Former CNN International anchor Anjali Rao appeared on Australian television's version of 'The View' earlier this week.

As a guest on Network Ten's morning program, 'The Circle', Rao revealed how she passed on an interview with the late Whitney Houston 18 months ago after restrictions were placed on the interview by Houston's camp. She also describes her youth with an Indian father and Australian mother - and reveals exactly how she gained that British accent.

Anjali Rao returned to the program later in the week and co-hosted Friday's show.

The video of Anjali's interview is apparently geo-blocked to most people outside of Australia, but if you're feeling lucky you can try to watch it here. For everyone else, we've uploaded the audio of the conversation into the player below.



You can also check out some on-set photographs on Anjali from Friday's show on Facebook. (h/t: DayNightTrader)

Former CNN International anchor Anjali Rao has signed with Hong Kong production company 'The Media Village' to produce a range of lifestyle and factual entertainment programs for various broadcasters.

CNN Observations spoke to Ms. Rao about her new venture, and while details are still under wraps at the moment, she says we can expect to learn a lot more within the next few weeks. As for how long it will be before we can expect to see her back on our television screens, Rao replied, "we're in discussions right now about exactly that."

CNN Observations also asked about her departure from CNN.

After 15 years on television, 5 of those at CNN, how hard was it to leave television news to pursue a new opportunity?

I am always so impressed by those who can make a lifetime's career out of news. They're providing a public service that I consider invaluable. However, news is not an easy game by any stretch and it can certainly take a toll. It did for me, because of the intrinsic subject matter which is mostly very serious and often extremely upsetting. The nature of what I was talking about every day was the polar opposite of my own nature. Perhaps viewers could tell where my heart truly lay through my work on Talk Asia.

So while leaving hard news behind (and the 3am starts!) was not a difficult decision for me, I was certainly trepidant about what would come next and whether that step would turn out as I had hoped.



What’s the one thing you’ll miss most about CNN?

What I will miss most about CNN, hands down, are the people with whom I worked directly. What a wonderful, dedicated, intelligent bunch they are. The friends I made at CNN are far and away the best of my whole career. In short, they rock!


A lot of your viewers and fans on our forum have been hoping to see you join Twitter to follow your career. Are there any plans in the near future to join the micro blogging site?

Yes, I will be signing up to Twitter. I admit it's taken me a while to get my head around the whole thing but I do feel rather honoured that people might be interested in what I'm up to. I plan to do my damndest to give them what they want!


The full press release announcing Anjali Rao's signing with 'The Media Village' follows below.


The Media Village Press Release: ANJALI RAO RESIGNS FROM CNN, PARTNERS WITH THE MEDIA VILLAGE TO DEVELOP NEW LIFESTYLE CONTENT PLATFORM.

Popular television news anchor Anjali Rao has resigned from her post at CNN International after 5 years to develop a new integrated lifestyle content platform.

“After 15 years of news, I have become anxious to explore new opportunities in television and digital content distribution.”, says Rao of her decision to part ways with the news giant.

Rao’s manager and business partner, Brett Gullan, adds, “We’re excited by the trends emerging in the digital space. Time-shifted viewing across multiple platforms has changed the way people consume media and we want Anjali to be at the forefront of this in Asia.”

Anjali will not remain off-air for long. Rao and Gullan have joined forces with Hong Kong-based branded-content production company The Media Village to develop and produce lifestyle and factual entertainment content exclusively for Anjali.

“Anjali is a fantastic international talent and extremely well-known throughout the region.”, says The Media Village co-founder and CEO, Charles Edwards. “What she’s doing is brave and smart, and that’s why we’re keen to partner with her and her team. What we’re creating together will not only be a great new entertainment platform for the region, but also for brands to intersect with content in ways that are more relevant and credible than what we seem to be seeing in our part of the world currently. We already have working formats in front of broadcast networks and expect to have Anjali back on the air and in people’s homes in a very short time.”

Rao continues, “I’m especially excited to be working with The Media Village and looking forward to bringing upbeat and fun, yet informative and thought-provoking viewing to audiences across the region, and beyond."

Further announcements expected in 2-3 weeks.

