MUMBAI: Former US congressman J C Watts Jr will join CNN as a regular contributor to offer analysis on politics and policy for programs throughout the network. The announcement was made by CNN US president Jon Klein.
“J C is one of the most respected and effective conservative communicators in the nation’s capital. We are glad to welcome him to the CNN team and look forward to his insightful contributions to our network,” Klein said.
Watts was elected to the US Congress from the fourth district of Oklahoma in 1994. In 1998, he was elected by his peers to serve as chairman of the Republican Conference, the fourth-ranking leadership position in the majority party in the US House of Representatives.
As a member of Congress, Watts served for eight years on the House Armed Services Committee and later on the House Select Committee on Homeland Security. Watts was the author of president George W Bush’s faith-based initiative, the Community Solutions Act of 2001.
Currently, Watts is the chairman of the J C Watts Companies, where he owns and operates several businesses and works with clients on business growth and public affairs strategies. He advises or serves as a corporate director for several major companies, including John Deere, Wells Fargo, Nascar, SBC Communications, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Clear Channel Communications, Dillard’s Department Stores and Terex Corporation. Watts also writes a bi-monthly column for more than a dozen newspapers.
He attended the University of Oklahoma, where he graduated in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. At Oklahoma, Watts was quarterback for the Sooners, leading them to two consecutive Big Eight championships and Orange Bowl victories.
Tag: Jon Klein
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Former US Congressman J C Watts Jr. joins CNN as contributor
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CNN US puts Wolf Blitzer in ‘The Situation Room’
MUMBAI: Veteran news anchor Wolf Blitzer will convene teams of top CNN correspondents and experts on the news of the moment in The Situation Room in the US.
The programme will blend traditional newsgathering with up-to-the-second information from online sources on homeland security, politics as well as US and world affairs. The Situation Room will replace Inside Politics, Crossfire and Wolf Blitzer Reports. The programme debuts next month.
CNN US president Jon Klein said, “The Situation Room becomes a showcase for CNN’s unparalleled, world-wide newsgathering operations. The block marks the most active part of the news day, when stories start to gel and begin stacking up like planes over O’Hare Airport. There will be no better place to monitor developments than in The Situation Room, whose studio has been expressly designed to incorporate traditional reporting methods with the most innovative online resources, such as blogs, Web sites and podcasts.”
The programme draws together CNN’s extensive reporting and analysis resources including its renowned political and polling units, D.C. beats, national and global newsgathering bureaus.
The programme will gather dozens of experts, analysts and opinion leaders, establishing a CNN Security Council with expertise spanning topics from personal security to the economy to the war on terrorism. Regular contributors will include former Crossfire hosts Paul Begala, James Carville and Robert Novak; political analysts Victoria Clarke, Jeff Greenfield, Bill Schneider and Carlos Watson.Viewers will also hear from security analysts such as former Defense Secretary William Cohen, Richard Falkenrath, a former terrorism advisor to President George W. Bush, and former CIA acting director John McLaughlin.
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John King is CNN US chief national correspondent
MUMBAI: CNN US has announced that John King will be its chief national correspondent. King’s new Washington, D.C.-based assignment will be a broad mandate for a range of reporting on interesting and important stories in the US and around the world.
CNN US president Jon Klein said, “John is a brilliant journalist who approaches each assignment with great fervor and dedication. During his on-site reporting of the tsunami aftermath, we witnessed the breadth of John’s capabilities beyond the White House beat. Our viewers are better served by having him out in the field.”
CNN US VP and Washington bureau chief David Bohrman said, “Here in CNN’s Washington bureau, we all know John as our senior White House correspondent. I remember meeting him when he was one of the very best reporters of any medium on any beat. This new assignment will allow King to use his range of interests and knowledge in a broader variety of reporting areas.”
King has served as CNN’s senior White House correspondent since 1999 and has been with CNN since 1997. King’s tenure included a lead role in coverage of the 2004 presidential election, the events leading up to and around the war with Iraq, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the tax-cut debates of 2001and 2003 and the global war on terrorism. He has conducted one-on-one interviews with an array of senior officials, including President George W. Bush, first lady Laura Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and current Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. King travelled with Cheney to the Middle East in March 2002 as the administration began to build support for confronting Saddam Hussein.
In December 2004, King travelled with Powell to Thailand and other South Asian countries to cover the disaster and aftermath of the tsunami that took more than 175,000 lives in the region.