom line. 

According to data from MediaRadar, advertisers spent $312.6 million in the first four months of 2023, a decline of 39% compared to the previous time period in 2022. In April alone, revenue fell 48% with just $80 million in ads. 

But it wasn’t only the revenues, but the number of advertisers that declined. CNN had a total of 2,100 advertisers in the first four months of 2023 whereas that number was 2,700 in the same period in 2022, a drop of 23%. From January to April 2023, 17 companies invested more than $2 million on CNN’s ad platforms, compared to 68 in the first four months of 2022, a decline of 75%. Companies that reduced their ad buys by 90% included Disney, Apple and Cisco, according to Media Radar.

That revenue decline was also compounded by the fact that CNN had also burned through reportedly $1 billion to launch CNN+, which Licht had to shut down early in his term due to the anemic number of subscribers and lack of support from its parent company.

“Our data analysis suggests a significant downward trend in CNN's ad revenue during Chris Licht's tenure, reflecting substantial declines both in total spend and in the number of advertisers,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO and co-founder of MediaRadar, in a statement.

Ratings fell too. During Licht’s time as CEO, CNN's average daily reach decreased by 7% year-over-year, according to Samba TV. Meanwhile, viewership during this same time period (May 2022 - June 2023) with regard to the network's competitors, including MSNBC and Fox News, has inversely shown year-over-year increases in average daily household reach. Examining reach for the three cable news networks as well as Newsmax, Newsmax experienced the largest overall increase at +23%), most likely driven by the turmoil at Fox News.

CNN's controversial town hall with former president Trump on May 10 was a ratings boom for the network, however with 4.8 million U.S. households watching CNN that day. Since then, however, CNN has seen its ratings slide, with no day since then bringing in over 3.5 million U.S. household tune-ins, Samba TV said.

"The data indicates that appetite for news coverage has been slowing in the aftermath of historic spikes from breaking news events like the Ukraine war, the most recent presidential election, and the indictment of former President Trump,” said Cole Strain, vice president of Measurement Science at Samba TV. “Since May of 2022, when new leadership took over, CNN has struggled to keep pace relative to its competitors. The network has seen its average daily reach decrease year over year, while other cable news networks have seen growth. This comparison may have been a contributing factor in the decision to part ways with its now former CEO."

So while it is open to debate that CNN's decline can be attributed a more "bipartisan" approach to news coverage and commentary (CNN's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery has experienced its own turmoil during this period), the lack of any other viable excuse seems to point to exactly that. 

CNN announced this morning that Chris Licht, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide has left the company effective today. Licht’s departure is believed to have been a result of what the news network termed “a series of severe missteps” during his 13 months at the helm. 

Licht took over from Jeff Zucker, who stepped down in April 2022 after news of an undisclosed  relationship with a CNN employee became public. Licht's term was marked by several incidents that impacted his ability to lead the news network, namely, the shutdown of the CNN Plus streaming service last summer and the more publicized controversy surrounding his decision to have the network host former President Donald Trump in a live town hall at the end of May as well as a damning profile in The Atlantic recently. 

In apology to news staffers earlier this week Licht described the Atlantic's profile as "tremendously humbling,"

“I met with Chris and he will be leaving CNN,” David Zaslav, the chief executive of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery, told CNN employees this morning, according to published reports. 

Although Licht had tried to justify his decision on the Trump town hall in recent days, he had lost the confidence of much of CNN’s news staff. He did garner some support, however from his former colleagues at MSNBC, where he had previously worked, launching "Morning Joe" 15 years ago. He started in TV in the mid-90’s at KNBC Los Angeles and was also a former executive producer of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and EVP at CBS. 

Amy Entelis has been named as the interim head of the network, according to Puck News. 

NEW YORK—CNN’s controversial Republican Presidential Town Hall on May 10 with former president Donald Trump ranked #1 in cable news and #2 in all of cable behind the NBA Playoffs on TNT in both total viewers and adults 25-54, according to Nielsen figures supplied by CNN.  

The Town Hall in New Hampshire averaged 3.308 million total viewers compared to 1.446 million in the town hall time slot for Fox News and 1.398 for MSNBC. 

Among adults 25-54, CNN beat all cable news competitors with 781k, 458% more than Fox News’ 140k and a 388% advantage over MSNBC’s 160k.

Among adults aged 25 to 54, Wednesday’s event was CNN’s #1 single-candidate town hall since 2016 among adults 25-54 but was behind CNN’s 2020 Joe Biden Town Hall on September 17, 2020 among total viewers with 3.465 million, according to data from CNN.

Audience data from Fox News press department indicated that the May 10 CNN town hall audiences were lower than than five Fox News Channel Town Halls with former President Trump which delivered 5.1 million P2+ on June 25, 2020, 4.4 million P2+ on March 24, 2020, 4.2 million P2+ on March 5, 2020, 3.8 million P2+ on May 3, 2020 and 3.5 million P2+ million on June 30, 2021. 

On CNN’s Digital platforms, CNN’s Republican Presidential Town Hall with Former President Donald Trump streamed live, without requiring a cable log-in, on CNN.com’s homepage and across mobile devices via CNN’s apps for iOS and Android from 8 pm to 9:30 pm ET. It peaked with 149k concurrent viewers at 9:09 pm, the largest concurrent digital livestream audience for a CNN Election Town Hall since at least the 2020 cycle. The livestream generated nearly 1 million live video starts, CNN reported. 

Combining TV plus digital live streaming produced a combined average audience of 3.408 million total viewers. Digital viewing added a 3.0% lift to CNN’s TV P2+ average audience for the town hall, ranking 9th among all town halls on record. CNN coverage (8 pm to 9:09 pm ET) saw an average audience of 100k users live streaming the average minute of coverage (equivalent to the way TV ratings are calculated).

CNN also ranked #1 in prime time (8-11pm) on Wednesday among both total viewers and adults 25-54. Among total viewers, CNN had 2.293 million, +57% more than MSNBC’s 1.458 million and +36% more than Fox News’s 1.683 million. This marked CNN’s best performance in prime time since the 2022 Midterm Elections among total viewers on November 8 2022 with 2.608 million. 

Among adults 25-54, CNN averaged 510k, Fox News placed second with 189k and MSNBC was third with 157k. 

The event was significantly ahead of Trump’s last town hall appearance on CNN in 2016 in April 12, 2016, delivering +53% more total viewers (3.308 million vs. 2.168 million) and +35% more in the demo (781k vs. 579k), CNN reported.

SAN FRANCISCO—The live streaming audio service TuneIn and CNN have inked a multiyear extension of their longtime content partnership that includes audio simulcasts of CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español, HLN and a commercial-free CNN station available to TuneIn Premium subscribers. 

The new deal also expands the offering with the launch of a 24/7 CNN Originals station on March 27 as an ad-supported station for all subscribers. A commercial-free version for Premium subscribers will be launched soon, the companies said. 

The addition of CNN Originals includes the 13-time Primetime Emmy Award-winning Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown and the critically acclaimed titles of This Is Life with Lisa Ling, Forensic Files II, American Dynasties: The Kennedys and more.

“CNN, television’s first 24-hour all-news service, continues to be a go-to source for around-the-clock news coverage, reaching more individuals on television and online than any other cable news organization in the US,” said Richard Stern, CEO of TuneIn. “CNN has been one of our foundational partners. With news being an important pillar for TuneIn, the expansion of CNN content offerings and territories, in addition to our partnerships with other top US news outlets, allows TuneIn to continue to deliver diversified news offerings and value to our listeners.”

The renewal of the CNN agreement also includes:

• Ad-supported stations for CNN, HLN and CNN en Español & CNN International
• Commercial-Free CNN station available to TuneIn Premium subscribers
• Expansion of CNN (ad-supported & commercial-free stations) for listeners in Canada
• TuneIn’s commercial-free streaming removes advertising breaks to give listeners their favorite CNN programming uninterrupted.

Despite record turnout of voters in many of the parts of the U.S. on Tuesday, TV ratings did not follow suit, according to Nielsen, which reported that the overall TV audience of 25.4 million viewers on Tuesday night was the lowest for a mid-term since 2014, and just one-third of the TV audience for the 2018 vote. 

Cable’s top channel didn’t disappoint when it came to viewership, as Fox News ran away with the ratings on Tuesday night, logging 7.4 million viewers. Unexpectedly, though, MSNBC’s 3.2 million viewers beat out rival CNN, which logged only 2.6 million, marking the first time MSNBC has bettered CNN during any mid-term of presidential election night, according to Neilsen. 

Ratings were also down for the top three networks, which cleared their primetime scheduled for election coverage. ABC came out on top with 3.3 million viewers, 38% lower than 2018, followed by NBC with 3.1 million, down 43% from 2018 and then CBS with 2.6 million viewers, down 33%.

In the all important 25-54 demographic CNN tied NBC for second place and beat MSNBC; of the big three, NBC came out on top. Nielsen said that 65% of the TV viewing audience on Tuesday night were 55 and older. 

NEW YORK—NewsNation has announced that Chris Cuomo will be joining its prime-time line-up this fall as the host of his own show. 

Cuomo appeared on “Dan Abrams Live” tonight at 9 p.m. ET on July 26 to discuss his new role with Nexstar Media Group’s cable network. 

The owner of the cable network NewsNation, Nexstar, did not reveal what hour Cuomo’s show will air.  

Cuomo was suspended from CNN last year and subsequently fired over allegations he was involved in helping manage the sexual harassment scandal of his brother, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. Chris Cuomo has since sued CNN in a $125 million arbitration claim. 

During the interview with Abrams, Cuomo claimed he was never involved in manipulating the media to defend his brother. 

With over two decades of experience as an investigative journalist and television news anchor, Chris Cuomo has interviewed presidents and world leaders, reported from warzones, covered the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and shared hundreds of powerful, eye-opening stories impacting the lives of everyday Americans. 

"NewsNation has earned high-praise from multiple media watchdog groups by remaining true to its mission to bring viewers the fact-based news that impacts their lives without opinion or bias,” said Sean Compton, Nexstar Media Inc.’s president of Networks. “Chris joins our growing team of seasoned, award winning journalists and will further our efforts to continue to ensure fairness and transparency in our news reporting and talk shows.” 

“NewsNation believes in the work I am doing with the Chris Cuomo Project and I look forward to building  something special here - covering news wherever it happens and having conversations that cater to  common concerns and solutions rather than political parties or the political circus,” said Cuomo.

Cuomo most recently hosted CNN’s “Cuomo Prime Time,” and previously co-anchored the network’s three-hour morning show, “New Day.” 

At ABC News, Cuomo served as chief law and justice correspondent, co-anchor of ABC's “20/20,” and news anchor for “Good Morning America.” Prior to ABC News, he was a correspondent and political policy analyst for Fox News. Mr. Cuomo began his career as an attorney, following his graduation from the Fordham School of Law. 

Cuomo has received multiple Emmy Award nominations and was recognized with a News Emmy for his “Good Morning America” profile of 12-year-old poet Mattie Stepanek, making him one of the youngest correspondents to ever receive the award. 