…ENDS…

Anjali Rao: Anjali Rao is a highly-regarded journalist and television presenter. Having worked at some of the world's most respected networks, she has spent the last six years as an anchor for CNN International based in Hong Kong.

Anjali is best known for her in-depth interviews with some of the world's most famous faces - from Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey and Rihanna, to the Dalai Lama and former US President Bill Clinton.

The Media Village: The Media Village Ltd is an award-winning independent branded-content production company based in Hong Kong. Founded in 2004, the company develops and produces films for corporations, advertising, broadcast networks and private clients.

CNN International anchor Anjali Rao has left the network.

Joining CNN International's Hong Kong bureau in 2006, Rao anchored the evening news bulletin 'World News Asia', later moving to mornings as host of 'CNN Today' (later rebranded 'World Report'). She was also the main host of the weekly interview program 'Talk Asia'.

Since her departure last week, Rao's one hour 'World Report' has been anchored from Atlanta and Hong Kong with rotating hosts. At the time of publishing, there was no word from CNN on a permanent replacement for the timeslot.

CNN Press Release - Donatella Versace is one of the most recognizable faces in the fashion world. She oversees the global business for one of the world’s most famous fashion and lifestyle brands. On this week’s TALK ASIA, Donatella takes CNN’s Anjali Rao exclusively backstage twenty minutes before the label’s first fashion show in China. She then sits down with Rao and explains what life after her brother Gianni’s passing was like for her and the business and how she took the Versace company in her own direction beyond just clothing. Donatella also discusses the growing appetite for Versace in China and reveals what motivates her to link her show to charity whilst also providing a few of her personal fashion tips.

Donatella Versace draws from many inspirations. She dedicated her Spring/Summer 2009 collection to President-elect Barack Obama “for his mind more than his person” and for her ‘first’ fashion show in China she was motivated to do the show in aid of the earthquake victims in Sichuan because of what she saw: “I was very very touched by what I saw…”

On expanding her business in China and the market there, she is aware that it is different from any other country she’s been in. She says: “Chinese people view fashion in a different way from other people. They want the real thingThey want the real picture.” The brand’s commitment to the market there is something she’s proud of: “Versace was one of the first brands, if not the first brand to open a shop in China. It was in 1979, so nobody else was here. Versace was the first brand, Italian brand to open in China.”

Donatella Versace sees fashion as constantly evolving and since her brother Gianni’s days when everything was ‘louder’ and ‘sexy’ and ‘revealing’ she took the company in a direction she calls her own: “glamour, femininity and sensuality in a more sophisticated way, in a more toned down way, but still sexy.” She reminisces about times when Versace was credited with inventing the supermodel concept and bringing fashion to life on the runway.

On her brother Gianni, she talks about the dynamic between them and how much love they had for one another. Born into a tight Italian family Donatella Versace said: “when Gianni became a big fashion star I was the only one who told him the truth.” His passing threw her and her family into immense grief: “It was very very hard for me, for my family, for my children. For everybody because Gianni was more than a brother. We were always together.” With the world’s eyes on her and what her intentions was going to be for the business, Donatella Versace admits how she struggled in the beginning: “I made my mistakes in the beginning because I didn’t know if I follow exactly Gianni’s steps or find my own way and I was you know suffering from my brothers death.” but eventually came through: “So I had to keep this strong face, and be sure of myself and must go on.”

For more program information and to view video excerpts of past interviews visit the TALK ASIA site www.cnn.com/talkasia.

AIRTIMES AND GUESTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

CNN Press Release - Former European Commissioner and statesman Chris Patten, best known as the last governor of Hong Kong speaks to CNN’s Anjali Rao for the latest edition of TALK ASIA. He gives his thoughts on U.S. President elect Barack Obama, what Obama must do to tackle the global financial crisis and his ‘distaste’ for outgoing President George Bush. As Patten revisits a few of his old haunts in Hong Kong he also tells Rao how he got into politics and what he misses most about the city.

Despite being a former chairman of the British Conservative Party, Chris Patten supported a Democrat as the next U.S. president: “I think that I would find myself having some difficulty in sitting down in the same Party with, for example, Governor Palin…President Obama would not I think be regarded in European politics as particularly left-wing, I suspect that while he will have, for an American, quite a pronounced interest in fairness and social equity, that he’s quite a cautious, cool cat.”

