Thursday, May 24, 2007
CNN Hires Entertainment, Pop Culture Correspondent for AM
Source: CNN Press Release Lola Ogunnaike, who served as a top culture reporter for The New York Times, will join CNN's flagship morning news program, American Morning, beginning Tuesday, May 29. Based in New York , Ogunnaike will report on pop culture and entertainment news as part of American Morning’s daily news coverage.
“Lola is as smart and thoughtful as she is fun and engaging – a combination we’re sure will connect with our audience,” said Ed Litvak, executive producer of American Morning. “Her years of experience doing sharp, insightful entertainment coverage will make her a great addition to our team.”
Ogunnaike has been covering entertainment news since 1999. Prior to joining CNN, Ogunnaike spearheaded The New York Times’ entertainment coverage, including profiles of celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Oprah Winfrey and Sting for the paper’s “Arts and Leisure” section. Before that, she was a features reporter at the New York Daily News, where she covered breaking news on celebrities and entertainment.
Previously, Ogunnaike was a contributing writer for Vibe magazine, where she was responsible for monthly music features and cover stories. She has also had her work published in Rolling Stone, New York , Glamour, Details, Nylon, the New York Observer and V Magazine. On air, she has made regular guest appearances on American Morning and Headline News’ Showbiz Tonight as well as NBC’s Today Show, MTV and VH1. Ogunnaike received her master’s in fine arts degree in journalism from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Virginia .
“Lola is as smart and thoughtful as she is fun and engaging – a combination we’re sure will connect with our audience,” said Ed Litvak, executive producer of American Morning. “Her years of experience doing sharp, insightful entertainment coverage will make her a great addition to our team.”
Ogunnaike has been covering entertainment news since 1999. Prior to joining CNN, Ogunnaike spearheaded The New York Times’ entertainment coverage, including profiles of celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Oprah Winfrey and Sting for the paper’s “Arts and Leisure” section. Before that, she was a features reporter at the New York Daily News, where she covered breaking news on celebrities and entertainment.
Previously, Ogunnaike was a contributing writer for Vibe magazine, where she was responsible for monthly music features and cover stories. She has also had her work published in Rolling Stone, New York , Glamour, Details, Nylon, the New York Observer and V Magazine. On air, she has made regular guest appearances on American Morning and Headline News’ Showbiz Tonight as well as NBC’s Today Show, MTV and VH1. Ogunnaike received her master’s in fine arts degree in journalism from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in English literature from the University of Virginia .
# posted by ATN @ 9:59 PM 
NBC Anchor Waiting for Opening at CNN
Source: NYP Page Six IF and when Paula Zahn leaves CNN, the other TV news operations won't be caught by surprise. Attractive anchor-babes are lined up like dominoes to fill the resulting vacancies. The leading candidate to take Zahn's slot is Campbell Brown, the underutilized anchor for the weekend edition of NBC's "Today." She's said to be frustrated, but NBC evidently doesn't have any plum job to offer her at the moment. "She's under contract until the end of June," an NBC spokeswoman told The Post. "We hope she stays with us for a very long time." TV insiders say if Brown doesn't go to CNN, she might go to "CBS Morning News," which is lagging way behind "Today" and "Good Morning America." Already said to have the inside track to replace Brown is MSNBC's Amy Robach, a former beauty queen who made a career stumble a few years ago when she wore an overly sexy dress to a party with network brass. "She's an up-and-comer," said one insider. "They want to train her for the next step up."
# posted by ATN @ 8:42 AM
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Grace to Air Special on Missing Kids Tomorrow
Friday is Missing Children's Day and HLN and Nancy Grace are planning a special program. The special is in honor of "Missing Children's Day" entitled, “Snatched: Protecting Your Kids.” Nancy will investigate cases of missing children who've touched all of our lives. From 12-year-old Polly Klaas, who was abducted from a slumber party and murdered, to the still unsolved case of missing Minnesota boy Jacob Wetterling, who was violently kidnapped while riding his bike. Their families and others close to them will speak out on tomorrow's show about what parents can do to better protect their children. Nancy will present a $25,000 check to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an organization Nancy and her show have long supported.