He has been awarded Polk and Peabody Awards for team news coverage and his work has been recognized with a national Edward R. Murrow Award for breaking news coverage, a Gerald Loeb Award for Television Deadline business reporting, and an American Bar Association Silver Gavel Award for investigative news.

NEW YORK—Even though WarnerMedia under AT&T’s ownership had planned to invest $1 billion and hire hundreds of people to develop the CNN+ streaming service, Warner Bros. Discovery has abruptly reversed course and decided to shut down CNN+ on April 30th. 

The decision came after a slow start to the recently launched service and the completion of the Warner Media/Discovery merger on April 8, shortly after the launch of CNN+ on March 28.

The new Warner Bros. Discovery has a hefty debt load of $58 billion and is in the process of developing a streaming strategy. Executives have signaled that its streaming strategy would involve combining existing services.

“As we become Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN will be strongest as part of WBD’s streaming strategy which envisions news as an important part of a compelling broader offering along with sports, entertainment, and nonfiction content,” said Chris Licht, chairman and CEO of CNN Worldwide.  “We have therefore made the decision to cease operations of CNN Plus and focus our investment on CNN’s core news-gathering operations and in further building CNN Digital. This is not a decision about quality; we appreciate all of the work, ambition and creativity that went into building CNN Plus, an organization with terrific talent and compelling programming. But our customers and CNN will be best served with a simpler streaming choice.”

NEW YORK—CNN+ has launched in the U.S. with some significant gaps in its streaming distribution, with the service available on desktop, Amazon Fire TV, Android phones and tablets and Apple devices but not Roku, Android TV or Google TV. 

The lack of support for the service on Roku, Android TV and Google TV means that CNN+ is not available on some of the most popular devices for streaming video to smart TVs. 

At launch, the streaming service will offer 8-12 live daily shows, in addition to an extensive slate of weekly programming, new CNN+ Original Series, and a library of more than 1,000 hours of award-winning programming from the CNN Original Series and CNN Films teams. 

The service also offers on demand programming and the Interview Club interactive platform, which allows subscribers to drive the conversation and be part of the story by interacting with anchors and journalists.  

On the platforms supporting CNN+, users can download the CNN app, which will contain both the CNN+ subscription service and access to the existing TV everywhere experience for pay TV subscribers, including the live TV feeds of CNN, CNN International and HLN as well as a robust on-demand offering. 

Those who sign up in the first four weeks after launch will get half off, which is currently $2.99 a month. Subsequent subscribers can access the service for $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year.

NEW YORK—CNN has announced its subscription streaming service CNN+ will debut on March 29, 2022 in the U.S., with early subscribers getting a half off lifetime deal of $2.99 if they subscribe directly with CNN+ within four weeks of launch. 

Thereafter, CNN+ will be available for purchase at $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year. The early subs will be able to keep the $2.99 pricing for as long as they remain subscribers. 

“March 29 will be an important day in the history of CNN and CNN+ will be a critical part of our future,” said Andrew Morse, CNN executive vice president, chief digital officer and head of CNN+. “I am so proud of the work our teams have done to ensure our world class journalism and storytelling comes to life on this new platform. We can’t wait for our subscribers to experience it.”

As previously announced, CNN will have a single CNN app that will offer access to both CNN+ and TV everywhere experiences, with easy navigation between the two. 

In the single CNN app, CNN+ customers can explore a range of new live, on-demand and interactive content through editorially-curated and personalized experiences that suit their interests. 

Pay TV customers can also enjoy the TV everywhere experience that includes linear TV feeds of CNN, CNN International and HLN as well as a substantial on-demand offering available exclusively to pay TV customers.

Chris Licht, who is currently the executive producer of CBS’ Late Show with Steven Colbert and VP of special programming for ViacomCBS has been tapped to replace Jeff Zucker as the head of CNN, replacing Jeff Zucker, who announced his resignation over a relationship with another CNN staffer. 

Licht has spent more than 20 years in broadcast news and currently serves as executive vice president of special programming at CBS. He has created, led and strengthened award-winning news and entertainment shows and programming, including "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," "CBS This Morning," and MSNBC's "Morning Joe."  

"I have known and admired Chris for more than 15 years and strongly believe he is the best person to lead CNN Global as part of Warner Bros. Discovery," said David Zaslav, incoming CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery. "Chris is a dynamic and creative producer, an engaging and thoughtful journalist, and a true news person. He has more than two decades of broadcast experience across local, cable and national news. He has been in the field, in the control room and on the set. He is a highly principled individual who is trusted, hard-working and makes every organization stronger, more innovative, and more cohesive." 

Discovery expects that Licht will start at CNN in early May, after Discovery's acquisition of CNN is complete. He will report directly to Zaslav.

"I'm honored to have this opportunity, especially at such an important time for our country and the world,'' said Licht. "CNN has a rich and storied legacy and I both promise to uphold it and build upon it. I am eternally grateful to Stephen Colbert and the peerless Late Show team for an unforgettable run. I am looking forward to returning to my journalism roots."

Licht has broad experience as a journalist and leader. He currently is executive vice president of special programming at CBS and executive producer and showrunner for "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." Prior to that, Licht was vice president of programming for CBS News and executive producer of the network's morning news program, "CBS This Morning," which he helped launch in 2012. Licht won accolades for elevating the quality of journalism at "CBS This Morning.'' Prior to CBS, Licht was the co-creator and original executive producer of MSNBC's popular morning news show, "Morning Joe."

The news comes amid CNN’s coverage of the Ukrainian war, leading some to praise the news networks’ experience in covering conflicts that go back to the first Gulf War, which upped the network’s reputation in the early '90's. The network is also planning to debut its $4.99/month CNN+ streaming service shortly (anchored by former Fox News's Chris Wallace) and announced its programming lineup last week. 

NEW YORK—CNN has unveiled the full slate of original content that will be available to subscribers of the CNN+ streaming service when it launches this spring. 

At launch CNN+ streaming service will offer 8-12 live daily and weekly programs as well as 1000+ hours of on demand content and an interactive community called the Interview Club, CNN said. 

The live daily and weekly programming will offer news, exclusive interviews and topical deep dives from several new faces, alongside some of CNN’s most prominent talent, CNN said. 

“Nothing like CNN+ exists in the marketplace, and no one other than CNN could create the kind of product we’re going to deliver,” said Andrew Morse, CNN executive vice president and chief digital officer and head of CNN+. “CNN+ will offer world class journalism, premium storytelling, smart perspectives on the news and an interactive community for passionate news junkies. At the heart of CNN+ will be our team of anchors, reporters and personalities, and the three red and white letters that mean so much to audiences around the world.”

“CNN+’s dynamic slate of daily, live and weekly programming will offer our subscribers a front row seat to breaking news, exclusive interviews and in-depth reporting,” added Rebecca Kutler, senior vice president and head of programming for CNN+. “From CNN’s top journalists to the brand new personalities joining CNN+, world-class storytellers will bring their expertise and smart perspectives to our audience every single day.”

CNN also announced that there will be a single CNN app that will offer access to both CNN+ and TV everywhere experiences, with easy navigation between the two. 

In the single CNN app, CNN+ customers can explore a range of new live, on-demand and interactive content through editorially-curated and personalized experiences that suit their interests, the company said. 

In addition, pay TV customers can access the full TV everywhere experience, including access to linear TV feeds of CNN, CNN International and HLN, which will be available exclusively to pay TV customers, as well as a substantial on-demand offering. 

Here's now CNN describes the live daily and weekly content on CNN+:

• 5 Things with Kate Bolduan – Need to get up to speed quickly? CNN’s most popular newsletter and podcast is expanding to a new morning show hosted by CNN Anchor Kate Bolduan. 5 Things gives you the five stories you need to know to start your day. Grab a coffee and count down the top five essential stories of the morning with us.
• Big Picture with Sara Sidner – Big Picture is an in-depth look at the most important and interesting story of the day, hosted by CNN’s Sara Sidner. Sidner hosts a deep-dive conversation featuring CNN’s award-winning reporters and expert guests. Zoom out and contemplate the broader scope of today’s top story and how various pieces of the puzzle connect.
• The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo – The Global Brief with Bianca Nobilo is an incisive look at the most important international news stories in the last 24 hours – providing unrivaled depth and quality for busy CNN+ viewers in a fast-moving world. 
• Go There – Go There takes you to the front lines of breaking news. Join the crew and go behind the scenes with CNN’s reporters and correspondents stationed around the world. We have cameras in every corner of the planet. This is your live, all-access pass to the most essential and visual news stories of the day. Currently available exclusively on CNN Digital properties, Go There’s award-winning reporting has been recognized across the industry and holds the title of the most watched news video on Facebook with live reporting from Wuhan, China in January 2020. 
• The Newscast with Wolf Blitzer – CNN Anchor Wolf Blitzer gives it to you straight, hitting the headlines you need to know on this traditional evening newscast with a sleek, modern twist. The old-school nostalgic approach featuring original reporting from around the world, investigations and consumer focused stories that matter helps put the latest headlines in perspective.
• Reliable Sources Daily – From New York to Hollywood to Silicon Valley – CNN’s Chief Media Correspondent and Anchor Brian Stelter brings together all the headlines in the media on Reliable Sources Daily – a new expansion of his nightly e-newsletter, podcast and Sunday show on CNN. He’ll take a critical look at the media, how the news is made and why it matters to you. This show is your most reliable source in the quickly evolving world of media, business and entertainment. 
• The Source with Kasie Hunt – Get a fresh take on politics with CNN Anchor and Chief National Affairs Analyst Kasie Hunt, as she travels around the nation's capital to dissect the power structures behind policies impacting communities across the country. Join Hunt for exclusive, illuminating interviews, in-depth analysis and straightforward insights for both seasoned news junkies and political novices. 
• Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace? – Join CNN+ Anchor Chris Wallace, one of the most highly-respected journalists of our time, in candid conversations with prominent individuals across the spectrum of news, sports, entertainment, art and culture. Wallace moves outside of politics to include his wide range of interests – from interviews to conversations, and from headlines to smart, sensible, in-depth discussions. He seeks light, not heat.

