Stars from stage and screen are gathering at the Kodak Theatre tonight fro CNN Heroes. Here are photos of host Anderson Cooper from the red carpet. CNN Heroes airs Thanksgiving Night (November 26) at 9 PM ET.
CNN Digital No. 1 TV News Property on the Web in October CNN No. 1 in reach across TV and Web, beating MSNBC and Fox News for 11th consecutive month
CNN Press Release - In October, CNN Digital beat the top TV News Properties on the web in all metrics, including unique audience and video. Additionally, CNN Digital has been the No. 1 mobile destination among all news sites for the past 33 consecutive months.
No. 1 in Unique Audience: 38.3 million unique visitors, beating MSNBC Digital by 3.2 million and Fox News Digital by 22.1 million. CNN Digital also beat CBS News Digital by 28 million and ABC News Digital by 24 million.
No. 1 in Video: More than 285 million minutes, 9 million more than No. 2 MSNBC Digital. CNN Digital is also the No. 1 news video property year-to-date averaging more than 327 million minutes per month.
No. 1 in Mobile: 11.9 million unique visitors, surpassing the nearest competitor Yahoo! News by 127%. CNN Digital has remained the number one mobile news and information site for 33 consecutive months according to Nielsen Mobile Media View. (Source: Nielsen Mobile Media View - September 2009)
CNN Digital is No. 1 among all News and Information sites in share of online news, total minutes and average time per person.
No. 1 in Share: 9%, nearly doubling MSBNC Digital (5%) No. 1 in Total Usage Minutes: 1.2 billion total usage minutes, 77% ahead of MSNBC Digital (688 million). No. 1 in Time Per Person: 30% more time spent per person with CNN Digital than any other site among the top 20 sites
With a combined reach of more than 123 million across its online and television platforms in August, CNN is the No. 1 cable news brand, beating MSNBC and Fox News. (Source: Nielsen Fusion – August 2009 – most recent data available)
CNN.com announced today that CNN.com Live broadcasted its last day of programming today. All four CNN.com anchors (Reggie Aqui, Naamua Delaney, Nicole Lapin and Melissa Long) were let go as well today, as well as several members of the CNN.com Live production team.
WebNewser first broke the story earlier today and has a note from KC Estenson, Senior Vice President of CNN.com. In it, he says CNN.com Live is being closed in order "to create a unit focused on streaming major live events, producing video packages especially for CNN.com and increasing our overall on-demand offering."
Our best to the CNN.com anchors and staff being displaced during this time. No word on what will happen to Nicole's Young People Who Rock blog or other popular CNN.com Live features such as Senior Editor of Mideast Affairs Octavia Nasr's Mideast Voices.
John King to Helm New Daily Political Program on CNN
CNN Press Release - CNN anchor and chief national correspondent John King will take the helm of a new weeknight political program to air on CNN at 7 p.m., beginning early next year, it was announced today by Jonathan Klein, president of CNN/U.S.
As one of the nation’s leading political reporters, King will host a definitive political hour that goes well beyond the surface of the day’s top stories to provide in-depth analysis and context to key political movements in Washington and across the nation. As King does on his Sunday program, State of the Union, he will sit down with a wide range of the day’s top newsmakers, key political reporters and analysts, and elected officials.
“The program will reflect what CNN is all about: straight facts from our anchors and the widest range of opinions from across the political spectrum,” said Klein. “John has enthralled CNN viewers with his vast political knowledge, and he has spent the past year reporting from beyond the Beltway on pressing policy issues and the real people they impact. Every night, he’ll share his passion and his insights about what is really going on in Washington and across America.”
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity, at this busy and consequential time, to have a platform to discuss and explore the big issues of our time,” said King. “There is a lot of noise and conflict in our political discourse, which is fun to cover, but I’m convinced from my travels that people also thirst for more details as well as insight and context. I’m looking forward to combining those conversations with top newsmakers, smart reporting and expert analysis.”
King joins the weekday roster of CNN journalists that include Wolf Blitzer, Campbell Brown, Anderson Cooper and Larry King. He will continue to anchor State of the Union until early next year.
King joined the network in 1997 after a 12-year career at the Associated Press, and launched the network’s successful Sunday program State of the Union earlier this year. Since the launch of State of the Union in January, King has delivered numerous news-making interviews, including those with President Barack Obama, former Vice President Dick Cheney, Gen. George Casey, Secretary Robert Gates, former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, Admiral Mike Mullen, Gen. Colin Powell, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and key members of Congress and state officials. Moreover, in the 45 weeks on the air, King has visited 45 states with his Sunday program, looking beyond the beltway at the pain of the recession, the health care debate and other national challenges.
King was an integral part of CNN’s innovative “America Votes 2008” coverage of the presidential campaign, which earned a Peabody award. During the campaign, he traveled to important early election states to cover and interview major candidates, breaking news about campaign developments and pioneering the use of the CNN “Magic Wall.” While at CNN, he also served as the network’s senior White House correspondent. The 2008 campaign marked the sixth presidential election King has covered. In addition, he has reported extensively across the United States and the world, including the first Gulf War, the war in Iraq and the Southeast Asia tsunami.
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.
