Wednesday, April 04, 2007

CNN Names Kiran Chetry, John Roberts as Anchors of American Morning

CNN Pressroom - Kiran Chetry and John Roberts will debut as the new co-anchors of CNN's flagship morning program American Morning on Monday, April 16, it was announced today by Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. Soledad O’Brien and Miles O’Brien will remain at the network as featured special correspondents. American Morning airs on CNN/U.S. each weekday from 6 a.m. to 9 am (ET).

An award-winning veteran journalist, Roberts joined CNN in February 2006 after 14 years with CBS News as chief White House correspondent, chief medical correspondent and anchor of the Sunday edition of the CBS Evening News. Roberts has been serving as CNN's senior national correspondent, reporting extensively for CNN on politics as well as from the front lines in Iraq and last summer’s Middle East conflict, for which he recently won a prestigious National Headliner award.

Roberts reported from Baghdad and anchored the acclaimed CNN: Special Investigations Unit documentary, “Death Squads,” which examined the sectarian violence plaguing Iraq. Roberts anchors CNN’s This Week at War, the only weekly program focusing on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and America’s confrontations around the globe. He is also a main substitute on CNN programs including American Morning, Anderson Cooper 360º and Paula Zahn Now.

Chetry joined CNN in February and immediately began anchoring various CNN programs including American Morning, Anderson Cooper 360º, Paula Zahn Now and CNN Newsroom. Previously, Chetry was the anchor of Fox & Friends First and Fox & Friends Weekend for the Fox News Channel. She has covered major breaking news stories including reports from the field during the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the Columbia Space Shuttle disaster, the invasion of Baghdad and Hurricane Katrina.

Chetry began her journalism career at News 21 in Rockville, Md., in 1995 before moving to WICU-TV in Erie, Penn., to become an anchor and health reporter. She then served as a morning anchor and reporter for KXTV in Sacramento, Calif., before joining Fox News in 2001. Chetry received her bachelor of arts in broadcast journalism from the University of Maryland.

“I’ve admired John’s journalistic chops since we worked together at CBS more than a decade ago, and it’s not surprising that he’s now recognized as one of the premier broadcasters in the business,” Klein said. “As for Kiran, we’ve watched her light up the screen for years, and we are thrilled that she was able to join our team. She’s a breath of fresh air and a delight to work with, and it’s no wonder she’s already been embraced by CNN viewers.”

Soledad O'Brien will become anchor and special correspondent for CNN: Special Investigations Unit, reporting hour-long documentaries throughout the year and filing in-depth series on the most important ongoing and breaking news stories for all major CNN programs.

O’Brien has co-anchored CNN’s flagship morning program, American Morning, since she joined the network in July 2003 and distinguished herself by reporting from the scene on the transformational stories that broke on her watch. Her efforts following Hurricane Katrina and the tsunami in Phuket, Thailand, have earned her numerous awards and critical acclaim, further establishing her as a television journalist of the first rank. Earlier this year, the NAACP honored her with its President’s Award in recognition of her humanitarian efforts and journalistic excellence.

In recent months, O’Brien served as CNN’s point person for President George W. Bush’s visit to Mexico, delivering a series of eye-opening reports on conditions south of the border that fuel illegal immigration to the United States. She also anchored and reported a highly acclaimed CNN: Special Investigations Unit documentary featuring a never-before-seen look at Martin Luther King Jr.’s private writings, notes and teachings, which represent the foundation of King’s life’s work as a preacher and human rights activist; and her ongoing initiative entitled “Children of the Storm,” which provides video cameras to young Hurricane Katrina survivors so that they can tell their stories of trial and triumph in their own words and images.

“We are thrilled to be able to match Soledad’s passion and reporting instincts with our desire to create more long-form, investigative journalism,” Klein said. “She is the perfect person to lead our national coverage of major news stories and provide in-depth investigative reports that are the hallmark of CNN.”

Miles O’Brien becomes CNN’s chief technology and environment correspondent. O’Brien began anchoring American Morning in June 2005 and has served as the network’s space and aviation correspondent. Previously, he co-anchored the weekday newscast Live From with Kyra Phillips and anchored various other newscasts for CNN and Headline News.

Most notably, Miles has covered the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina with live reports across the region and in February 2003, O'Brien led CNN's coverage of the Columbia Space Shuttle tragedy, offering viewers exclusive information and uniquely insightful context based on his years of professional experience with and study of NASA and space exploration.

“As viewers’ concern about the environment and fascination with technology grows, there is no better guide than Miles O’Brien to separate fact from fantasy,” Klein said. “He lives and breathes this stuff and is able to explain these pressing subjects in a way that captivates and informs Americans at a critical moment in our history.”

American Morning, providing the most news in the morning on television, broadcasts weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. (ET) on CNN/U.S. Ed Litvak is the show’s executive producer.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is one of the world’s most respected and trusted sources 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; four Web sites, including CNN.com, the first major news and information Web site; CNN Pipeline, CNN.com’s premium live video news service; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and partnerships for four television networks and two Web sites.

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