Here's now CNN describes the weekly programming: 

• 20 Questions with Audie Cornish – Acclaimed journalist and CNN Anchor Audie Cornish has 20 questions for her guests, who range from newsmakers to cultural icons. Her passion for the art of storytelling will be on display with in-depth conversations that bring a fresh approach to the stories and issues that matter.
• Anderson Cooper Full Circle – CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper hosts a twice-weekly show that features Cooper interviewing authors, entertainers, mindfulness experts and community leaders, while highlighting the stories happening outside of Washington. Previously available exclusively on CNN Digital properties, the show also answers viewer questions and shares uplifting stories submitted by fans.
• Boss Files with Poppy Harlow – What does it take to be the boss? CNN Anchor Poppy Harlow gets the answers from the biggest names in business. Sit in on intimate conversations and confessions from today’s most influential leaders and learn how personal and professional struggles helped them forge a path to success. 
• Cari & Jemele: Speak.Easy. – Co-hosts Jemele Hill & Cari Champion toast and roast the stories that have everyone talking. From the biggest headlines in sports, politics and culture, they’ll tell you how they see it. 
• Christiane Amanpour:  One of the world’s most accomplished international correspondents will bring her years of experience and unique global perspective to CNN+. 
• The Don Lemon Show – Make your voice heard in this weekly talk show, a brand new format for the news veteran. There are no limits to the conversation as CNN Anchor Don Lemon and his studio audience take on the most talkable news stories each week.
• Jake Tapper’s Book Club – Read between the lines with CNN Anchor and Chief Washington Correspondent Jake Tapper as he interviews a diverse roster of newsmaking authors and a few of his all-time favorites. Find out the story behind their bestselling and critically acclaimed books and add more to your reading list along the way.
• Masters in Medicine with Dr. Sanjay Gupta – Make a weekly appointment with CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent and a practicing neurosurgeon Dr. Sanjay Gupta, as he takes you to mini med school and helps you discover the tools to master your own health.
• Scott Galloway – Serial entrepreneur, bestselling author and business professor Scott Galloway isn’t afraid to make bold predictions and hold the powerful accountable. His unapologetic take is essential viewing for anyone interested in how business, tech and society intersect. Prepare to be enlightened and entertained. (Show title to be released at a later date)
• Parental Guidance with Anderson Cooper – New dad, CNN Anchor Anderson Cooper gets parenting advice from experts as he navigates life as a working parent. Anderson confronts everyday challenges from sleep schedules to screen time to audience questions about relatable daily struggles.
• Rex Chapman – He’s celebrated the highs of NBA stardom, rebounded from the lows of opioid addiction, and reinvented himself through social media. If anyone can find the silver lining in today’s toughest headlines, it’s Rex Chapman. He brings heart and positivity to conversations with celebrities, athletes and everyday heroes.

CNN+ will also launch with new CNN+ Original Series and CNN Films that will contribute to a robust library of Video on Demand offerings. More than 1,000 hours of on demand content will be available at launch. 

In addition to the live programming and on-demand offerings, CNN+'s  the third main content  will be the Interview Club, an interactive community experience where subscribers can "drive the conversation and be part of the story," CNN said. 

“Interview Club fundamentally transforms what it means to become part of the story,” said Courtney Coupe, senior vice president of content strategy and operations for CNN+. “It’s such a unique value proposition within the platform, because it gives our audience the opportunity to directly influence the conversation in real time. This kind of access to newsmakers is unprecedented, and weaving this crucial element of interactivity into the core of CNN+ sets it profoundly apart from anything else that exists in the streaming marketplace.”

In Interview Club, subscribers can connect directly with anchors, experts and special guests in live, interactive conversations where subscribers can ask and get their questions answered about the issues that matter most to them, CNN explained. Interview Club features the ability for subscribers to submit questions live and in advance of the daily scheduled interviews between CNN’s journalists and newsmakers from their computer, tablet or mobile device. 

CNN also said that this moderated experience allows real-time upvoting of questions and a layer of interactivity no streaming service offers today. 

OTTAWA—“Miss Masky,” the collectible NFT (Non-Fungible Token) digital image created by Fox Entertainment’s “Masked Singer” TV show, has launched North American TV broadcasters into the blockchain age. On Oct. 13, Fox offered 10,000 free “Miss Masky’ Genesis Edition NFTs to the general public through its website (www.maskverse.com). In less than 10 hours, all 10,000 had been claimed and a second 10,000 NFT run had been announced.

NFTs have gotten a lot of attention lately and the television industry is not immune to the phenomenon. But what are NFTs anyways?

“An NFT is a kind of certificate, and it uses a blockchain [distributed online register] to track the authentic ownership record of something,” said John Footen, Deloitte Consulting’s managing director of media technology and operations and former contributor to TV Tech. “When it is sold, the following transaction regarding that digital ownership certificate shows the new owner. 

“That record is transparent and can be checked by anyone,” he continues. “The actual digital art can still be accessed by anyone, but now the official ownership and rights have transferred to a new party who can then use or resell them as they wish."

The fact that Fox Entertainment has released Miss Masky NFTs commercially is significant because it launches the network’s content into this digital media marketplace. Although Miss Masky was free, the network is now making money by selling “Mask Packs” containing three more limited edition “MaskVerse” NFTs for $20 apiece. 

WHY MISS MASKY MATTERS

The release of Miss Masky NFTs, Mask Packs, and the launch of www.maskverse.com are the latest steps by Fox Entertainment and its partnership with Bento Box Entertainment animation studio to capitalize on public interest (and possible demand) for NFTs. To do so, the partners have formed Blockchain Creative Labs and bankrolled a $100 million “creator fund” to find opportunities for NFT sales.

Fox has also taken a minority stake in the blockchain application development/management company Eluvio, which is providing the IT infrastructure and “media wallets” being used by MaskVerse members to collect, trade and sell their NFTs.

The media wallet—which is an application of the Eluvio platform—is both a crypto wallet and a personal application for the user to experience the NFTs that they collect, which can be any form of media from stills and short clips to animations and long form video, according to Michelle Munson, Eluvio’s CEO/co-founder. 

“This wallet is built for everybody to be able to use,” she said. “Hopefully it will allow people in general to enjoy the benefits not only of crypto and blockchain technology, but also to be active participants in owning their own media.”

This last point is the real significance of Fox’s Miss Masky NFTs: They are motivating fans of “The Masked Singer” to become active, paying participants in the NFT marketplace. And if fans can be motivated to buy MaskVerse NFTs, they can be convinced to buy NFTs associated with other Fox programs as well—which is precisely what Fox Entertainment has in mind.

“Fox plans to build not only on ‘The Masked Singer’ media property, but across their entire business,” said Munson. “This is why Fox has made such a deep investment into this area. They do absolutely believe that the commercial opportunity associated with NFTs is so significant that it will reshape the future of the industry.”

CNN GIVES VIEWERS CHANCE TO ‘OWN HISTORY’

Fox isn’t alone in seeking to capitalize on NFTs. CNN has also entered this market through the launch of “Vault by CNN” (https://vault.cnn.com/).

“Vault by CNN is CNN's new NFT business, which offers digital collectibles to commemorate pivotal moments in history,” said Jason Novack, CNN senior director of emerging products. The allure of claiming proprietorship of such moments [as covered by CNN] is made explicitly clear on the Vault by CNN's homepage. “Presidential elections, space discoveries, CNN exclusives and more: Anyone can own a piece of history,” it reads.

According to Novack, the desire to “own history” is nothing new.

“There are long traditions of collecting newspapers and historic memorabilia, as well as using collectible media to host discussions like book signings and art gallery openings,” he said. “Our NFTs are a platform for digital experiences that spark conversations around the events we cover and the impact they have on us all.”

“We find that our collectors buy our NFTs for a variety of reasons,” Novack added. “Some love the art. Some have a personal connection to the moment. Some just love CNN and our coverage of those moments. And some seem to be in it to speculate on the future value... so far we've sold NFTs of six different historical moments covering technological advances, U.S. presidential elections, foreign wars and advancements in human rights.”

UNTOLD POSSIBILITIES

“Miss Masky” and “Vault by CNN” are the first drops in what is likely to be a flood of content-related NFTs. After all, since NFTs confer the mantle of legal possession upon their owners, the possibilities for their creation and sales are huge. For instance, there is no reason why ViacomCBS could not create and sell NFTs derived from every episode of “Star Trek” ever made—right down to individual frames.

“A collectibles market is arising that is becoming quite valuable already,” noted Deloitte’s Footen. As well, “NFTs represent potentially significant new business models for content companies. Content makers can use NFTs to help fund new projects by selling off rights related to that content in essentially endless ways.”

“NFTs certainly give broadcasters and distributors new opportunities, but we’re even more excited about the autonomy that NFTs provide for content creators," added Stephanie Pereira,  vice president of creator success for Rally, an online provider of NFTs for content creators. "Creators have historically had to rely on these other entities to distribute and monetize their content. With NFTs, the power balance is more evenly distributed and creators have more input and financial leverage over their content.”

Of course, this could all go awry if too many broadcast-related NFTs are released at the same time, thus oversaturating the market and driving down demand. 

“I would argue that the traditional NFT marketplace has already done that,” said Munson. “If you look at what’s already in terms of the classical static and clip kinds of marketplaces, there are so many of them out there now and they have millions of NFTs for sale at this point.”

That said, if broadcasters and creators show restraint by only releasing limited numbers of NFTs tied to content that fans really care about, then the profit potential for this market seems strong and destined to grow over time. 

“‘Miss Masky’ is really just the tip of the spear of what I think is possible,” Munson concluded. “It’s the beginning of a new type of fan experience.” 

Live television today is nothing like it was during the medium’s pioneering years. In those simpler times, sets fell down, lights exploded and all sorts of “disasters” happened unexpectedly over the airwaves. Now, live television has been so perfected and scripted that things rarely go wrong.

That is…until they do. Quite suddenly, accidents can still happen and sometimes they turn into great television. At times like these, human beings drop their on-camera personas and become their real selves for the world to see. That wonderful serendipity happened on a summer night at the “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert,” a globally televised music event on August 21 on CNN. 

It was supposed to be New York City’s comeback after the pandemic. Recording mogul Clive Davis had assembled a who’s who of top named entertainers for what was billed as a five-hour live spectacular from Central Park’s Great Lawn.

EXCUSE THE INTERRUPTION

Then, suddenly, halfway through the concert, a record-breaking rainstorm—with thunder and lightning—blew in over Central Park. Barry Manilow was in mid-song early in his set when the concert was halted. Abruptly, thousands in the crowd were told to find the nearest exit and proceed to protected areas outside of the event site. Artists like Elvis Costello, Paul Simon and Bruce Springsteen had yet to perform.

With forecasts that the storm would pass within a half hour or so, the concert was in temporary suspension. CNN was forced to stay on the air and vamp for time. CNN host Anderson Cooper — backed with inaccurate weather forecasting and no idea when or if the concert would resume — was saved when Barry Manilow called the studio from his backstage trailer on a mobile phone. 

With a piano in his trailer, Manilow—ever the entertainer—sang his hit, “I Made It Through the Rain,” over the phone live to CNN. He had planned to sing the song on stage before the stormy ending and was determined to sing it now as the rain poured down outside.

Manilow opened the floodgate for other performers to phone in or do live video from backstage. The Killers performed impromptu backstage musical numbers over live iPhone video; Steven Colbert, Elvis Costello and Patti Smith called in to chat about both serious and light subjects with Cooper. Carlos Santana, already having performed his set at the concert, visited the CNN studio. 

All dropped their formal stage characters and became real people—joyously talking of such matters as stealing food from each other’s snack tables. It was real life, hair down, backstage banter on live, international television, and it was perhaps as good as the concert itself. 

“I am watching historic broadcasting right now,” Colbert told Cooper on the phone as he watched CNN from the performance tent. “I am enjoying this moment of you killing time. You are spinning straw into gold.”

At about 10:30 p.m., it became clear that the forecasters were dead wrong and the weather was getting worse—not better. Finally, the concert was officially cancelled and the performers scattered. But that hour or so of impromptu bantering from the musicians backstage while they waited in the storm added to the rich history of great live television accidents. 

Of course, from the vintage live drama and variety shows through the early years of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” viewers have always known that anything was possible. In that era, we watched in expectation of the outrageous. Can you imagine John Belushi performing in today’s environment? These days he probably couldn’t get past studio security at Rockefeller Center to even do the show!