Jon Klein, CNN/US President, has issued the following statement:
“Lou Dobbs is a valued founding member of the CNN family. For decades, Lou fearlessly and tirelessly pursued some of the most important and complex stories of our time, often well ahead of the pack. All of us will miss his appetite for big ideas, the megawatt smile and larger than life presence he brought to our newsroom, and we’re grateful to have known and worked with him over the years. With characteristic forthrightness, Lou has now decided to carry the banner of advocacy journalism elsewhere. We respect his decision and wish him, Debi, and his family the very best.”
BREAKING NEWS: Lou Dobbs is leaving CNN effective immediately
The New York Times is reporting longtime CNN anchor Lou Dobbs, whose anti-immigration views have made him a TV lightning rod, plans to announce Wednesday that he is leaving the network effective immediately, two network employees said.
A CNN executive confirmed that Mr. Dobbs will announce his resignation plans on his 7 p.m. program, “Lou Dobbs Tonight.” Wednesday’s program will be his last on CNN, according to one of the employees. His contract was not set to expire until the end of 2011.
Mr. Dobbs informed his staff members of his intentions in a meeting Wednesday afternoon, catching some of the staffers off-guard. The anchor did not immediately respond to a telephone call seeking comment.
Well known for his political positions, Mr. Dobbs is an outlier at CNN, which has sought to position itself as a middle ground of sorts in the fractious cable news arena. The CNN employees said Wednesday that they did not know if Mr. Dobbs was moving to another network.
Mr. Dobbs met with Roger Ailes, the chairman of the Fox News Channel, in September. At the time Mr. Dobbs was viewed as a potential hire for the Fox Business Network. But a Fox spokesperson said Wednesday, “We have not had any discussions with Lou Dobbs for Fox News or Fox Business.”
Mr. Dobbs has been with CNN since its founding, save for a two-year stint at a Web site called Space.com. He has evolved over the years from a straight-laced business anchor to an outspoken commentator who rails against illegal immigration and taxpayer bailouts, among other subjects.
Lately, though, he has saved most of his opinions for his afternoon radio show, which made its debut in March 2008. It is on the radio show that he talked repeatedly about the conspiracy theory claims that President Obama is not a United States citizen. When he mentioned the citizenship issue on CNN over the summer, his bosses were forced to call it a “dead issue.”
More recently, Mr. Dobbs’ views on immigration provoked a protest by Hispanic groups. Members of the groups complained that CNN was allowing Mr. Dobbs “to spread lies and misinformation about us each night.”
Last month the New Jersey State Police were called to Mr. Dobbs home to investigate a report of gunfire. Mr. Dobbs suggested that his family had been singled out because of his views on illegal immigration and border security.
CNN International today launched the latest addition to the European primetime schedule with the network's first news bulletin to be broadcast from the new Abu Dhabi production center.
Anchored by Stan Grant, "Prism" airs at 1700 GMT (2100 Abu Dhabi) on CNN International.
Earlier today, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince, officially opened the Abu Dhabi production centre, as the new outfit was given a network-wide welcome.
New CNN Investigation - Killings At The Canal: The Army Tapes
CNN Press Release - Special Four-Part Investigative Series Killings At The Canal:The Army Tapes to air on Anderson Cooper 360° beginning Nov 10th
Anderson Cooper 360° reports Killings At The Canal: The Army Tapes, a powerful and provocative four-part series about U.S. soldiers who were convicted of murder on the battlefield. The series runs over four nights beginning Tuesday, November 10th, and concludes Friday night, November 13th.
Three sergeants used their service pistols to execute four Iraqi men they had in custody who they believed were insurgents. Questions have emerged: On the battlefield, is murder a crime? And is the Army’s policy on detainees realistic for its soldiers in the battlefield?
While many were focused on the outcome of the presidential election, courts-martial were underway at a U.S. Army base in Germany. Ultimately three army sergeants were found guilty of the execution-style murders of the four Iraqis their 13-man unit had detained. The soldiers were certain the Iraqis were insurgents who had been shooting at them. But under Army rules for holding detainees, they knew they could not meet the burden of proof -- and they feared the suspects would be released only to be shooting at soldiers again. So the sergeants made a decision: bypass the detention center, take them to a canal, and kill them.
Anderson Cooper 360° also obtained almost 24 hours of interrogation footage which includes a confession from one of the sergeants.
In the series, investigative correspondent Abbie Boudreau and senior investigative producer Scott Zamost also shine a light on the U.S. Army’s policy about how to handle detainees, a policy that was a response to the abuses of Abu Ghraib. Some say it puts an undue burden of proof on U.S. soldiers.
On Saturday, November 14th at 8pm ET, CNN's Special Investigations Unit premieres an hour-long special titled Killings At The Canal: The Army Tapes. The special will reair Sunday, Nov. 15th at 8pm ET.
CNN International will launch its new broadcast center in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. The new studios and bureau will become the fourth such operation for the network, joining existing centers in Atlanta, London and Hong Kong.
As well as launching the new broadcast center, CNN International will debut the network's first ever live news show to be broadcast from the region. Titled 'Prism', and hosted by veteran correspondent Stan Grant, the program will take one issue each night and dissect the story from multiple angles.
Ahead of the Tuesday launch, Monday's edition of 'Amanpour' was taped from the new studios in Abu Dhabi.
Three pictures showing part of the newsroom of the new Abu Dhabi bureau were released by CNN today.
Finally, Stan Grant presents a four minute tour of the new Abu Dhabi outfit for this month's 'Inside The Middle East'.
