Tuesday, May 22, 2012

HLN Revs Up Nightly News With Launch Of Evening Express, Hosted By Ryan Smith, Monday, June 4

CNN Press Release - Nationally Syndicated Radio Host and Best-Selling Financial Expert Clark Howard and CNN Journalist Isha Sesay Join New Show Airing 5-7 p.m. ET

NEW YORK, NY, May 22, 2012—HLN launches a new destination for news and information with Evening Express, hosted by Ryan Smith, beginning Monday, June 4. This new addition to HLN’s schedule will air weeknights, 5-7 p.m. ET, and feature HLN’s popular personal finance expert Clark Howard, and CNN’s Isha Sesay, it was announced by Scot Safon, Executive Vice President and General Manager, HLN. Evening Express will be based at the network’s global headquarters in Atlanta.

“HLN is excited to offer our viewers an evening news program that centers on the news and information they’ll discuss around the dinner table,” said Safon. “The format and tone of Evening Express was inspired by our hit show Morning Express with Robin Meade. Viewers tell us all the time that they love how Robin and the Morning Express team start their day on HLN, and now Ryan, Clark and Isha will be welcoming them home in the evening.”

Evening Express will provide an energetic, inspirational and solutions-oriented look at the day’s news, accompanied by deeper discussions and reporting on stories and issues that resonate in the American household, including parenting, education, health, personal finance and relationships.

Evening Express will also have a deep a social footprint, engaging with viewers and users on all platforms.  In tandem with its June 4 launch, the show’s digital extensions will include Facebook (Facebook.com/EveningExpressHLN), Twitter (@EveningExp) and a dedicated blog on HLN’s recently launched web site, HLNtv.com (HLNtv.com/EveningExpress) that will feature distinctive angles on the stories of the day. Evening Express hosts can also be followed at @ryansmithtv, @IshaSesayCNN and @ClarkHoward.

Smith, a familiar HLN on-air presence in 2011 as a result of his reporting during the Casey Anthony and Conrad Murray trials, was a member of the Morning Express team and host of programming during InSession on truTV. A sports and entertainment lawyer with a degree from Columbia Law School, Smith covers a wide variety of news stories and has a personal interest in health and wellness issues.

Howard is one of HLN’s most popular personalities, with a wildly successful nationally syndicated radio program and personal finance website in addition to his regular appearances on HLN weekends and Morning Express with Robin Meade. In 2011, his book, “Clark Howard’s Living Large in Lean Times,” spent 21 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list, his third to make that list. With the launch of Evening Express, the personal finance guru will now bring his expert advice to viewers later in the day, answering specific consumer questions and providing information that is applicable and actionable to a wide spectrum of the audience.

Sesay is well known to CNN audiences for her work as an anchor for CNN International, hosting the daily news program CNN NewsCenter and weekly program BackStory, and serving as the nightly “360 Bulletin” correspondent on Anderson Cooper 360°. In addition, she files reports for African Voices and Inside Africa, CNN International’s award-winning, weekly program dedicated to providing viewers with an inside look of Africa.On HLN’s Evening Express, she will bring her strong reporting skills and a point of view informed by her experience covering news stories from across the globe.

CNN veteran Angie Massie is the Executive Producer of Evening Express. Katherine Green is Senior Vice President and Managing Editor, HLN.  Steve Rosenberg is Director of Dayside Programming, HLN.

About HLN

HLN is the national television network that focuses on the “must-see, must-share” stories of the day.  Drawing upon the network’s deep bench of talent, including Robin Meade, Jane Velez-Mitchell, Nancy Grace, and Dr. Drew Pinsky, HLN dissects and demystifies the news stories and newsmakers people are talking about.

HLNtv.com, the network’s new digital platform, is the online destination for users to go deeper into the top stories driving the conversation and generating the national buzz.

HLN is a CNN Worldwide network reaching more than 100 million households in the U.S. CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information.

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Friday, April 13, 2012

Final Chapter For Back|Story (As We Know It)

CNN International's Back|Story aired its final daily show on Thursday. The program is moving to a weekly feature show from next weekend. The move, previously speculated on the forum, was confirmed on the program's Facebook page a few hours before the final airing of its current format.