I have always been intrigued by the adventure and creativity of truly live broadcasting. Not only did I grow up watching live shows, but in my college years I operated a turret-type monochrome RCA camera on a daily live kids’ show. Later, I got to know some of the people who worked and performed on live network broadcasts. I loved their war stories and could listen for hours.

THE GOLDEN AGE OF TELEVISION

For the people who broke into television during the medium’s formative years, it was the use of videotape beginning in about 1958 that sanitized and permanently changed the business. Video recording, the old timers lamented, sucked the life out of television.

Before their deaths, I had conversations on this subject with Milton Berle, the pioneering comedian who became known as “Mr. Television” after emerging as the first real TV star on NBC; Jackie Gleason, who knew just as much about what happens behind the camera as in front; and Buffalo Bob Smith, who hosted the 13-year run of NBC’s “Howdy Doody,” the pre-eminent kid’s show of my youth. 

Each of these performers relied on physical comedy and each relished the accidents that breathed tension into their live television broadcasts.

Milton Berle recalled that some of his best moments came during accidents, such as falling scenery or misplaced props. He told me he held membership in several labor unions simultaneously during his live TV days so he could do any job required on the show—including emergency carpentry with a hammer and nails on a fallen set wall during commercial breaks. 

“They didn’t call me ‘Mr. Television’ for nothing,” he liked to say of his off-camera skills.

Buffalo Bob, an endlessly cheerful entertainer who used to do naughty “blue” versions of the “Howdy Doody” show for his sponsors before the live broadcast, also respected a sense of spontaneity (remember how Clarabell used to randomly squirt Buffalo Box with seltzer water?) and the high energy level insured by the piercing eye of the live camera.

Gleason, who began his performing career as a carnival barker and in vaudeville-burlesque houses, valued the live performance as essential to his comedy. Even when he decided to do “The Honeymooners” as a filmed sitcom, Gleason did the show with minimal rehearsal before a live audience to gain spontaneity. 

Whether comedy, live drama or even talk shows, veterans of live television will tell you it was different when there were no “safety nets” to protect against mistakes and other slip-ups. And yes, profanities and “costume malfunctions” occasionally made it on the air back then as well. 

All the old-timers say the so-called “mistakes” often resulted in the best moments on television and infected viewers, who loved the idea that anything could and might happen during a live broadcast.

Videotape, they will also tell you, not only largely ended this creative tension, but shifted power away from the live performers to the bean-counting suits upstairs. The loose, fly-by-the-pants “Golden Age” of live television gave way to the tightly controlled, ratings-dominated era when every second counted for big dollars.

So, it is always refreshing today when things go delightfully wrong on live broadcasts. The Central Park experience proved chaos can still make great television. 

ATLANTA—The direct-to-consumer service CNN+ has announced it will go live in Q1 2022, and unveiled new details on its programming, its executive leadership and its app strategy. 

The new service will offer eight to twelve hours of live content per day at launch and will feature original content separate and distinct from CNN’s cable news networks. 

The service will also draw on a library of non-fiction series and will be announcing new original series and films later this year. 

Daily programming will offer topical deep dives and lifestyle content from some of CNN’s most prominent talent, as well as from new talent, the company reported. 

Library content from its non-fiction, long form programming will include past seasons of CNN’s award-winning original series and films, including `Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown,’ `Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,’ `This is Life with Lisa Ling,’ and `United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell.’

CNN will continue to have a single app where CNN+ subscribers can access CNN+’s programing and pay TV subscribers can access the TV everywhere experience. The app will include CNN’s linear TV feeds of CNN, CNN International, HLN and CNN en Español channels, which will be available exclusively for pay TV subscribers. 

If pay TV subscribers choose to maximize their experience, they can also subscribe to CNN+ to access the full CNN+ programming all in one place, CNN reported. 

CNN’s digital news platform--CNN.com and CNN mobile apps--will remain a separate, free offering serving news consumers around the globe.

“CNN invented cable news in 1980, defined online news in 1995 and now is taking an important step in expanding what news can be by launching a direct-to-consumer streaming subscription service in 2022,” said Jeff Zucker, chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports and president of CNN Worldwide. “As the most trusted and recognized name in news, CNN has unrivaled global reach, world class talent and a deep existing library of content including award winning series and films. On top of a television offering that has never been stronger, which remains at the core of what we do today, we will offer consumers a streaming product that grows the reach and scope of the CNN brand in a way that no one else is doing. Nothing like this exists.”

In terms of executive leadership, key executives include: 

Andrew Morse, chief digital officer for CNN Worldwide, is the executive in charge of CNN+, with oversight of the content, product development and business operations of the platform.

Alex MacCallum, CNN Worldwide’s head of product is the general manager of CNN+, with oversight of product development, customer acquisition and marketing, strategy and growth and revenue operations.

Rebecca Kutler, senior vice president and head of programming for CNN+, is overseeing the development, production and programming of live and taped programs for CNN+.

Courtney Coupe, senior vice president of content strategy and operations for CNN+, is overseeing the strategy, curation and programming of content on CNN+, as well as community management.

Robyn Peterson, CNN Worldwide’s chief technology officer, is overseeing the team of technologists and engineers developing a world class platform and user experience for CNN+.

CNN’s Original Series and Films unit, led by CNN Worldwide executive vice president for talent and content development, Amy Entelis, is developing new series and films for the platform. Vice president of program development Katie Hinman will lead the development and production of external series for CNN+, working with Jon Adler, vice president of program development for CNN Original Series.

ATLANTA, Ga.—The real estate holding company CP Group has announced that it has acquired One CNN Center in the heart of downtown Atlanta for an undisclosed sum. 

As part of the deal, AT&T’s WarnerMedia will leaseback the CNN Center for an unspecified number of years.

The sale had been in the works for some time. WarnerMedia announced that it would sell CNN Center in June of 2020. 

The acquisition was completed via a joint venture with funds managed by Miami-based Rialto Capital Management, LLC (“Rialto Capital”).

CNN has occupied the 1.2 million-square-foot building since 1987 and while many of its shows are now produced in New York and Washington, it remains the cable news network’s global headquarters. 

When WarnerMedia announced plans to sell the iconic building, it said it would centralize most employees at its Techwood WarnerMedia campus in Atlanta. 

WASHINGTON—The FCC has officially approved requests from CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and ESPN to be exempt from audio description rules that are required of top national non-broadcast networks, based on the amount of non-live linear programming the networks offer per calendar quarter.

Audio description programming features audio that describes important video elements in a program for the visually impaired. The 21st Century Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010 mandates that networks with more than 50,000 or more subscribers provide 87.5 hours of audio description per calendar quarter.

However, there is an exception available for networks that don’t air at least 50 hours per quarter of primetime programming that is not live or near-live.

TV Tech previously reported that Fox News and MSNBC, who were cited in the top five national non-broadcast networks, had filed requests to be exempt from this requirement. Subsequently, CNN and ESPN did the same, as they fell in the top 10 list of networks..

The FCC found that the networks did provide on average less than 50 hours per quarter of non-live or near-live primetime programming, as many of their programming consists of news or sports coverage.

A point of note was that ESPN actually did air more than 50 hours of non-live or near live programming in the first and second quarter of 2020. That, however, was because of the lack of live sports programming available as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the third quarter of 2020, after live sports began to return, ESPN was once again airing fewer than 50 hours of non-live programming.

Calling the cancellation of live sporting events as a result of the pandemic “unprecedented,” the FCC excluded the first and second quarter of 2020 in its consideration for granting ESPN’s exemption.

As a result of the exemption, the top five non-broadcast networks that will subject to the FCC’s audio description rules as of July 1, 2021, are TLC, HGTV, Hallmark, History and TBS.

NEW YORK—After speculation built up that Jeff Zucker’s time at CNN may come to an end following the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden, Zucker has now confirmed that he will step down from his longtime position as president of CNN at the end of 2021.

CNN Business provided details of the company’s daily editorial call, where Zucker told employees that he will remain with CNN parent company, WarnerMedia, through the end of the year. Zucker oversees both CNN and is the chairman of WarnerMedia News and Sports.

“I am going to stay and finish my current contract—which, as I said, will keep me here until the end of this year. At that point, I do expect to move on,” Zucker said on the call, via a transcript provided by CNN to TV Tech sister publication B+C. “But that is almost a year from now. That’s a long time.”

Zucker took over CNN in 2013 and is credited with helping to navigate the news network against its primary competitors Fox News and MSNBC, as well as through the Trump administration; though he did receive criticism for how much coverage he gave Donald Trump when he was a candidate. Prior to joining CNN, Zucker was CEO of NBCUniversal Television Group until it was acquired by Comcast.

In the last year, CNN has seen record ratings with news of the pandemic, the election, the insurrection at the Capitol and the inauguration.

“I cannot imagine not being here right now,” Zucker said, per the transcript. “I have this incredible seat in the very front row of history every day. I work with the best people in the business. As we have noted, multiple times, CNN has never been stronger—and that is something I am incredibly proud of. We have come a very long way in the past eight years. We have challenges ahead, for sure—but we could not be better positioned to meet them. The future is bright with tremendous opportunity, and I want to put all the right pieces into place to make sure that CNN remains strong for many years to come. And, as we know, we have been doing our daily meetings this way for nearly a year. This organization has been thru a lot. I'd like to be here to get us all back to a new normal, one that feels much more like it once did around here.”

Zucker says that he does not have any immediate plans for what he will do when he leaves CNN.

Much like everything else that has transpired in 2020, election-night coverage promises to test news organizations as they have never been tested before. 

“I’ve been part of election teams since the 1980s,” said David Bohrman, executive producer of CBS News’s 2020 election-night coverage. “I’ve run election coverage at CNN and NBC, and now here at CBS, and this is the most complicated election I’ve ever been part of.” 

Marc Burstein, senior executive producer of ABC News Special Events, agreed, citing the difficulties of producing a major election-night special in the middle of a major pandemic: “We are having to prepare for anything and everything. It could be the longest night or it may not be. No one knows and we have to prepare for every possible contingency.” (NBC News, the other Big Three broadcast network news arm, did not provide executives to be interviewed.)

Or, as "PBS NewsHour" executive producer Sara Just observed: “It’s like trying to tie your shoes while riding a bicycle. We are confident we have a good plan for keeping everyone safe, but it is challenging. This is going to be a night like none other.”

Much of this reflects a 2020 news cycle that has produced a slew of once-in-a-lifetime stories and tragedies. “I’ve been at CNN for almost 30 years and this is the most intense news environment I’ve ever seen,” Sam Feist, senior VP and Washington bureau chief at CNN, said during B+C’s News Technology Summit. “We are covering an election, maybe the most anticipated election in our lifetime, along with a pandemic and a national reckoning over race.”

“When we look back on 2020 we will think, ‘Wow, that was the most extraordinary news year ever,’ and we did it with an arm and a half tied behind our back,” Feist added.

These national calamities and controversies have also spiked viewer interest in the results and significantly raised the competitive stakes for news organizations. 

“There are more eyes on this election than we’ve had in our lifetimes,” Cherie Grzech, VP of politics and the Washington bureau at Fox News, said. 

