CNN International's weekday news show, 'International Desk', received a fresh new look on Monday. Along with enhanced graphics - which builds on the previous set with added elements - the show also got a new theme. A video and some stills from the program are below.
Today on CNN Sunday, Betty Nguyen's colleagues said their farewells to Betty Nguyen as she leaves for CBS starting March 11th. Long time co-anchor TJ Holmes called to send his best wishes while on his honeymoon on the island of St. Lucia.
This is our weekly round-up of the tidbits that didn't make it to a post of their own, but are worth noting, along with news items we may have missed during the week.
If you have any of your own observations from any of the CNN Worldwide networks during the week, send us a message via the tip box bottom right.
- CNN International's 'International Desk' is set to receive a makeover with new graphics and music on Monday, according to a tweet from anchor Hala Gorani.
- FishbowlDC talks with CNN's Dana Bash after her unsuccessful attempt to interview Republican Senator Jim Bunning.
- CNN International is set to unveil a new show dedicated to all things tennis, according to a tweet from sport anchor Pedro Pinto.
- Report: Anderson Cooper in talks with CBS; CNN says not true!
- Could CNN and Campbell Brown face a possible conflict of interest?
- Targeted web ads helped bring down Lou Dobbs at CNN?
Weekly Observations Poll Earlier this week we reported on a story Politico.com was running about Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour heading to ABC News to host This Week. We'd like to know what you think.
CNN Press Release:CNN.com Gives Users Unparalleled Access to Red Carpet Coverage & Style on Oscar Night
Taking full advantage of the visually bold, breakthrough design introduced less than five months ago, CNN.com will provide unprecedented coverage of the Academy Awards on March 7. Available at www.cnn.com/showbiz, the site’s entertainment section will showcase all things Oscar: from the excitement on the red carpet to the notorious fashion ‘dos and don’ts’ to the evening’s nominees and statue winners.
Centering its online coverage on providing exceptional access to the most compelling moments from Oscar night, for the first time, CNN.com will stream live video directly on the homepage and on the front page of the Entertainment section. From 6 to 8pm ET, users who go to www.CNN.com/showbiz will be able to see live coverage from the red carpet, getting a first look at what the biggest stars are wearing as they arrive.
CNN.com’s coverage of the 82nd annual Academy Awards also places emphasis on input from and engagement with its audience. An innovative fashion interactive, located at http://on.cnn.com/cxmvNn will enable users to rank the best and worst dressed from the show via “drag and drop” functionality, as well as share their votes with friends on Facebook, Twitter and other social media networks. CNN iReport, the network's user-generated news community, also is asking iReporters to share their pick for who should win the Oscar for Best Picture at http://on.cnn.com/cwo275.
Users can also find the latest Oscar news on CNN’s Marquee Blog at www.cnn.com/marquee and follow minute-by-minute updates from the red carpet via @CNNShowbiz, CNN’s Twitter account for the latest entertainment industry news and information.
Finally, the CNN Challenge, an interactive online news trivia quiz, will allow users to test their knowledge by featuring special Oscar-themed questions. Online at http://cnnchallenge.com/, users can test their knowledge of historical Oscar trivia, as well as answer current questions such as ‘What film is tied with “Avatar” for the most nominations, with nine?’
This should be sending some sort of shiver down the spines of the higher-ups at CNN today.
Since the launch of her daily show (seen as a 60 minute compilation show every Sunday on CNN Domestic) in September last year, CNN International has been pushing their Chief International Correspondent as the main face of the network. Along with a strong promotional push online, you'll be hard pressed to watch 30 minutes of CNN International without seeing some sort of promotion for Amanpour.
If Amanpour were to bail out of CNN, it would be a major blow to the network. It would probably be felt most at CNN International - where executives spent well over 18 months researching and implementing a new European prime time schedule with Amanpour front and center.
In a recent profile in The New York Times' "Domains" feature, Amanpour addressed her future plans:
"I feel that I am on the cusp of something new in my life. I just don’t know what it is right now."
