News Broadcasting
CNN’s Jerusalem bureau gets new chief & correspondent
MUMBAI: New appointments are the order of the day at CNN’s Jerusalem center.
The organisation recently appointed Tom Fenton as the CNN’s Jerusalem bureau chief. The second appointment is that of award winning CNN reporter John Vause as CNN’s Jerusalem correspondent. Prior to the appointment, Vause was CNN International’s North American correspondent, based in Atlanta.
Fenton who is currently the vice president/deputy managing editor of international news gathering at CNN’s headquarters in Atlanta is one of the network’s most experienced field producers and editorial managers, having joined CNN in 1986. Before moving to Atlanta, he was CNN’s Frankfurt bureau chief covering international breaking news in Central Europe, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
“Jerusalem continues to be one of CNN’s most important news gathering operations and Tom is one of the most accomplished senior editors I know,” said CNN International managing director Chris Cramer. “Tom’s award winning coverage from Africa and his role in coordinating CNN’s oversees coverage during 9/11, the Afghan and Iraq wars from CNN’s Atlanta headquarters underscores his abilities and the importance CNN attaches to this appointment.”
In his current role Fenton played a central role in coordinating CNN’s coverage in Iraq and previous to that in Afghanistan. As one of CNN’s senior field producers he has covered events in Israel and the Palestinian territories and across the Middle East as well as in Eastern and Central Europe. His coverage from Africa won the prestigious Edward R. Murrow and News and Documentary Emmy awards for his reports on the child soldiers in Sierra Leone.
He has also won awards for his coverage of the following: a 1992 Emmy for coverage of Somalia; a 1992 CableACE for coverage of Persian Gulf War; and a 1995 Overseas Press Club Award for CNN’s 1995 Moneyline “Cuba” programs.
Fenton holds a bachelor’s degree in English, magna cum laude, from Duke University.
On the other hand, John Vause who has been appointed CNN’s Jerusalem correspondent also has a feather too many in his cap. Vause has won the prestigious Atlanta Press Club ‘Journalist of the Year’ award for his reporting from Israel and the Palestinian territories in 2003.
Since joining CNN, Vause has reported extensively from across the United States including New York in the aftermath of 11 September 2001. He also covered the war in Afghanistan and anchored CNN International’s coverage of the war in Iraq from the network’s studios in Kuwait City.
“This is a key appointment for CNN and for the team of correspondents based in the Middle East. John has shown an in-depth knowledge and tremendous skill when reporting from the region,” said Cramer.
“Since joining CNN I’ve travelled and reported extensively in the US and from many other parts of the world. Some of the most stimulating and challenging assignments have been in Asia and the Middle East and the opportunity to be based permanently in Jerusalem was hard to resist,” said Vause.
Before joining CNN in January 2001 Vause was the US bureau chief for Australia’s Seven Network based in New York. Prior to that, Vause worked with Seven Network’s ‘Seven Nightly News’ in Sydney and Nine Network in Melbourne as a senior correspondent respectively.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to air live counting day coverage for five state election results on May 4
The channel is rolling out its biggest election coverage machinery yet for results day on 4th May
NOIDA: The votes have been cast. Now comes the reckoning. CNN-News18 is pulling out all the stops for results day on 4th May, when counting begins across five battleground states — West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry — in what promises to be one of the most closely watched electoral verdicts in recent memory.
The channel’s coverage, titled Battle for the States: The Verdict, kicks off at 7am and runs through the day across linear TV, connected television and YouTube. It is the culmination of CNN-News18’s multi-format editorial initiative, Battle for the States, which has tracked the polls from the beginning under the theme Road to Power.
At the operational heart of the coverage will be the Live Results Hub, the channel’s central command centre built to collate, verify and process real-time data flowing in from reporters stationed at counting centres across constituencies. The hub combines newsroom intelligence, analytics and on-the-ground reporting to deliver what the channel promises will be the fastest and most accurate results coverage in English news.
Leading the on-air charge will be primetime anchors Rahul Shivshankar, Anand Narasimhan, Aman Sharma, Nabila Jamal and Shivani Gupta. They will be joined by a wide panel of commentators including author Chetan Bhagat; GVL Narasimha Rao, senior leader of the BJP; Smita Prakash, editor of ANI; activist Saira Shah Halim; political analyst Sumanth C Raman; Abhijit Iyer Mitra, senior fellow at IPCS; Amitabh Tiwari, founder of VoteVibe; columnist Abhijit Majumdar; Nalin Mehta, managing editor of MoneyControl; political analyst Tehseen Poonawalla; senior journalist Subir Bhaumik; and political analyst Manojit Mandal.
Shivshankar, who serves as editorial affairs director at CNN-News18, set out the stakes plainly. “Counting day is one of the most watched events in the electoral cycle, where speed and credibility are tested in real time,” he said. “Battle for the States: The Verdict is built on that promise, combining ground reporting, sharp analysis and cutting-edge election technology to give viewers the clearest and fastest route to the verdict. On May 4, CNN-News18 will once again be the nation’s most trusted channel to witness democracy in action.”
Smriti Mehra, chief executive of English and Business News at Network18, framed the coverage in broader terms. “Elections are defining national events, and audiences turn to brands they trust in moments that matter,” she said. “CNN-News18 has consistently led from the front in every election coverage, and this special programming reflects the scale of our ambition and editorial strength.”
The channel has form here. It claims to have been India’s most preferred English news destination for election results for the past 20 years, covering everything from the 2024 general elections to the Delhi, Maharashtra, Bihar and BMC polls on the back of what it calls an “Always First, Always Right” record. Five states, one day, and a nation waiting for answers. The clock starts at 7am on 4th May.