Starting next week, BackStory becomes a weekly program, airing several times from Saturday to Monday morning. Isha will still host the weekly show, in addition to her new daily program, CNN NewsCenter. That program will air daily at 1930 GMT and feature a different BackStory several times a week. We are sad to see the daily show go away, but we hope making the show into a weekly program will give us a chance to bring you only the very best of our style of reporting on the big stories of the week.

I’ll still be producing the show, and I’m counting on our familiar faces like Arwa Damon, Nic Robertson, Dan Rivers and Sara Sidner to deliver some fantastic reports every week! And I’m counting on our fantastic loyal fans to let me know what they think! I won't be on the Facebook page as often as I am now, but I'll definitely check in when I can.

Thanks for watching, everyone!
-Kendra
a.k.a. K the P

Host Isha Sesay also made comment on the format change on Thursday's show.

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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Back|Story Teases New Set Launching Next Week

Back in late May, the Back|Story team tweeted about efforts to secure a new set for the show.

"Testing the new set for Back|Story. We're really impressed, hope you are too" @BackStory - May 25, 2011.



"Another set location idea, what do you think?" @BackStory - May 25, 2011


Since those two tweets, nothing more was really mentioned about any new set. That is, nothing was mentioned until the close of Tuesday's show.

Watch the short video below of Michael Holmes teasing the new set, scheduled to debut next week when Isha Sesay takes over hosting duties fulltime, as well as a sneak peek of where the show will call home from next Monday.

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Monday, September 19, 2011

Michael Holmes Leaving Back|Story

Michael Holmes is leaving CNN International's Back|Story, effective this Friday.

Holmes will swap roles with fellow CNN International anchor Isha Sesay and move to hosting duties of the 10:00am (eastern) edition of International Desk. Sesay, a regular fill-in host on Back|Story, assumes the Back|Story role fulltime from next Monday.

Holmes made the announcement on Back|Story's facebook page earlier today:

"I shall very much miss working with our amazing team (although I'll probably keep my desk, so I'll be all of three feet away from them!) and enjoying the routine of putting this terrific show together. It's really been an honour to work on this show, with these people and I'm going to miss it. But the new challenge awaits and I'm looking forward to anchoring an hour of hard news every day.

I shall also very much miss you - our incredibly loyal, enthusiastic and "involved" viewers. You guys have been amazing from day one, offering your thoughts, story ideas and even questions for our interviews with guests and correspondents.

From Africa to Europe to Asia to North and South America, you have been fantastic - and have made the BackStory FB page by far the most popular of all CNNi's shows!

I'll be here for the rest of the week and my last show will be this Friday. I do hope you can be with me this week, give Isha a great welcome, and tune in to Idesk as well as BackStory!! :)"

Michael Holmes has hosted the popular daily program since its launch in 2008. Each day, Back|Story provides a behind-the-scenes look at CNN's worldwide newsgathering efforts, giving viewers extra insight into the day's top stories.

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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

International Observations

Playing catch-up with several recent notables from CNN International...

* Justin Armsden, London-based World Sport presenter, has left the network after 10 years.

* Back|Story host Michael Holmes is currently in Iraq; he'll be reporting on the official pullout of U.S. combat forces from the country. Related promo is here

* CNN International has commenced marketing 'World Business Today'. The first promo for the current incarnation of the show is for Asian audiences.

* Connect The World introduces a new interactive feature this week called, 'Global Connections'. Each week, viewers will be asked to find the connection between two random countries. Learn more about the weekly segment here.

Several hours across the day have been reformatted. The main change has seen two editions of World Business Today extended to 60 minutes (from 30 minutes), and the 0600 GMT World Report also extended from 30 minutes to 60 minutes. The new weekday schedule - introduced last Monday - is below.