Whether or not hosting ABC's "This Week" turns out to be the next step for Amanpour remains to be seen. She is still yet to make any comment on the story, as is CNN.
CNN has posted a video of John King talking about his new prime time show, set to debut on March 22 at 7pm eastern.
The video also teases an online preview of the show that will take place on March 19.
UPDATE:CNN's Press Release:John King, USA to Launch Monday, March 22. Sneak Preview to Stream Friday, March 19 on CNN.com
As John King announced on Twitter this morning, John King, USA will become the 7 p.m. destination for hard-hitting, provocative, relevant news and political conversation, beginning Monday, March 22. After spending 2009 traveling the country, John will continue to reach outside the beltway with special segments with contributors, the magic wall, as well as viewer interaction and news-making guests.
The program will take a fresh look at politics in and out of Washington while delving into issues of the day that matter to average Americans. On Friday, March 19, the final dress rehearsal will stream live online at noon on CNN.com and CNN.com/Live.
So, get ready to visit John King, USA every night at 7 p.m. for your fix of politics. You can check out a video clip about the show at www.CNN.com/JohnKingUSA – and follow John on twitter @JohnKingCNN.
CNN anchor Betty Nguyen is leaving the network after almost 6 years. Nguyen is heading to CBS as a full-time correspondent, and anchor of the CBS Morning News.
TV Newser has the full details, including the announcement from CBS.
CNN Press Release - Morning Express with Robin Meade Posts Best Month Ever
CNN TOP RATED DURING CHILE BREAKING NEWS
CNN TOPS MSNBC DURING THE DAY AND IN TOTAL DAY IN FEBRUARY (EXCLUDING OLYMPICS)
CNN Digital No. 1 in Current Events & Global News with 40.6 Million Unique Users
HLN
Celebrating the fifth anniversary of its revamp to opinion-based programming in primetime, HLN (formerly Headline News) continues to score impressive ratings across the board. Comparing the year prior to the February 2005 launch of Nancy Grace and Showbiz Tonight (2004) to its most recently completed year (2009), the network has tripled its primetime audience (M-F/8-11 pm) in total viewers (659k vs. 211k/+212%), and nearly tripled its audience among 25-54 (250k vs. 84k/+198%). 2009 marked HLN’s third consecutive year of growth in total day and prime and its best year on record.
In February, Morning Express with Robin Meade scored its best ratings in history in both the demo 25-54 (206k) and total viewers (342k) ranking second in the morning and outperforming MSNBC’s Morning Joe by 94%. Issues with Jane Velez-Mitchell at 7 pm placed second among adults 25-54 for the second consecutive month (151k), while Hardball (7 pm) slipped to 4th place (141k). At 9 pm, The Joy Behar Show was the only program to show growth among total viewers, increasing 13% versus year-ago.
CNN
On Saturday, February 27, the day of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake in Chile:
• CNN was the #1 cable news network in total day among both total viewers (1.453 million) and adults 25-54 (550k). FNC followed with 1.366m/422k and MSNBC had 571k/242k respectively.
• CNN was the #1 cable news network in primetime on Saturday among adults 25-54 with 315k, FNC had 308k and MSNBC posted 245k.
For the month of February, excluding MSNBC’s Olympic coverage, CNN topped MSNBC in during the daytime (M-F/9 am until 5pm) and in total day (6 am–6 am) in both total viewers and in the key demo adults 25-54. In head-to-head comparisons with MSNBC’s daytime non-opinion news programming, CNN averaged 554k vs. 286k in total viewers (+94% advantage) and 125k vs. 63k in adults 25-54 (+98%) -- with MSNBC placing either fourth or fifth throughout the day. At 5 pm and at 6 pm both Hardball and The Ed Show placed third behind FNC and CNN’s Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and at 7 pm, Hardball was fourth, trailing behind FNC, HLN and CNN among adults 25-54.