# posted by ATN @ 3:22 PM
CNN To Spotlight Fisher House Throughout Memorial Day Weekend
Source: CNN Press Release CNN Worldwide puts the spotlight on the on-going needs of the Fisher House Foundation this Memorial Day weekend, airing news reports on its networks and services as well as promotions to encourage its audiences to donate their frequent flyer airline miles to the Fisher House’s “Hero Miles” program.
Airlines participating in the foundation’s “Hero Miles” program have agreed to match donations made from 6 a.m. (ET) on Friday, May 25, through 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday, May 28. Those who wish to donate miles should visit the Fisher House Web site at www.fisherhouse.org.
The Fisher House provides temporary residence for families of patients receiving major medical care at military and Veterans Affairs medical centers. The foundation’s “Hero Miles” program is comprised of airlines whose passengers donate frequent flyer miles to assist service members and their families. Ten major airlines participate in this program: AirTran Airways, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways.
“As part of our ongoing relationship with the Fisher House Foundation, CNN is pleased to support once again Fisher House’s honorable mission aiding military service personnel and their families as they receive medical care and rehabilitative treatment,” said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide. “The donation of airline miles – and the generosity of the airlines to match them over the Memorial Day weekend – goes a long way to help those who sacrifice so much.”
“Fisher House Foundation is honored to have the major U. S. airlines as its partners in the ‘Hero Miles’ program,” said Ken Fisher, chairman of the Fisher House Foundation. “The program is now 3-1/2 years old, and through the generosity of the airlines and their passengers who donate their frequent flyer miles, we have been able to provide more than 9,500 free airline tickets to wounded service members and their families, saving them $12 million over the cost of comparable air travel. The “Hero Miles” program will benefit from the increased visibility and support from CNN and their viewers."
Earlier this year, CNN auctioned off a refurbished Hummer raising $1.25 million for the Fisher House Foundation. Nicknamed “Warrior One,” the Hummer was the subject of an episode of Overhaulin’, a highly rated program on TLC last fall. It toured military bases and Fisher Houses and appeared at military events across the country until it arrived in Scottsdale , Ariz. , for the Barrett Jackson Classic Car Auction, one of the premier car auctions in the world.
Airlines participating in the foundation’s “Hero Miles” program have agreed to match donations made from 6 a.m. (ET) on Friday, May 25, through 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday, May 28. Those who wish to donate miles should visit the Fisher House Web site at www.fisherhouse.org.
The Fisher House provides temporary residence for families of patients receiving major medical care at military and Veterans Affairs medical centers. The foundation’s “Hero Miles” program is comprised of airlines whose passengers donate frequent flyer miles to assist service members and their families. Ten major airlines participate in this program: AirTran Airways, Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Frontier Airlines, Midwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines and US Airways.
“As part of our ongoing relationship with the Fisher House Foundation, CNN is pleased to support once again Fisher House’s honorable mission aiding military service personnel and their families as they receive medical care and rehabilitative treatment,” said Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide. “The donation of airline miles – and the generosity of the airlines to match them over the Memorial Day weekend – goes a long way to help those who sacrifice so much.”
“Fisher House Foundation is honored to have the major U. S. airlines as its partners in the ‘Hero Miles’ program,” said Ken Fisher, chairman of the Fisher House Foundation. “The program is now 3-1/2 years old, and through the generosity of the airlines and their passengers who donate their frequent flyer miles, we have been able to provide more than 9,500 free airline tickets to wounded service members and their families, saving them $12 million over the cost of comparable air travel. The “Hero Miles” program will benefit from the increased visibility and support from CNN and their viewers."
Earlier this year, CNN auctioned off a refurbished Hummer raising $1.25 million for the Fisher House Foundation. Nicknamed “Warrior One,” the Hummer was the subject of an episode of Overhaulin’, a highly rated program on TLC last fall. It toured military bases and Fisher Houses and appeared at military events across the country until it arrived in Scottsdale , Ariz. , for the Barrett Jackson Classic Car Auction, one of the premier car auctions in the world.
# posted by ATN @ 3:17 PM
The Press Release: CNN and IB Team Up
Source: CNN Press Release CNN and Internet Broadcasting, the nation’s largest publisher of TV station Web sites, have entered a strategic alliance that combines Internet Broadcasting’s network of local news content with CNN’s global newsgathering resources, it was announced today by Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide.