0000 GMT - World Business Today w/Colleen McEdwards & Pauline Chiou
0100 GMT - The Situation Room (delayed broadcast) (Monday: World View - 0100 / Taped feature -0130)
0200 GMT - Anderson Cooper 360 (Monday: Taped feature - 0200 / Taped featured - 0230)
0300 GMT - World Sport (tape)
0330 GMT - Taped feature
0400 GMT - World Report w/Pauline Chiou
0430 GMT - Back|Story (replay) w/Michael Holmes
0500 GMT - World Report w/Rosemary Church
0600 GMT - World Report w/Rosemary Church
0700 GMT - World Business Today w/Andrew Stevens & Charles Hodson
0800 GMT - World Report w/Zain Verjee
0830 GMT - Taped feature
0900 GMT - Larry King Live (delayed broadcast)
1000 GMT - World Report w/Monita Rajpal
1030 GMT - World Sport
1100 GMT - World Report w/Kristie Lu Stout
1130 GMT - Taped feature
1200 GMT - World Report w/Kristie Lu Stout
1300 GMT - World Business Today w/Andrew Stevens, Charles Hodson & Maggie Lake
1400 GMT - International Desk w/Isha Sesay
1500 GMT - The Brief w/Jim Clancy
1530 GMT - World Sport
1600 GMT - Prism w/Stan Grant (Friday: World Report)
1630 GMT - Taped feature
1700 GMT - International Desk w/Hala Gorani
1800 GMT - Quest Means Business w/Richard Quest
1900 GMT - World One w/Fionnuala Sweeney
2000 GMT - Connect The World w/Becky Anderson
2100 GMT - Back|Story w/Michael Holmes
2130 GMT - World Sport
2200 GMT - World Report w/Anna Coren
2300 GMT - World Report w/Anjali Rao

The refreshed schedule brings with it a couple of new anchor rosters:

* Rosemary Church has moved from weekend duties and been appointed anchor of the 0500 GMT World Report on weekdays. Rosemary is also currently hosting the second hour until a new host is named.

* Zain Verjee moves back to anchor the 0800 GMT, as well as host of the monthly 'iList' series.

*Don Riddell has moved back to sport duties to anchor World Sport and host the monthly 'Living Golf' program.

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Saturday, September 19, 2009

Christiane Amanpour BackStory Video

Sunday, February 01, 2009

CNN Twitter Pages

While you're visiting our new twitter page, be sure to check out twitter pages from some of the other CNN'ers around the world:

http://twitter.com/bettynguyencnn - Betty Nguyen; Anchor, CNN Saturday, CNN Sunday, CNN Newsroom
http://twitter.com/cnn - CNN
http://twitter.com/CNN_Newsroom - CNN Newsroom
http://twitter.com/BackStory - BackStory
http://twitter.com/cnnbrk - CNN Breaking News
http://twitter.com/cnndotcomlive - CNN.com Live
http://twitter.com/cnni - CNN.com International
http://twitter.com/cnninthefield - In The Field Blog
http://twitter.com/cnnireport - CNN iReport
http://twitter.com/CNNMoney_mkts - CNN Money Markets
http://twitter.com/CNNMoney_News - CNN Money News
http://twitter.com/donlemoncnn - Don Lemon; Anchor, CNN Newsroom
http://twitter.com/HowardKurtz - Howard Kurtz; Host, "Reliable Sources", State Of The Union with John King
http://twitter.com/jacquje - Jacqui Jeras; Meterologist, CNN Domestic
http://twitter.com/nicolelapin - Nicole Lapin; Anchor, CNN.com Live
http://twitter.com/politicalticker - Political Ticker
http://twitter.com/richardquest - Richard Quest; Host, Quest Means Business, CNN Business Traveller
http://twitter.com/ricksanchezcnn - Rick Sanchez; Anchor, CNN Newsroom; Contributor, CNN En Español
http://twitter.com/tjholmescnn - T.J. Holmes; Anchor, CNN Saturday, CNN Sunday, CNN Newsroom
http://twitter.com/CNNMoney - CNNMoney.com
http://twitter.com/toriblaseCNN - Tori Blase; CNN Supervisor/Executive Producer

Happy Tweeting!!

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Thursday, October 02, 2008

What's The Backstory?

Michael Holmes is set to host BackStory on CNN International. When? We're not sure. Until then, you can follow the show on Twitter. Rehearsals for the show were held at the network's headquarters in Atlanta today.

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