In the morning (6-9 am), HLN and CNN’s American Morning outperformed MSNBC’s Morning Joe among adults 25-54 with HLN averaging 206k, CNN posting 122k, and Morning Joe trailing with 106k. In primetime, CNN is the only cable news network that provides non-partisan programming representing all points of view.
In February, CNN reached 100.9 million viewers, FNC had 91 million, HLN posted 85.5 million and MSNBC (excluding Olympics) had 80 million.
CNN Digital
Chile Earthquake Coverage:
• On Feb. 27, the day of the earthquake in Chile, CNN.com had 9.9 million unique visitors, a 62% increase over the benchmark 4-week average for Saturdays (Omniture SiteCatalyst, 2/27/10)
• On Feb. 27 and 28, following the earthquake in Chile, there were 382 iReports submitted on the topic. Of those, 52 were vetted for use on CNN. (Source: iReport internal server log data.
In January (most recent digital data), CNN Digital was ranked the No. 1 current events and global news site on the web with 40.6 million unique users.
• No. 1 in Global Video Streams: 135.5 million total streams, beating No. 2 MSNBC Digital by 6 million streams. CNN Digital saw a 35% increase in January ’10 vs. December ’09.
• No. 1 in Unique Audience: 40.6 million unique users, 631,000 ahead of No. 2 Yahoo! News. January 2010 was the third highest number of unique users in CNN Digital’s history.
• No. 1 in Total Usage Minutes: 980 million minutes, 44% more than MSNBC Digital’s usage.
• No. 1 in Time Per Person: 24.1 minutes, the highest time spent among the top 20 News and Information sites, 3.4 minutes more than No. 2 Fox News Digital.
• No. 1 in Share: 13%, beating No. 2 MSNBC Digital by 4 points.
• No. 1 in Page Views: 1.5 billion page views, ahead of No. 2 MSNBC Digital by 83% (680 million).
• No. 1 in Mobile: 12.3 million unique visitors in December in the global news and current events category, beating the nearest competitor, Yahoo! News by 116%. (Source: Nielsen Mobile MediaView - Dec. 2009) This is the 36th consecutive month that CNN Digital has topped the global news and current events category.
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CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.
CNN Press Release: Lotus Racing and CNN International have today announced a partnership deal that sees the newest Formula One™ team entering into a long-term agreement with the world’s leading news network. CNN’s world-famous logo will feature on the T127 race cars, the drivers’ overalls and on all team clothing.
The deal will be managed by CNN’s commercial ‘Partner Solutions Group’, which is led by Rani R. Raad, senior vice president of CNN International Advertising Sales.
“The combination of two such iconic and aspirational global brands fits perfectly with CNN’s worldwide reach and brand positioning,” said Raad. “This unique partnership with Lotus Racing takes CNN into a new era of marketing and promotions and puts us in front of a worldwide audience of millions.”
A delighted Lotus Racing Team Principal Tony Fernandes commented: “We are very proud to welcome CNN into the Lotus Racing family. It is a sign of the positive impact we have already made in the global business market that such a prestigious brand, familiar to millions around the world as the definitive source of news and current affairs, has made the decision to partner with us. The whole team and I are looking forward to working with CNN in the months and years to come on some very exciting campaigns.”
About Lotus Racing
Lotus Racing joins the 2010 Formula One™ World Championship as one of the new teams granted an entry in 2009. The team has been through an accelerated growth curve from being granted its entry on September 12th 2009 to launching its T127 race car just five months later on February 12th 2010, and beginning testing in mid February in Jerez, Spain. With Tony Fernandes as its inspirational Team Principal, the team has a visionary leader, working closely with his Deputy Team Principals SM Nasarudin and Kamarudin Meranun to guide Chief Technical Officer Mike Gascoyne, drivers Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen and the ever growing team on the path to long-term success.
