Erin Burnett OutFront Debuts Monday at 7 PM ET on CNN Domestic. Along with her interview from today's Reliable Sources, we have some welcome videos from her new CNN family.

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CNN Press Release - Bettag to Take the Reins of State of the Union with Candy Crowley and Reliable Sources

Tom Bettag joins CNN Worldwide as senior executive producer of State of the Union with Candy Crowley and Reliable Sources, it was announced today by David Bohrman, SVP of Programming and Washington bureau chief. Bettag will oversee the Sunday public affairs programming lineup, effective immediately.

“Adding such a renowned producer as Tom to CNN’s lineup further reflects the network’s commitment to serious journalism,” said Bohrman. “Candy now will be a member of a very exclusive team of greats—such as Ted Koppel and Dan Rather—who have had the opportunity to work with Tom.”

“For years, Candy has been one of my favorite reporters. She’s not only tough and fair, but also brings a breath of fresh air to Sunday morning talk. I look forward to joining Candy and the team,” added Bettag. “And I’m thrilled to be part of, what I consider, to be the preeminent news organization in the country.”

Since launching one year ago, State of the Union has cemented its reputation as the place to hear the voices of everyday Americans, informed experts and A-list politicians. Candy Crowley took over the anchor chair earlier this month and will continue to work with her stellar team to craft a show that is relevant, interesting and informative.

In Bettag’s more than four decades in journalism, he has served as executive producer of CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, of ABC’s Nightline with Ted Koppel and of Koppel on Discovery on the Discovery Channel. Throughout his career he has earned six duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton Awards, three Overseas Press Club Awards and 30 Emmy Awards. In 2004, Bettag was honored with Quinnipiac University’s Fred Friendly Award, which recognizes those who have shown courage and forthrightness in preserving the rights of the First Amendment.

Bettag earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a graduate degree from Columbia University’s School of Journalism.

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 - Today on CNN’s Reliable Sources, host Howard Kurtz addresses Bernard Goldberg on-air regarding the cancellation of his appearance on the program. A transcript of Howard’s remarks are below and a framegrab is attached.

KURTZ: Before we go to break, author Bernard Goldberg was scheduled to appear on this program to talk about his new book on media bias – until Friday, when he abruptly canceled, without explanation, even though his people had approached us.

Now, I assume Bernie respects my work. His book, about the press supposedly being in the tank for Barack Obama, quotes me and my articles several times. There it is. He’s been out flogging the thing with Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, Lou Dobbs – people who agree with him. Do you think, maybe, he doesn’t want to leave his pals and face some skeptical questioning? Come on, Bernie, we’ll have a good debate on this issue, one-on-one, without bias. You’re welcome here anytime.

CNN Press Release - Special year-end editions of Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer, Reliable Sources and After Party will air in the final weekend of 2008, Saturday, Dec. 27 and Sunday, Dec. 28.

Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer: Best of 2008 will examine a remarkable year in news and look ahead at what is in store for 2009. CNN lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer will be joined by members of the “Best Political Team on Television” to look back at newsmaker interviews during the year of a historic election and a global economic crisis. Interviews with key political and business leaders including New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Sen. Hillary Clinton, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Sen. John McCain, President-elect Barack Obama, Gov. Sarah Palin and CNN founder Ted Turner. Airing Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. (ET), Blitzer and the panel will look ahead at the incoming Obama administration and discuss the future of the GOP.

Howard Kurtz hosts Reliable Sources: A Year in Review to examine coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign and changes in the news business. Kurtz will be joined by Amy Holmes, CNN political contributor; Bill Press, radio talk show host; Terence Smith, former PBS media correspondent; and Jessica Yellin, CNN national political correspondent. The one-hour program will air in its usual time slot, Sunday at 10 a.m. (ET).

After Party will be moderated by David Brody, CNN political contributor and correspondent for the Christian Broadcasting Network, and will air Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. (ET). Brody will host Michelle Cottle, senior editor at The New Republic; Christopher Hayes, Washington editor of The Nation; Stephen Hayes, senior writer at The Weekly Standard and CNN political contributor; and Tara Wall, deputy editorial page editor at The Washington Times and CNN political contributor. Guests will discuss the ailing economy, President-elect Obama’s plans upon taking office, foreign policy and the conservative-progressive divide in the United States.

A transcript of the program will be available at http://www.CNN.com/transcripts and from the Federal Document Clearing House.

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 - Following an election year in which its innovative coverage set new records for viewership and outdrew both the broadcast and cable news networks on Election Night, CNN is ensuring that Wolf Blitzer will continue serving as its lead political anchor through the next presidential race, while tapping John King to lead a bold new Sunday block of political programming.

Blitzer, who led CNN’s election coverage, has extended his contract as CNN’s lead political anchor and will continue to anchor the 15 hours of The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, which airs weekdays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. (ET). Throughout November, The Situation Room was the No. 1-rated weekday news program in all three hours among the key demo.