THE MOST UNUSUAL ELECTION NIGHT

The heightened scrutiny comes as news organizations are grappling with what might on Nov. 3 be the most unusual election night in television history.  

Unlike other presidential elections, where networks covered voters casting ballots and reported the results the same day, early voting this year is hitting record levels. Mail-in voting is also expected to hit record levels, and many votes might not be counted until after Nov. 3. That, in turn, could delay results and make the process of reporting and calling races a much more complex and uncertain process. 

Technology and production plans have also been upended by a pandemic that has killed more than 220,000 people. In addition to having many people work from home, networks are using more studios and control rooms to spread out employees and are revising coverage plans by recruiting additional legal experts to explain potential voting irregularities and rethinking how to deploy journalists. Many typical election-night gatherings are likely to be canceled and travel restrictions will make it more difficult to get boots on the ground. 

One thing that hasn’t changed is election night’s importance. All the major commercial TV news organizations are investing millions of dollars in new sets and technology to stand out from the competition and attract new viewers.

“Election night, for us and for all the news networks, is our Super Bowl,” Fox News senior VP of news and politics Alan Komissaroff said. “It is our biggest night and we are determined to put our best foot forward. There isn’t a nook and cranny of the building that we are not using. We’ll be using every piece of technology we have been using in the past and a few new ones as well.”

As in earlier years, many networks will broadcast their coverage from new sets, studios or facilities that feature the glitziest graphics and massive, high-resolution, floor-to-ceiling walls and screens for data and results. 

Coverage will include big touch screens where correspondents and anchors take deep dives into results and augmented reality systems. Some networks, such as Fox News, will even be debuting virtual reality systems. 

The challenges facing news organizations this year may also improve the quality of coverage. For example, COVID-19 restrictions limiting in-studio guests will result in using a much wider array of sources and voices from remote locations, network executives said. “This has been kind of a breakthrough moment this year in terms of adding more people to the conversation,” Fox News’s Grzech said. 

Another positive development is the rapid expansion of streaming services. Their growing availability means viewers will be able to easily access a much wider array of stories and coverage, both on digital media and on broadcast networks, where TV anchors can draw on the expertise of digital teams.

The difficulties of election coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic have also forced news organizations to integrate their operations more tightly with local stations, digital outlets and even radio organizations rather than fly reporters into key battleground states. This reporting from seasoned local journalists could provide national audiences with a better understanding of the results in those locales. 

CBS, for one, will add extensive coverage to CBSN by streaming 10 local feeds, while Newsy will draw on coverage from parent company Scripps’s 60 TV stations. 

“We have a team of four or five people who will be monitoring the local stations and we’ll be able to carry their feeds at key times,” said Matt Simon, supervising producer for PM content at Newsy, who is also overseeing election-night initiatives.

"PBS NewsHour" will also be drawing on the expertise of local reporters. “One of the great advantages of public broadcasting is that there are over 350 stations across the country that we work with,” Just said. “They know their communities best, and throughout our programming we will be turning to a lot of those reporters for their expertise.”

BUILT FOR PRIMETIME

The complexity of predicting races and explaining voting trends is likely to make networks even more cautious and thoughtful when providing context or caveats in their reporting. 

“Transparency is the watchword for us,” ABC’s Burstein said. He said coverage will explain what is known as well as what isn’t known, so viewers understand why certain information or vote totals aren’t available. “The decision desk [which calls races] is always careful and conservative, but this year we will be more conservative than ever.” 

For its election-night coverage, ABC News will use a renovated studio that has been expanded to 5,500 square feet. It features 28 new video screens with about 35 million pixels, including a high-resolution video floor. 

A variety of features that enables moving video walls and screens will provide more flexibility to tell the story from different angles. Enhanced capabilities for augmented reality and other graphics are also part of the mix. 

“We will have tools to tell the story in ways we’ve never had before,” Zach Toback, VP of news and nonfiction production and studio operations at ABC News, said. “There is video everywhere, there is video on the ceilings, all across the walls, that creates a very immersive space. It is the largest renovation that we’ve done in any facility since the early 1980s.”

"PBS NewsHour" will be upping its production values with new LED walls that allow anchors and reporters to better display graphics and analyze results, VP of operations Matt Speiser said.

Univision will show off a new set that improves its graphics capabilities and helps it follow COVID-19 restrictions. “We are trying to simulate as much as possible the expansiveness of the coverage we’ve had in the past and do an even better job this year,” said Lourdes Torres, senior VP of political coverage and special projects for the Spanish-language broadcaster. “We have a huge newsroom and the idea is to expand the set into the newsroom and basically have all the elements—video walls, touch screens—embedded in the newsroom.” 

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, many Univision staffers have been working from home, with only about 25% of the typical newsroom staff on-site. For election night, though, Univision will be bringing more people into the building to supplement the remote workers. 

To keep staff safe, Univision will place staff in additional control rooms and spaces to maintain social distancing, a strategy many other networks and news organizations are adopting. “We will have training, special cleaning teams, security to remind people about masks to keep people safe,” Torres said. “It is really a pretty elaborate plan.”

SAFETY MUST COME FIRST

Since the start of the pandemic, the Associated Press has decentralized video production operations and set up systems for people to work at home, AP deputy managing editor for visual and digital journalism Derl McCrudden said. But for the final days of election coverage, AP will be bringing a small video production crew back into the New York and London hubs. 

That will allow AP to provide live election coverage for customers with the curated AP Direct channel and four other live channels that provide outlets with HD-quality video. “Many broadcasters air these feeds live around the world,” McCrudden said. 

ABC will be spreading out staff over four control rooms and three studios. “We are being very careful with our COVID protocols,” Katie den Daas, executive producer at the streaming service ABC News Live, said. “We will have more control rooms than we’ve ever had, so we can be socially distant. We have added HEPA filters to our control rooms. Everyone wears a mask and some people in the control rooms will be getting the N95 masks of the sort used by medical professionals,” she said.

Said CBS’s Bohrman: “Everyone involved is being tested every day, everyone in the studio, everyone in the control room.” Network coverage will originate in a new high tech set at the ViacomCBS headquarters in Times Square, a first for the news division on election night. “The studio is zoned off to separate people and to make sure there is not any movement between the zones,” Bohrman said. “This is the biggest team effort in broadcast news, but we are finding ways to do it in a COVID-safe way.”

All of these efforts, executives said, will help to keep staff members safe as they report on the most unusual election of our lifetimes. Bohrman stressed the importance of overcoming obstacles and getting the story right—both for the networks and for the country. 

“We and all the broadcast networks know that we need to help restore the faith in the electoral system,” he said. “It has been put under a lot of doubt by a lot of people and we need to be open and above board and clear as to the numbers to provide viewers with information they can trust.”

“This is our night,” den Daas at ABC News Live said. “That night might drag on for a while, but that’s OK, because this is what we do. This is why we got into journalism: To make sure we are here when Americans need someone to bring them the big story.” 

WASHINGTON—As protests over police brutality engulfed the United States over the weekend, TV news crews tried to keep up with covering the events, but sometimes ended up becoming part of the story. 

Early Friday morning, several members of a CNN news group were arrested by police in Minneapolis on live TV. On-air CNN reporter Omar Jimenez, a producer and cameraman were handcuffed by Minneapolis police as the network covered protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd by four Minneapolis police officers a week ago. The crew was accused of not moving when police ordered them to.

The CNN employees were released an hour later with an apology from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who called the arrests “totally unacceptable.”

Jimenez described his ordeal on CNN later that day.

“It did cross my mind that—what is really happening here? —the one thing that gave me a little bit of comfort was that it happened on live TV,” he said. “When you talk within the community with, let’s just say what’s happened with George Floyd, there’s always a discussion that what’s happening isn’t new—it’s being filmed.”

Earlier, as protests broke out in an increasing number of cities Friday night, a group of protesters circled CNN headquarters in Atlanta, chanting anti-media slogans and vandalizing the front of the building, including the network logo. 

The mayor of Atlanta chastised the protesters, noting the importance of the network’s presence on the eve of CNN’s 40th anniversary, June 1.

"You have defaced the CNN building,” Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said at a news conference. “Ted Turner started CNN in Atlanta, 40 years ago because he believed in who we are as a city."

The Friday arrests were just the latest in a slew of incidents in which journalists from TV, radio, print and online were assaulted by police and protesters in a number of cities where protests erupted over the weekend. 

Also on Friday, reports that police in Louisville, Ky., fired pepper balls on a local TV station crew covering protests in that city drew this response from NAB: 

“NAB condemns the actions of the Louisville police officer who fired pepper balls at a local TV crew legally covering downtown protests on Friday night. No police officer has the right to fire any type of ammunition at journalists who are simply doing their jobs and appropriately positioned to cover the news. NAB calls for a swift investigation of this incident to ensure that journalists have the necessary protections to report the news.”

The Radio and Television Digital News Directors Association (RTDNA) issued these recommendations to journalists to help protect themselves:

On Sunday, broadcast journalists were praised for their coverage and restraint by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai.

“I commend the extraordinary efforts of local broadcasters to keep Americans informed about the protests and violence taking place in our nation’s cities following the awful killing of George Floyd,” the chairman said over the weekend. “Those who work for local television and radio stations are often putting themselves at personal risk to serve the public interest, and they must be allowed to do their jobs without being threatened or attacked. I hope that they and all Americans stay safe.”

ALEXANDRIA, Va.—In the springtime of 1980, Americans were getting accustomed to “Post-It Notes,” and a few were just starting to twist Rubik’s Cubes. Out in Washington state, inhabitants in the Mount St. Helens region were beginning to experience frequent earthquakes and explosions; waiting and watching to see what would happen next. None of this, however, was being given much notice by the growing number of arrivals at a new enterprise rapidly taking shape in Atlanta.

Ted Turner’s latest dream—a 24-hour-per-day news service—was being transformed into a reality by a small army of construction workers, broadcast engineers, journalists and TV production people. He christened it “Cable News Network” or “CNN” for short. The nonstop flow of news generated would be delivered to North American cable customers via satellite, following the pattern of Turner’s now highly successful WTBS “superstation” launched four years earlier.

However, many in the industry likened what Turner was putting together as a crapshoot—a very big one—with not only his personal fortune and reputation at stake, but also the lives and careers of many of the individuals he’d recruited from successful jobs and was transplanting to Atlanta.

Even Broadcasting magazine—the industry “bible”—while applauding the concept, was equally pragmatic about Turner’s chance for success:

“No matter how desirable a service the Cable News Network provides, it cannot be physically delivered to most urban television sets. That means it cannot be seen live by many of the people who make decisions in this country.”

Although it’s difficult to imagine today, cable really wasn’t that big a deal at the time; certainly not the cash cow it is now. It had existed primarily as a means for getting television signals into smaller communities with poor or no over-the-air reception, and only with the arrival of “superstations” and “premium” services such as HBO did cable attract viewer interest sufficient to warrant buildouts in larger markets. The editorial continued:

“The question is whether Turner can afford to wait for cable systems to be extended in such cities as New York, and built in such other cities of influence as Washington, Los Angeles, and Chicago, not to mention Atlanta, his hometown. The guess here is that he may have to strike some alliance with the people he maligns above all others, the commercial broadcasters.”