The Formula One™ World Championship is a truly global phenomenon, just like CNN. The 19 race schedule takes the teams to all corners of the world and Lotus Racing, with a classic British name, owned by a Malaysian businessman, with drivers from Italy and Finland epitomises the international pedigree of the championship.
The season starts in Bahrain, March 14, and continues on March 28, Australia; April 4, Malaysia; April 18, China; May 9, Spain; May 16, Monaco; May 30, Turkey; June 13, Canada; June 27, Europe (Valencia); July 11 Great Britain; July 25, Germany; August 1, Hungary; August 29, Belgium; September 12, Italy; September 26, Singapore; October 10, Japan; October 24, Korea; November 7, Brazil; November 14, Abu Dhabi.
CNN Press Release - Award-winning Spanish-language television executive and journalist Cynthia Hudson has been named senior vice president and general manager of CNN en Español and Hispanic strategy for CNN/U.S., it was announced today by Tony Maddox, executive vice president and managing director of CNN International. Hudson will relocate from Miami to CNN's global headquarters in Atlanta, and report to Maddox.
In her new position, Hudson will oversee newsgathering, editorial content, programming, production, operations and personnel, of CNN en Español, CNN en Español RADIO and the recently launched CNNMexico.com, a joint venture Web site produced in conjunction with Grupo Editorial Expansión.
"Cynthia brings to CNN en Espanol a wealth of creative and strategic experience in both television and new media," said Maddox. "Her appointment underscores CNN's commitment to the Latin American marketplace, where CNN en Español consistently ranks as the region's leading pan-regional news network, and positions us to best serve the growing Hispanic market in the U.S.
Hudson comes from Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS), where she served aschief creative officer and executive vice president for SBS and managing director of Mega TV. Hudson was responsible for SBS' expansion, directly overseeing flagship TV station Mega TV, as well as the companies' internet site www.lamusica.com and other new media development. In addition, Hudson supervised the strategic expansion of SBS content across multiple media platforms and development of branded entertainment synergies among all SBS properties. Mega TV saw tremendous growth under her watch and garnered the network 27 EMMY awards in just four years since its launch.
From 1997 to 2005, Hudson served as senior vice president and editorial director of Cosmopolitan Television (a Hearst Entertainment and Syndication Group division), heading up the creation and development of the Cosmopolitan TV Networks, including Canal Cosmopolitan Iberia and Canal Cosmopolitan Latin America as well as the foundation for Cosmo TV Canada. There she led the research, development and creation of Cosmo TV, overseeing design of original programs, on-air packaging, promotions and program acquisitions, as well as the creation and production of original formats and the overall business strategy for the networks.
Prior to Cosmopolitan TV, Hudson was senior vice president of programming and creative services for United International Holding's joint venture channel service, United Family Communications (UFC), now MGM Networks Latin America. While at UFC she created Casa Club TV, the first pan-regional Home channel for Latin America (today MGM).
Hudson was the vice president of programming and production for the Telemundo Network from 1992-94. During her tenure the network's programming line-up was redesigned, achieving its highest ratings to date and developing its first in-house telenovela production unit with successes such as "Tres Destinos," a prime-time scripted drama series that debuted in 1994.
From 1984 to 1992, Hudson held various production and executive positions with the Univision Network, including Executive Producer of the first daytime U.S. Hispanic magazine show, "TV Mujer" ("TV Woman"), which garnered Univision its first Emmy Award for ongoing series production. Hudson started her professional career in news for Univision affiliate WLTV 23, where she held various positions from reporting to production and management. She holds a Masters in Communications from the University of Miami, and is fluent in English and Spanish.
CNN en Español, CNN's independently produced 24-hour network in Spanish, is currently available in 23 million cable and DTH households throughout Latin America, and more than 4 million households across the United States. The network provides continuous news coverage of major world events, live breaking coverage supported by in-depth analysis, worldwide business and financial news, global weather updates, sports and feature programming on such topics as health, technology and entertainment.