His opinion of President Bush as “the worst U.S. President” is again echoed when he shares with Rao that “I don’t think there will be much nostalgia about the Bush years.” But in all fairness that “I think it would be wrong to think that everything was hunky–dory before Bush and that all you need to do is to send him back to Crawford and Vice President Cheney to shoot his friends and everything will be fine.”

Patten’s take on the financial crisis is that China has an increasingly influential role in the world’s economy: “And if you expect the Chinese for example to put their hand in their pocket and to take out larger sums of dosh in order to bail out the international financial system; they for their part, can reasonably expect to be given a bigger role in policy making in international institutions.”

Patten also reminisces on his days when he oversaw the former British colony between 1992 and 1997 as the last governor, a period which ensures he is still well-recognized and quite a crowd pleaser. When asked how he sees the city going forward, especially now that it is being run by his former financial secretary Donald Tsang, he says: “I think it’ll go on being special. I don’t think it’ll ever lose this vibrancy or vitality, and I’m sure it’ll go on being free and one day it’ll be democratic.” He knows that the Chinese leadership was not sad to see him go as it was well known that he clashed almost weekly with the government. As he says: “I think after it was all over, they recognized that despite the turbulence of our public exchanges…Hong Kong that they took over in 1997 was a huge success story, and some of them hadn’t expected that.”

For more program information on TALK ASIA visit www.cnn.com/talkasia.

CNN will use its unparalleled international newsgathering and production resources to cover the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. On CNN.com as well as on CNN/U.S., CNN International, CNN en Español, CNN Radio, Headline News and in a multiplatform partnership with The Sports Illustrated Group, CNN will report on the world’s largest sporting event from every angle to more than 300 million households worldwide.

Operating from CNN’s Beijing bureau, World Sport correspondent Mark McKay and Headline News sports anchor Larry Smith will bring the latest developments in the quest for gold while international correspondents Jaime FlorCruz, Anjali Rao and John Vause will contribute on the events surrounding the Olympics in China.

CNN.com will offer expanded coverage of the Olympics through reporting on results from the Games; the economic impact and influence held by the Olympics; and the challenges facing China and its people as the hosts of the 20th Olympiad. The site’s special section, located at www.CNN.com/olympics, offers users a wide range of exclusive video, text stories, interactive timelines and a detailed explainer on the history and tradition of the Olympics. CNN.com Live, the site’s live, multi-stream video news service, will feature exclusive interviews with athletes and experts throughout the games.

Additionally, CNN.com has launched a special section called “Fan Zone” at www.CNN.com/fanzone, where users can access a variety of video, quizzes, interactive games, polls and in-depth reports to feed their curiosity about anything and everything related to the 2008 Olympic Games. Users can take a quiz to identify their inner Olympian and register as a member of the CNN Olympic Fan Zone, where they can share how they will follow the action by submitting their own video, photos and audio to iReport.com, CNN’s uncensored, unfiltered, unedited, user-generated community Web site. Contributors also may gain recognition by having the material they submit to the site – once vetted and approved for use – appear on a CNN network or CNN.com.

In a multiplatform partnership with CNN, Sports Illustrated writers and editors covering the Olympics will provide CNN’s global audience with expert analysis and opinion on the events as they unfold. Daily video sports

reports will appear across multiple channels of CNN and www.SI.com. The two companies also co-produced a series of video features including profiles on Olympians such as Michael Phelps, Ian Crocker, Allyson Felix and also “SI Flashbacks” – vignettes of iconic moments from previous Olympiads. These features will debut on CNN networks, including CNN.com, and www.SI.com beginning Thursday, July 24.

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.

Jill Dougherty

Sandra Endo

Ed Lavandera

Anjali Rao

Reza Sayah

Sarah Sidner

While Anjali Rao hosted the last hour of CNN Today HK from Hong Kong, Stephen Frazier is hosting this hour from Atlanta. Thinking there might be technical problems in HK, they do have a guest on live currently from HK so who knows? Update: Anjali is back for the third hour.