News Broadcasting
CNN announces senior appointments
MUMBAI: CNN International has made two senior level appointments, laying the foundation for future growth and development across CNN’s global network.
Journalist and news programming executive Katherine Green has been appointed to the lead position of senior vice president of CNN International programming. Green, most recently vice president/news director of WTTG/Fox 5 News in Washington, D.C., will be based at the network’s world headquarters in Atlanta. In addition, Mike McCarthy, managing editor for CNN International, has been promoted to the new position of vice president of coverage and feature programming.
In her new role at CNN International, Green will oversee all of the editorial production, program development, network talent and day-to-day operations of CNN International. CNN International executive VP, MD Tony Maddox says, “Katherine brings a unique and formidable track record in programming innovation, a wealth of editorial talent and really exciting ideas to this job. This is one of the key appointments for the international group, and Katherine’s exceptional management skills are what we need as we aggressively move into an era of digital development and growth for the network.”
During a career spanning more than 20 years, Green has been instrumental in launching new and innovative news broadcasts and winning numerous awards, including more than a dozen Edward R. Murrow awards, several Emmy awards and other honors from the Associated Press and other organizations. She has a long track record for both market growth and leadership in various U.S top 10 markets including Washington, D.C, Baltimore, Tampa/St. Petersburg, Fla., and New York.
Green said, “CNN epitomizes global news with a quality and integrity that other networks can only aspire to match. To be able to shape CNN International for the future is a rare opportunity and a challenge I relish.”
For his new role, McCarthy will remain based in Atlanta and will oversee major breaking news and the growing strand of feature programs produced in CNN’s London, Hong Kong and Atlanta production centers. “Mike is an exceptional journalist and newsroom leader, and his promotion solidifies a management team exceptionally equipped to energize our programming and create content not just for television but rapidly growing platforms inside and outside of CNN,” Maddox adds.
McCarthy has served as CNN International’s Atlanta-based managing editor since November 2002. Prior to this appointment, he was senior executive producer for news and business coverage from CNN’s regional production center in London, where he was instrumental in creating CNN International’s feature strand as well as relaunching the European morning wheel of programming with integrated news and business coverage.
McCarthy said, “One of the keys to our success in the future is harnessing the incredible reach of CNN International’s resources to create new and engaging multi-platform programming for an increasingly diverse and sophisticated audience”.
McCarthy joined CNN as a senior producer, business news in May 1999. He previously held the post of deputy programme editor at the London News Network, responsible for London Today and London Tonight.
News Broadcasting
Senior media executive Madhu Soman exits Zee Media
Former Reuters and Bloomberg leader says he leaves with “no regrets” after brief stint at WION and Zee Business
NOIDA: Madhu Soman, a veteran of global newsrooms and media sales floors, has stepped away from Zee Media Corporation after a short stint steering business strategy for WION and Zee Business.
In a reflective LinkedIn note marking his departure, Soman said his time within the network’s corridors was always likely to be brief. “Some chapters close faster than expected,” he wrote, signalling the end of a nearly two-year spell in which he oversaw both editorial partnerships and commercial strategy.
Soman joined Zee Media in 2022 after more than a decade abroad with Reuters and Bloomberg, returning to India to take on the role of chief business officer for WION and Zee Business. His mandate was ambitious: bridge the newsroom and the revenue desk while expanding digital and broadcast reach.
During the stint, Zee Business reached break-even for the first time since its launch in 2005, while WION refreshed programming and strengthened its digital footprint across platforms such as YouTube and Facebook.
But Soman suggested the cultural fit proved uneasy. Describing himself as a “cultural misfit”, he hinted at deeper tensions between editorial instincts shaped in global newsrooms and the realities of India’s television news ecosystem.
Before joining Zee, Soman spent more than seven years at Bloomberg in Hong Kong as head of broadcast sales for Asia-Pacific, expanding the company’s news syndication business across several markets. Earlier, he held senior editorial roles at Reuters, overseeing online strategy in India and managing Reuters Video Services from London.
His career began in television and wire reporting, including a stint with ANI during the 1999 Kargil conflict, before moving into digital publishing as India’s internet media landscape took shape.
Now, after nearly three decades in broadcast and digital media, Soman is leaving Delhi NCR and returning to his hometown, Trivandrum.
Exhausted, he admits. But unbowed. And with one quiet line that sums up the journey: he didn’t sell his soul — because some things, after all, are not for sale.