“Predicting anything Turner may do is uncertain at best. But what he has done can be appraised. He has hired a large group of professional journalists and put them to interesting work. The hope here is that the Cable News Network stays in business.”

PLUS: 'CNN College:' A 22-Year-Old Adjunct Professor Looks Back

True to form, the 41-year-old Turner was his usual cocky self in dismissing the “doubting Thomases.”

“I just love it when people say I can’t do something,” he remarked in an earlier Broadcasting interview. “There’s nothing that makes me feel better, because all my life, people have said I wasn’t going to make it.”

TURNER AND NEWS?

Curiously, those who knew Turner at the time of his CNN launch announcement thought it a bit odd that he would even consider such an initiative, as he’d formerly eschewed television news, relegating newscasts on his Ch. 17 Atlanta independent UHF station to the wee small hours of the morning so as not to upset normal schedules of sitcoms and old movies. Viewers who were up that late recalled that the anchor, Bill Tush, treated news in a comedic way, and was often accompanied at the anchor desk by a German shepherd. (Turner also had countered the local 6:00 p.m. airing of ABC network news with Star Trek reruns and gotten a ratings boost.)

“Ted, early on, was a ‘no-news is good news’ type of guy,” recalled Jim Schoonmaker, who was hired to direct newscasts at CNN, and along with fellow director Guy Pepper and Joe Torelli, to organize the “CNN College” that provided orientation for the disparate news staff being hired (mostly straight from college or small-market stations to save money).

“He said stations didn’t need to do news,” Schoonmaker said. “The irony was that he was very serious about doing a good job of news.”

GETTING READY FOR THE BIG DAY

To house the new news service and his existing WTBS “superstation,” Turner had purchased a former country club property. The 90,000 square-foot two-story structure, vaguely reminiscent of what a “Tara” mansion should look like, was not exactly a perfect fit for two round-the-clock TV operations, requiring some extensive modifications, including a tear-out and excavation of the original basement floor to create the needed celling height for the CNN operation going there. (WTBS would get the main floor, with the second floor reserved for offices.) However, this facility was far from being habitable when new and prospective recruits began arriving.

Schoonmaker, who’d flown in from Miami for an interview, recalled his initial impression upon arriving at another building Turner had purchased to serve as a training facility and interim office space until the Techwood Drive country club property was ready.

“It was a two-story ramshackle building in pretty bad shape,” he recalled. “I said to the cab driver ‘there’s something wrong; this can’t be it.’”

This disheveled “temp” facility was anything but what was expected of a network television operation, and had been jokingly dubbed “the White House” by the rapidly growing staff.

“Passing traffic would shake the building,” said Schoonmaker. “Desks were crammed in any old way. There were guys from BASYS, which was providing CNN’s “News Fury” computerized newsroom system, down in the basement trying to get it to work.”

CNN’s design and installation work was being handled as much as possible by Turner’s engineering team, which at the time consisted of a “Three Musketeers” group that had migrated to the Ch. 17 operation from other Atlanta stations. First to arrive had been Gene Wright, then Jack Ormand, and finally, Jack Verner. When Turner hired Wright, the station at best could be described as “engineering deficient.” However, by the time of the WTBS “superstation” launch decision, the trio had been able to restructure it into a respectable and reliable operation, fully up to the task of delivering programming to cable systems all across North America.

Verner, the only surviving member of the team, recalled the reassignment of duties when Turner announced his plans for a 24-hour news channel.

“When Ted made the decision to build CNN, Gene Wright was promoted to corporate engineering director, and he assigned Jack Ormand to head up CNN engineering. I took over Gene’s former position of chief engineer at the Superstation.”

Verner recalled that even with the creation of the new CNN engineering division, the threesome still worked shoulder-to-shoulder to shape Turner’s latest dream into a bricks-and-mortar reality.

“We literally worked seven days a week getting CNN designed,” he said.

ON THE AIR!

Somehow, everything fell into place by the planned June 1, 1980 opening day, with Turner delivering a dedicatory speech, and operations commencing at six that evening.

Tom Purdy, who produced the first hour of news at CNN, said that despite the “Manhattan Project” effort to get the new network built and on the air, almost everything was ready to go on opening day, with operations running smoothly during the premier hour, even though there’d been only a month for training and run-throughs by a staff from very disparate backgrounds.

“We did have an operator hit the ‘eject’ button on the VCR while a piece was on the air,” recalled Purdy. “But other than that and the computer system not being ready, it all worked well.”

Purdy also recalled CNN’s initial penetration and growth.

“It was pretty slim at the beginning. There was a sort of barometer on the wall to indicate the number of viewers now watching. My parents in Cincinnati couldn’t even see it then. It was really a ‘brave new world.’”

The pep talk that Turner delivered to the CNN staff that day also stuck with Purdy.

“He had stars in his eyes and wanted to change the world, and he told us ‘you’re the people who are going to help me do this!’”

Whether it was the pep talk or something in the Atlanta water, it worked.

The fledgling news operation thrived from the beginning, expanding in the first six months from carriage on just 172 cable systems to 550, and going from two million viewers to nearly double that number within the same time frame.

At the end of the first year-and-a-half of operation, CNN’s then president, Reese Schonfeld, reported 10,000 new subscribers were being added daily. He also observed that newspapers were beginning to quote CNN stories as “final proof of CNN’s credibility.”

Turner continued to expand the news organization, launching “CNN2,” now known as “CNN Headline News” slightly more than 18 months after CNN’s startup.

RETROSPECTIVE

CNN has continued to grow and prosper, becoming a major player in the reporting of breaking news events and a respected source of news throughout the world, with 36 editorial operations and some 3,000 employees. It is now a division of WarnerMedia and reaches more than 96.2 U.S. million households. CNN International additionally reaches more than 402 million households. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

In addition to those individuals named in this account, the author wishes express his thanks to Lisa Napoli, author of the recently-released Abrams Press book, “Up All Night: Ted Turner, CNN, and the Birth of 24-Hour News,” for providing an advance copy of her work and other assistance in connection with the preparation of this story. Thanks are also in order to WarnerMedia’s Ashok Sinha, Alison Rudnick and Molly Berry for providing photographs and arranging the interview with Bob Hesskamp. 

WASHINGTON—CNN has agreed to pay $76 million in backpay to more than 300 individuals stemming from the news network's termination of Team Video Services' contract in 2003, per the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB says that the settlement is the largest monetary remedy in its history.

In 2003, CNN terminated the contract of TVS, which had been providing video services for CNN in Washington, D.C., and New York City. CNN then went on to hire new employees to perform the same work without recognizing or bargaining with the two unions (Local 11 and Local 31 of the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians) that represented the TVS employees, NLRB stated.

“CNN sought to operate as a nonunion workplace and conveyed to the workers that their prior employment with TVS and union affiliation disqualified them from employment,” NLRB wrote in its official press release.

In a 2008 hearing, an administrative law judge found that CNN had violated the National Labor Relations Act, saying CNN was a successor to, and joint employer with, TVS. NLRB ordered CNN to negotiate with the unions and provide backpay in 2014, which was then held up by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2017. The two sides have been working to resolve the dispute through NLRB’s Alternative Dispute Resolution program since the decision.

“The settlement demonstrates the Board’s continued commitment to enforcing the law and ensuring employees who were treated unfairly obtain the monetary relief ordered by the Board,” said General Counsel Peter B. Robb.

LOS ANGELES—CNN has joined the Pluto TV platform, which will offer a curated playlist of short-form digital content from the news network’s anchors and journalists, the Viacom-owned streaming TV service announced this week.

Pluto TV, one of the top free internet-based TV services in the country, will stream CNN original feature content to viewers. Programming will focus on lifestyle and culture, climate change and the environment and present original investigations and interviews.

“At a time when news cycles are never-ending, in a world that is constantly evolving, CNN’s coveted daily reporting and in-depth features are perfect for our audience to be informed, with immediacy, accuracy and ease,” said Amy Kuessner, Pluto TV SVP of content partnerships. “Pluto TV’s mission to ‘entertain the planet’ also means informing the planet of what is going on in the world, and there is no better partner than the most trusted name in news.”

ATLANTA—CNN is giving its viewers the opportunity to interact with the latest news in a new way. The network has launched an app on Magic Leap One, which provides an interactive, mixed reality experience.

The app allows for the viewing of live TV, CNN shows, CNN originals and CNN films, with interacting news and information available while they watch. There will also be exclusive reporting, data and live video feeds from around the world.

To access the CNN app, users will launch it through “Screens” within Magic Leap One and sign in with their TV service provider. The app can be navigated through gesture control.

The launch of the CNN app on Magic Leap adds to CNN’s previous efforts with Oculus Rift.

You've seen him on CNN stalking around a virtual environment and interacting with graphical representations of the SCOTUS process, North Korean missiles or Royal Thai Navy SEAL divers. Tom Foreman has established much of the network's work beyond video, playing a key role in the development and use of an immersive, 3D virtual studio that takes viewers to space to study satellites, onto distant battlefields to promote understanding of dangerous conflicts and down deep into the data of presidential elections.

Foreman will be a keynote speaker at Government Video Expo 2018. He spoke with Managing Director of Content Paul McLane for Government Video.

Government Video: You've done a lot of work in broadcast news with technology you've described as "going beyond video." What exactly does that mean?

Tom Foreman: We now have tools that allow us to visualize concepts that previously were not visual. We can turn data, we can turn ideas, we can turn trends, into interactive, touchable graphics, with which we can tell a story that adds clarity to our understanding of an increasingly complex world.

Previously, there were economic trends, crime trends, security trends that were difficult to visualize. But if you can turn it into an environment that you can stand next to, it helps people, who are visual creatures, to see what we're talking about.

GV: How did you become involved with the virtual studio?

Foreman: Hurricane Katrina was the birth of a lot of this. I had a deep and long understanding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast from having worked there in traditional journalism — doing beautiful pictures, explanatory pictures and reports. And yet Katrina brought such a scope of disaster that no one picture could do it justice. Even a collection of pictures could not do it justice. You needed the giant view that we could bring through a graphic treatment. What we were using at the time was a giant wall-based projection of Google Earth, which I was controlling with a mouse in my hand, I was controlling it on set and we were flying in and out.

The real value, though, came from the combination of traditional on-the-ground reporting and photography video that supported it, then using this as a high-tech frame that let us add the meaning that said, "Okay, I just showed you a picture of a church halfway underwater. That matters because this is where that church is; and down the street is this school, and down the street is this government building, and over here is the streetcar line." It gave a context.

We did the same thing after the earthquake in Haiti. We were able to show, not only where the damage was, but by widening out and using some of these tools to show satellite images before and after, we were able to analyze road blockages and say why it was so hard for aid to get to people. The Army asked if they could get copies of our images, because they were having trouble figuring out how to get things to people, and our analysis with the satellite images worked for them.

GV: Why aren't more people doing this in such a visual world? Is it cost?

Foreman: I don't think it's cost, it's understanding. This is a very high-tech tool for a very traditional and old-fashioned process: storytelling. A lot of people mistakenly think that this is whiz-bang, it's all about amazing graphics and immersive graphics; that is not the case at all.