Following his break-out reporting during the election season, King will take the helm of a new Sunday four-hour news block from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (ET), debuting in January. The program will offer a unique blend of newsmaker interviews, political analysis, national and world affairs, cultural segments, media analysis and commentary.

“Wolf will continue redefining political coverage on television, as he’s done so successfully during this election. Wolf has driven CNN’s election coverage to No. 1 on primary and election nights and he has built The Situation Room into a dominant weekday program,” said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. “We are reinventing Sunday mornings around the best political reporter of his generation, John King. He has stood out throughout the election as the single best connected, most knowledgeable source of what’s going on and why, and this new program is an opportunity to showcase those strengths throughout the entire year.”

The first hour of the new program will focus heavily on politics and the new administration, while the later hours will delve into national and world affairs and commentary on current events. The four-hour programming block will also include Reliable Sources, hosted by Howard Kurtz, which will continue as an hour-long examination into the intersection of the national media, politics, and the hottest topics in news.

In addition to utilizing CNN’s unparalleled, worldwide newsgathering resources, King will integrate extensive reporting from the field nationally and globally. King will also incorporate innovative “Magic Wall” technology, which was instrumental during coverage of the 2008 election, to visually enhance reporting and story-telling. The program also will offer up thoughtful conversation with regional experts, pundits and CNN analysts and contributors.

As CNN’s lead anchor for the network’s political coverage, Blitzer has moderated several of CNN’s presidential primary debates and anchored coverage of the key primary and caucus nights as well as Election Night 2008. Since joining CNN in 1990, he has interviewed some of recent history's most notable figures including President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and former presidents Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford. Blitzer has also interviewed many foreign heads of state—former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, former South African President Nelson Mandela, among them—from locations around the world.

King, who joined the network in 1997 after a 12-year career at the Associated Press, will continue to hold the title of chief national correspondent in addition to his new role as anchor. He was an integral part of CNN’s innovative “America Votes 2008” coverage of the presidential campaign, traveling 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.” During his time 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.

CNN Press Release - In the days before the last votes are cast and counted in the 2008 presidential election, CNN will air special election programming throughout the weekend that features lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer and other members of the Best Political Team on Television.

On Saturday, Nov. 1, at 5 p.m. (ET), CNN political contributor and Christian Broadcasting Network senior correspondent David Brody will host the one-hour special Election Countdown: View from the Right. This roundtable discussion will examine the strength of the McCain-Palin ticket, the priorities for conservatives after the election and top issues on voters’ minds, including national security and the economy. Brody will be joined by Amanda Carpenter, national political reporter for Townhall.com; Brian DeBose, editorial writer for The Washington Times; Stephen Hayes, senior writer for The Weekly Standard; and Kevin Madden, Republican strategist and former press secretary for Gov. Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.

On Sunday, Nov. 2, Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer expands to a three-hour election special, airing from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (ET). Blitzer will be joined by McCain and Obama campaign surrogates and members of the Best Political Team about expectations on Election Day. Chief national correspondent John King will be on hand with the “Magic Wall” to zero in on the hotly contested battleground states and calculate electoral math based on the latest polling. Reliable Sources host Howard Kurtz will join Blitzer to lead panel discussions with fellow journalists about the coverage of the election.

To cap off the weekend, Blitzer will anchor a one-hour election preview special on Sunday at 8 p.m. (ET) He will be joined by members of the Best Political Team live from the campaign trail. Senior political analyst Bill Schneider will zero in on the latest polling data, and King will again break down the electoral map county-by-county in his analysis of battleground states.

Encore presentations of the 90-minute CNN Presents documentaries McCain Revealed and Obama Revealed will air back-to-back on Saturday at 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (ET), respectively.

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.

Fran Lewine, Washington DC Assignment Editor/Producer for CNN, died Saturday of an apparent stroke.


CNN.com has the obituary.


ICN has transcripts from Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer and Reliable Sources.


Greta Van Sustren remembers Fran in her blog.


She will definitely be missed.

CNN Pressroom - CNN’s Reliable Sources will air a special edition titled, “After Imus: The Media Fallout,” this Sunday, April 15, in which host Howard Kurtz and guests turn a critical lens on radio host Don Imus’ controversial remarks and the subsequent media firestorm.

For the special edition, guests will include Ana Marie Cox, Washington editor for TIME.com; Callie Crossley, media commentator on WGBH; and Clarence Page, a columnist for the Chicago Tribune. The panel will discuss what led up to Imus’s firing and what to expect next in the media. Tony Kornheiser, ESPN commentator, columnist for The Washington Post and frequent Imus guest, questions whether Imus has been treated fairly. Stephanie Miller, a nationally syndicated talk show host, and Roland Martin, a nationally syndicated columnist and CNN contributor, will discuss new parameters for shock talk on the radio.

CNN’s Reliable Sources airs Sundays 10 a.m.-11a.m. (ET). Laura Ellsworth is the program’s senior producer. Lucy Spiegel is the senior executive producer and vice president of weekend public affairs programming. A transcript of the program will be available at http://www.CNN.com/transcripts and from the Federal Document Clearing House.

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.