As part of the relationship, CNN and Internet Broadcasting will also create a unique advertising opportunity that leverages CNN.com’s national audience with Internet Broadcasting’s local reach. To reinforce the strategic alliance, CNN will acquire an equity stake in Internet Broadcasting, joining Hearst-Argyle Television, Post-Newsweek Stations, McGraw-Hill Broadcasting and Split Rock Partners as investors in the company.
“CNN’s global reporting attracts millions of online consumers to CNN.com for domestic and international news every day,” Walton said. “Partnering with Internet Broadcasting adds another dimension – enhanced coverage of local news and events – and brings CNN reporting to significantly more people online.”
As part of their agreement, the companies will share local, national and international content important to online news consumers. Leveraging its network of TV station Web sites, Internet Broadcasting will supply local news content to CNN.com, which will appear on the home page as well as in the “U.S. News” and “Weather” sections. In turn, national, political and international content from CNN.com will appear on the home page and national news pages of Internet Broadcasting sites.
“Our partnership with CNN provides tremendous benefits for our online news consumers, station partners and advertisers,” said Reid Johnson, founder and president of Internet Broadcasting. “Our visitors expect the most up-to-date coverage of news that hits home from our award-winning online journalists who sit in the newsrooms of our partner stations. Now, our visitors gain access to one of the most trusted global news sources, CNN, on their local TV station Web site. Our advertisers also benefit by getting the best of both worlds – national reach and local relevance.”
The companies will create a new and distinctive online advertising opportunity that will offer relevant, new ad platforms for clients on both a national and local level by leveraging the broad national reach of CNN.com with the local and regional reach of Internet Broadcasting’s sites. Internet Broadcasting will offer select CNN.com ad placements as part of its nationwide, regional or market-by-market advertising packages.
Internet Broadcasting is the largest publisher of local news online. The company publishes a national network of TV station Web sites for America's premier broadcasters, including: Hearst-Argyle Television, McGraw-Hill Broadcasting, Post-Newsweek Stations, NBC, Cox Television, Meredith Broadcasting, Scripps and Morgan Broadcasting. Each month, one in every 12 online Americans visits an Internet Broadcasting site, making it one of the nation's top 50 Web properties according to Nielsen//NetRatings. The company is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta. For more information, visit www.ibsys.com.
As part of the relationship, CNN and Internet Broadcasting will also create a unique advertising opportunity that leverages CNN.com’s national audience with Internet Broadcasting’s local reach. To reinforce the strategic alliance, CNN will acquire an equity stake in Internet Broadcasting, joining Hearst-Argyle Television, Post-Newsweek Stations, McGraw-Hill Broadcasting and Split Rock Partners as investors in the company.
“CNN’s global reporting attracts millions of online consumers to CNN.com for domestic and international news every day,” Walton said. “Partnering with Internet Broadcasting adds another dimension – enhanced coverage of local news and events – and brings CNN reporting to significantly more people online.”
As part of their agreement, the companies will share local, national and international content important to online news consumers. Leveraging its network of TV station Web sites, Internet Broadcasting will supply local news content to CNN.com, which will appear on the home page as well as in the “U.S. News” and “Weather” sections. In turn, national, political and international content from CNN.com will appear on the home page and national news pages of Internet Broadcasting sites.
“Our partnership with CNN provides tremendous benefits for our online news consumers, station partners and advertisers,” said Reid Johnson, founder and president of Internet Broadcasting. “Our visitors expect the most up-to-date coverage of news that hits home from our award-winning online journalists who sit in the newsrooms of our partner stations. Now, our visitors gain access to one of the most trusted global news sources, CNN, on their local TV station Web site. Our advertisers also benefit by getting the best of both worlds – national reach and local relevance.”
The companies will create a new and distinctive online advertising opportunity that will offer relevant, new ad platforms for clients on both a national and local level by leveraging the broad national reach of CNN.com with the local and regional reach of Internet Broadcasting’s sites. Internet Broadcasting will offer select CNN.com ad placements as part of its nationwide, regional or market-by-market advertising packages.