Almost everything we produce begins as simple paper-and-pen drawings on my desk, where our team gathers around, and we draw it; and as we draw it, we're saying, “What is the story? What is it we're trying to convey?”

I think one of the reasons people don't do it — or do it effectively — is they compartmentalize it. "Well, the graphics department will create this; and the show production team will create this; and we'll bring in a reporter at the last minute and plug them in." That absolutely does not work. You have to have the full team involved from beginning to end.

GV: Is there a risk that these tools could come to be used in place of live reporting, rather than to complement it?

Foreman: I don't think so, because everything we do is grounded in traditional journalism. Everything we do is grounded in finding actual facts. In fact, we steer away from doing it when we can get access that shows us what we want.

GV: You've used this technology for so many interesting projects. Are there two or three that particularly stand out?

Foreman: This has been tremendously helpful in giving a sense of scale, when we've dealt with natural disasters; in giving a sense of proximity, when we've dealt with war situations; and in helping us peek into places where we can't readily look.

As we've analyzed the North Korean missile and nuclear program, it's been tremendously useful to show exactly how much progress they're making — and what they still have not yet accomplished. Missiles involve almost incomprehensible distances and speed and force; this allows us to depict that.

In the search for the missing Malaysian airplane, this was an enormously useful tool. When you say to somebody "five thousand square miles of ocean," most people have no idea what that looks like. If somebody talks about something being 1,500 feet underwater, they don't really understand what that means either. We're able to depict that in ways that make sense.

GV: Look ahead five years, how is our experience of watching content going to change further?

Foreman: You see sports embracing this a little bit. Sports can do that in part because you're always talking about a very defined situation. The football field is this size, and there are two teams, and they play this long. Basketball, field hockey, arena, whatever.

We're going to see a lot more of this embraced, not just by news organizations but by anyone who's in the business of trying to tell a story. Because frankly the world we live in today is endlessly complex compared to the world we lived in 50 years ago. You can wake up in the morning and get an email from a friend in Indonesia, respond to a phone call from your office down the street, see photographs from a family member who's three time zones away, and search back 20 years for records of information that you might need that day. You are traveling time and space every minute, much more than we used to. That requires a new kind of understanding of that information.

We can't make our brains evolve that quickly, so what we have to do is have tools that allow our brains, as they are, to connect with this new reality.

GV: What about artificial intelligence, 4K, other technical areas?

Foreman: Willa Cather once wrote that art should simplify, that it's about simplifying ideas and making them understandable. All these technological things—the quality of video; the immersive nature of some of these systems—I think that's going to continue. The real secret here, for those who want to thrive in this environment, is to recognize them for just what they are: These are tools for a simple process of understanding. If you let it become about the tools, then it becomes more noise, more clutter that doesn't help you understand the world.

This world that we're going into is not for the faint of heart. There are huge challenges to making sure this technology serves us. But the rewards for doing that are absolutely immense.

Many years ago, when I was a very young person, I did a big, a big magic show with flying doves and floating ladies and fireballs and the whole thing. That has been enormously useful to me. The whole purpose of a magic show is knowing what's really going on, which can be incredibly complex. And yet remembering what the audience sees — and knowing you have to let them come along in the story, in a way that works for them — that's what we're doing here.

When I'm in the virtual environment, there is rarely a gesture or a step or a turn that is not carefully constrained by the technology that I'm surrounded by. Only if you do that properly does it appear real, in a virtual sense; and only then can the technology disappear and the understanding come through.

Key Takeaways

Who? Tom Foreman of CNN is a featured keynoter at Government Video Expo on Wednesday, Nov. 28, in the session "From the 'Situation Room' to the Thailand Caves — Today's Evolving Journalism”

Why? New technology is helping media professionals tell stories more effectively by leveraging "the one thing humans are really good at: visual interpretation."

Now What? Register now to meet and learn from CNN's Tom Foreman and other top speakers from PBS, The DC Visionaries, BundlAR, Creative Media Matters and more.

VAN NUYS, CA--PSSI Global Services has partnered with OB vehicle builder Frontline Communications to build 16 new, state-of-the-art Ku-band SNG vehicles for use by PSSI News Group in exclusive partnership with CNN. The trucks replace 16 vehicles previously owned by CNN, which — having been absorbed into the PSSI Global Services fleet — are in the process of being upgraded and will soon be available to all PSSI Global Services clients.

The new PSSI News Group trucks include nine full-size Freightliner trucks and seven Mercedes Sprinters. Each is fully equipped with top-shelf broadcast equipment, including Ericsson AVP encoders and IRDs, Evertz Microsystems terminal equipment, Xenon digital routers, Hitomi MatchBox lip-sync systems, Panasonic video production switchers, and Vislink wireless RF camera systems. The new trucks are now in use by PSSI News Group engineers for CNN coverage in regions across the country, including Washington D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, San Francisco, New York City, Dallas, Columbus and Miami.

The additional trucks PSSI Global Services acquired from CNN are already built for multipath news transmissions, with production switchers, extensive comms infrastructure, multichannel audio mixers, multipath encoding and decoding equipment, and more. 

Once PSSI Global Services’ upgrades are complete, the trucks will also have advanced compression, multiplexing and IP capabilities to support sports and entertainment projects, as well as news coverage. Each truck will be outfitted with high-throughput satellite modems with dedicated satellite capacity to enable a wide range of IP services, including internet access, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), enterprise connectivity, and bandwidth for backhaul and multicasting.

Many of the upgraded trucks are already complete and in use, including a Sprinter based in Los Angeles and several full-sized trucks with extensive production capabilities in Atlanta, Boston, Denver and Las Vegas. As the upgrades continue, PSSI Global Services plans to deploy trucks in Phoenix, Portland, Kansas City, Nashville, Charlotte and several other cities across the country.

Fremont, CA - July 25, 2018 - Blackmagic Design today announced that CNN’s new “Anderson Cooper Full Circle” Facebook Watch daily global brief is produced using Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro cameras. The show is also being broadcast live using ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K live production switchers, ATEM Camera Control Panel, Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter, Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converter and a number of Teranex AV converters.

“Anderson Cooper Full Circle” was launched on July 16, 2018 and airs every weekday on CNN’s Facebook page. Engaging directly with the audience, CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, along with a roster of CNN talent reporting from around the world, deliver insight into the daily news stories that Facebook audiences care about most, leveraging the interactivity of the platform to inform each evening’s lineup and engage a new generation of consumers.

The show, which is separate but complementary to Anderson Cooper’s popular “AC360,” is exclusive to the Facebook Watch platform and is broadcast live from CNN’s AC360 New York City newsroom in mobile friendly vertical video.

Distinguishing itself and its content by producing a high-quality broadcast before being sent downstream to Facebook Watch, “Anderson Cooper Full Circle” offers broadcast quality live streaming. To do this, CNN chose a broadcast workflow based around four Blackmagic Design URSA Mini Pro cameras, five ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4Ks and eight Teranex AV converters and processors.

Including live interviews, four URSA Mini Pros are used to capture various shots of Anderson Cooper and his guests, as well as the newsroom studio itself. Media from the cameras are sent via optical fiber to four ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K switchers and four Teranex AVs for conversions and audio embedding.

An additional ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K for SDI signal control and distribution amplification is also in line. The merged feeds are then forwarded through two Teranex AVs and streaming hardware to Facebook Live. ATEM Camera Control Panel is used to control all four cameras, with the show’s workflow connected with optical fiber using the Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter and Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converter to convert video, audio, power, talkback and tally with a single SMPTE fiber optic cable.

The show is designed to be viewed from mobile devices as well as laptops and computers. To handle this, CNN uses the ATEM switcher’s Power Macro feature to automate feeds from the cameras to be rotated from horizontal to vertical to be better viewed on a phone.

Press Photography

Product photos of URSA Mini Pro, ATEM 1 M/E Production Studio 4K, ATEM Camera Control Panel, Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter, Blackmagic Studio Fiber Converter, Teranex AV and all other Blackmagic Design products are available at www.blackmagicdesign.com/media/images

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, digital film cameras, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and real time film scanners for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability in post production, while the company’s Emmy™ award winning DaVinci color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including 6G-SDI and 12G-SDI products and stereoscopic 3D and Ultra HD workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore and Australia. For more information, please go to www.blackmagicdesign.com

ORLANDO, FLA.—CNN’s studios in Washington, D.C. got a different kind of wall-to-wall coverage when it recently went through a redesign and added three different LED videowall displays from APG Displays, a division of Advanced. The news network installed a 25-foot wide 1.2mm pixel pitch Leyard LED display, a 108-inch diagonal 1.2mm pixel pitch Leyard LED display, and a 30-foot wide 1.6mm pixel pitch Leyard LED display.

CNN decided to go with LED displays, rather than its previous LCD displays, due to its style of using different camera angles and close-ups of the displays during broadcasts. In addition, APG’s videowalls feature no bezels, eliminating black lines, and the production team can manipulate color balancing, calibrating and brightness levels.

The 1.6mm videowall was specially designed with the ability to split into and flip over to be used in either Studio A or Studio B. To do so, APG used a Christie Spyder X20 video processor to evenly divide the screen into two separate content streams.

APG Display, who had to work while the 24/7 news broadcaster was filming, completed installing the videowalls prior to last year’s presidential election.

ATLANTA—CNN recently unveiled an operational unit dedicated to drone-based newsgathering. “CNN AIR,” as it’s called, will provide aerial footage to all the various CNN, Time Warner and Turner Broadcasting platforms.

CNN started preparing to use drones for newsgathering long before the Federal Aviation Administration issued its rules for the commercial use of small drones in June.

The cable news franchise partnered with Georgia Tech Research Institute in June of 2014 to study the use of unmanned aerial systems, aka “drones,” in newsgathering. By January of 2015, the FAA had cleared the operation and entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with CNN and GTRI on testing the use of drones in newsgathering.

Along the way, CNN has used drone-captured footage to cover the flooding in Louisiana, the water crisis in Flint, Mich., the Republican and Democratic national conventions and Anderson Cooper’s look back at Hurricane Katrina 10 years after.

Now, CNN AIR will continue the momentum. The unit will be led by Greg Agvent, CNN’s senior director of National Newsgathering Technology. Mr. Agvent gamely agreed to answer a few questions from the TV Technology crew.

TV Technology:What is your first order of business?
Greg Agvent: I want to make it clear—the recent announcement was a culmination of almost two full years of research, planning, testing and preparation. We are well beyond our first order of business. We are open for business.

TV Technology:Why did CNN create a separate unit for drone-based newsgathering?
Agvent: It just made sense to develop the expertise and provide the service across CNN and all the Time Warner entities. We will still engage with trusted vendors who meet our standards for safety and for journalistic integrity. CNN has, throughout its history, been a leader in adopting technology. This is another example of that leadership and of our commitment to aerial imagery.

TV Technology:CNN has been active in incorporating drone-captured video into its coverage. Is this just about the addition of aerial footage, or are there other types of uses we have yet to see?
Agvent: We are all just scratching the surface of what’s possible. Certainly for the business we’re in, video is a driver, and a natural starting point. We are operating in essentially in three video “buckets:”
Production value;
Enhanced storytelling;
Context and understanding;
…but different sensors will create different data and add context beyond just the picture.

TV Technology: What workflow complications does drone integration present?
Agvent: Several—but none that can’t be overcome. Among our first hurdles is adopting a 4K workflow to our existing workflows. CNN’s house standard is 1080i, we convert all that drone footage to house format for immediate use. Next hurdle: storing the native 4K format.

TV Technology: Will you be hiring professional drone operators/pilots?
Agvent: We have. We hired two professional pilots as our UAS operators. Additionally, we are building our network of “trusted vendors”—drone operators who meet our own high standards for safety, integrity, capability.

TV Technology: How do you plan on coordinating with the Federal Aviation Administration?
Agvent: We have been coordinating with the FAA since May of 2015. We work with both Washington D.C. headquarters and with the local FAA representatives in ATC [air traffic control] towers and flight safety directors’ offices across the country. I’m a firm believer in over-communicating.

TV Technology: How do the FAA UAS rules impact your operational decisions?
Agvent: A great deal of time and energy went into working with the FAA on our concept of operations, our own operations manuals and on an operational risk assessment tool that will guide if or how we operate in any specific circumstance. Commercial users need to realize—you are playing on the FAA’s turf, there is a serious potential downside to reckless or thoughtless operations. Fly safely and responsibly.

TV Technology: AVs were utilized at the Republican and Democratic presidential nominating conventions, CNN presidential primary debates and town halls. How do you anticipate drones will be used on election day?
Agvent: That’s a great question….

TV Technology: Will CNN use drones to cover conflicts in war zones? If so, do you expect to be able to do live coverage?
Agvent: If our use will provide context or understanding and can be executed safely, then I’m certain we will. The footage from Kobani, Syria in the aftermath of horrific bombing of the town is very powerful imagery. Regarding the question of “live,” we have live capabilities from our drones. We will use the capabilities when appropriate. Keep in mind that we have 35 years of experience in dealing with journalistic questions. We have very robust processes in place and smart people to deal with questions of ethics and privacy. Good journalism is in our DNA—a drone is just another newsgathering tool—one that we will not let effect our essential DNA.

TV Technology: Will you be using unlicensed or licensed RF spectrum?
Agvent: I anticipate both.

TV Technology: Will you encrypt the drone feeds?
Agvent: There will be situations where it’s in the best interest to “stream” aerial footage to provide real-time situational awareness, and there will be situations when the opposite is true. The situation will dictate.

TV Technology: What is the most difficult aspect of integrating drones into newsgathering?
Agvent: Under-promising. People see the outcomes—spectacular imagery—but don’t necessarily see the work that goes into the preparation and planning. The drone is a tool—it’s not the only tool, but it’s a shiny new tool and everyone wants to use them. In reality it might not be the right tool for the mission.

Also see…
Aug. 30, 2016
FAA Issues CNN Waiver to Fly Drones Over People
The regulations adopted on June 21, 2016 officially take effect today, Aug. 29.

Aug. 29, 2016
FAA Drone Rules Go Into Effect
The regulations adopted on June 21, 2016 officially take effect today, Aug. 29.

Aug. 18, 2016
CNN Creates Drone Unit
CNN was selected by the FAA as one of the first three industry “Pathfinders” to develop safe uses of UAS in newsgathering.

Aug. 3, 2016
FAA to Propose Drone Flight Over People Rule by Winter
Federal regulators will address drone flight over people in a proposal due out for comment this winter.

ATLANTA—CNN is launching a unit dedicated to drone-based newsgathering. CNN Aerial Imagery and Reporting—CNN AIR—will be a designated unmanned aerial systems unit with two full-time UAS operators to fully integrate aerial imagery and reporting across all CNN networks and platforms, along with Turner Broadcasting and Time Warner entities.

“CNN’s cutting-edge development of technology to enhance the way we tell stories is a part of our DNA,” said Terence Burke, Senior Vice President of National News. “We are proud to continue the tradition with CNN AIR, and to establish a unit that will expand our technological capabilities for newsgathering.”

CNN has been active in integrating this new technology into its operations. It joined a media-related research partnership with the Georgia Tech Research Institute and entered into a direct research agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration. In 2015, CNN was selected by the FAA as one of the first three industry “Pathfinders” to develop safe uses of UAS in newsgathering. CNN has shared data and research that has helped formulate a framework for various types of UAS to be safely integrated into the national air space and continues to work to expand the safe and legal operation of UAS in newsgathering.

CNN has utilized UAS to provide understanding and context, enhanced storytelling and production value, led by Greg Agvent, senior director of National Newsgathering Technology. CNN’s deployment of UAS have demonstrated the breadth of the flooding in Louisiana and the water crisis in Flint, Mich. They have also been utilized at the Republican and Democratic presidential nominating conventions, CNN presidential primary debates and town halls, and to enhance storytelling across CNN’s platforms, including the 50th anniversary of the civil rights march on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., and Anderson Cooper’s coverage of the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

NORTHRIDGE, CALIF.—Camera shading now has a one button-press technology after a recent collaboration between DNF Controls and CNN. According to Dan Fogel, DNF chief technology officer, the company was able to help CNN’s Los Angeles production center remove a manual step in the camera shading workflow that would often cause errors in the coverage of live events.

To help with this new technology, DNF used its GTP-32 control processor. With the processor, a signal from the Sony panel triggers the correct router crosspoint, which then sends that camera’s video to the shading monitor.

DNF Controls is a device control interface provider, offering human-to-human and machine-to-machine systems.

CNN announced recently that it has adopted Adobe Systems’ new collaborative workflow platform, Adobe Anywhere, as the central key to upgrading its entire international newsroom journalism editing and distribution approach. This could foretell a major paradigm shift in the way multicentric production and delivery systems will be shaped.

The Adobe Anywhere workflow Adobe revealed its Adobe Anywhere concept as a technology preview in 2012 and formally premiered it at the 2013 NAB Show. Now that CNN has come forward as a major adopter of the system, Adobe Anywhere has become a practical reality, and this column was the first publication they spoke to in detail about it.

REPLACING CREATIVE SUITE
“Adobe Anywhere is a collaboration platform that ties together Adobe’s creative applications with the customer’s own storage and asset management infrastructure,” said Michael Coleman, senior product manager for Adobe Anywhere at Adobe Systems. “It lets groups of editors and creative video folks work seamlessly together on the same application accessing the same media. Adobe Anywhere offers the benefits of shared media without actually moving ‘proxy’ files around because each participant is working with streaming versions from the original full resolution source material.”

Functioning as an enterprise-level system hosted in a private “cloud,” Adobe Anywhere works on-premise in a cluster of the customer’s own servers which enhances its security. It functions with Adobe’s two core components: the Adobe Anywhere Collaboration Hub containing all the project information and associated metadata; and the Adobe Mercury Streaming engine that enables dynamic real-time viewing of streams of source material complete with GPU-accelerated effects from Adobe Premiere Pro CC and sequences structured in Adobe Prelude CC.

You might take note of the “CC” behind each of those software components because Adobe Anywhere only functions with the new “Creative Cloud” versions of all of the company’s suite of digital tools, having included After Effects CC after the 2013 IBC Show. This replaces all the “Creative Suite” or “CS” editions of their digital creation classics including Adobe SpeedGrade, Audition, Media Encoder and Story. Creative Cloud software is no longer purchased as a standalone package, but is based on a renewable license model under which the user rents the latest version for the length of the subscription.

Currently, Adobe Anywhere cannot interface directly with non-Adobe production applications such as Final Cut Pro or Avid systems. But, as product manager Coleman said, “We’re open to that idea as soon as other companies want to work on it. It’s up to them.”

Adobe Anywhere came onto the market at the beginning of July 2013, and although specific numbers are not yet available, Coleman claims, “about 70 percent of our early adopting pilot customers have transitioned to purchase it.”

NETWORK INPUT
However, now CNN is not only glad to go public with their adoption of Adobe Anywhere version 1.6 in early August, but Michael Koetter, senior vice president of media technology and development at Turner Broadcasting, told me they were actually involved with its development by acting as a consultant on the project since 2011.

“Originally, our goal was to extend basic editing capabilities to the journalist’s desktop in production centers around the world from Moscow to London to L.A.,” Koetter said. “We worked with Adobe to enable their Premiere NLE to send the results of its Edit Decision Lists to our render farms in London, New York, Atlanta, and Washington D.C., all populated by Adobe Media Encoder software. That means that anything in our production system can go anywhere it is needed.”

In addition to providing journalists with low-res desktop clip sequencing capabilities, one of CNN’s top priorities is to begin migrating their approximately 700 higher end craft editing bays away from their worldwide standardizations on Apple’s Final Cut Pro 7 to using Adobe Premiere CC. Koetter was clear this will be a long-term process, and CNN is not turning off their FCP 7 integration right away. But Apple has announced they will not continue development of FCP 7 in the future.

Michael Koetter “Apple’s newer Final Cut X release did not have the capabilities we needed to execute a news-oriented workflow,” Koetter said, “so we went through a rigorous process with Adobe to vet Premiere for our needs and they responded with a very large number of modifications to their NLE, including features in their ‘editing finesse’ category and closed captioning tools. To us, Premiere appears to be the best-in-class craft editing system for our purposes.”

Of course, to optimize the new collaborative workflow of Adobe Anywhere they could not leave all that FCP 7 work behind.

“We have traditionally integrated with Final Cut Pro 7 using Final Cut XML interchange format for import/export,” Koetter said, “which for many people has become the new CMX EDL. But we found it is pretty low fidelity. The Final Cut XML we exchanged with Premiere in a journalist edit is just a little bit better than ‘mark-in/ mark-out’ for cuts only. We needed multilayer compositing, advanced effects such as motion blur, color correction and sophisticated titling. Final Cut handles this fine internally, but has problems communicating its ‘dark metadata’ to other systems to fully re-substantiate a complex edit. We needed something more robust for full Premiere integration.”

Koetter found that even Adobe’s own Premiere project files were never really designed as an edit interchange format, having no documented public open API. So CNN began consulting with Adobe to find a way of decoupling an editor into a client/ server ecosystem.

By working with the streaming video provided under the Adobe Anywhere concept, CNN encouraged a more powerful way to interact between their media management and workflow systems and the craft editing bays.

“This took away the brittle process of exchanging project files and got into the idea of having a server hold all our edit projects. So we worked with Adobe to make sure the API for that server can support everything we need to get into and out of an edit,” Koetter said. “Now journalists can create enhanced edit instructions to be sent to the craft bay, and collect other aspects like graphics elements which need to be included. With Adobe Anywhere, all of the intelligence that has been created with a project is immediately available to the finishing process without having to endlessly search through various storage levels. It’s all just right there.”

In the end, when I asked if the ultimate goal of this transition is to become “all Adobe.” Koetter replied, “that is correct.

“It’s a big lift to replace so many systems in our core editing environment,” he said, “ and we are trying to incorporate it in the natural replacement cycle for our infrastructure. With Adobe we’ve found a partnership that has opened many future possibilities for CNN.”

Jay Ankeney is a freelance editor and post-production consultant based in Los Angeles. Write him atjayankeney@mac.com.