Internet Broadcasting is the largest publisher of local news online. The company publishes a national network of TV station Web sites for America's premier broadcasters, including: Hearst-Argyle Television, McGraw-Hill Broadcasting, Post-Newsweek Stations, NBC, Cox Television, Meredith Broadcasting, Scripps and Morgan Broadcasting. Each month, one in every 12 online Americans visits an Internet Broadcasting site, making it one of the nation's top 50 Web properties according to Nielsen//NetRatings. The company is headquartered in Minneapolis with offices in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Atlanta. For more information, visit www.ibsys.com.
# posted by ATN @ 12:19 PM
CNN.com to Get Redesigned; Adding More Local Content
Source: Wall Street Journal In a strategy shift, CNN, known primarily for national and international news, is expected to announce a deal that will allow it to offer more local news on its Web site and, it hopes, land a bigger slice of the fast-growing market for local online ads.The deal, with Internet Broadcasting, a privately held Minneapolis-based company that publishes the Web sites of 70 local TV stations, allows CNN to use local stories from any of those sites, and vice versa. As part of the deal, CNN is also taking a minority equity stake in the company.
From a consumer perspective, the new arrangement won't look much different from what now exists on the sites of CNN's chief rivals in online news, MSNBC and Yahoo. Like those sites, CNN.com will include local news among its top stories of the day, and surfers will be able to move back and forth between national, international and local news.
The big difference will be in the business arrangement that CNN has struck with its partner. MSNBC and Yahoo syndicate stories from outlets such as the Associated Press and Reuters. CNN, by contrast, hopes that the content-swap arrangement will drive up user traffic both on CNN.com and the local sites, allowing all parties involved to charge higher advertising rates. That would theoretically pave the way for Internet Broadcasting affiliates to expand their national ad sales.
# posted by ATN @ 10:22 AM
CNN to Abandon Fee for CNN PipeLine
Source: AJC The free-lunch-on-the-Internet crowd has won another round.CNN is giving up on the idea of charging for CNN Pipeline, launched in late 2005 as a $25-a-year service providing four "streams" of video with footage of breaking news.
CNN plans to redesign and repackage its Internet offerings, said spokeswoman Jennifer L. Martin. Plans call for "folding" Pipeline into that new format on July 1.
More than 6 million users visit the CNN site each day. CNN declined to say how many are subscribers to CNN Pipeline. However, on its best day — the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — Pipeline pulled in 1.2 million viewers.
But it was free that day, as it is on days of major news events, Martin said.
The idea in Pipeline was to exploit the habit of many American office workers who check news on the Net during the day. CNN hoped that people would gladly plunk down a few dollars to add moving pictures to the stories and photographs.
There are several reasons to give up charging. For one, it is has become much cheaper to deliver video, Martin said. "Today, bandwidth is much less expensive than when CNN Pipeline launched, and online news consumers are streaming broadband video at a much greater rate."
Moreover, it appears CNN was unable to overcome the popular notion that, like butterflies, clicks are free. Figuring the Net-consumer might simply prefer smaller bites, CNN added variations on the pricing, offering monthly access for $2.95 and even a 99-cent day pass.
CNN will not charge for Pipeline after this month. After that, some subscribers will get a refund, Martin said. "It is not fair to charge for a year if they didn't get a full year.
# posted by ATN @ 10:18 AM
O'brien:"I don't have it all, I don't want to."
CNN's Soledad O'brien spoke at the fourth installment of the Smart Talk Women's Lecture Series in Iowa Monday. She spoke about being a mom of four while juggling a career in cable news:O'Brien was candid about her life on and off the CNN set - despite the fact that being a mom of four and television journalist isn't always glamorous.
"I don't have it all, I don't want to. I don't cook much. In fact, I like saying, 'I didn't make it, but I made it happen,' " she said to a roar of approval from the audience. "I don't go out at night; I go to bed at 9 p.m. And I haven't seen a movie that didn't star a cartoon character in the past 10 years, but that's OK. If we'd stop judging ourselves and stop judging others, we'd make some progress on the things that matter to us, both male and female."
O'Brien, a wife and mother of four - daughters age 6 and 5 and the twin sons - said motherhood has changed her perspective toward developments in her professional life. For instance, while colleagues complained about 18-hour flights to Thailand to cover the 2004 tsunami, she appreciated the rare peace and quiet that the trip provided. MORE
# posted by ATN @ 10:13 AM
