Wolf Is Going To Dance!

CNN will be welcoming a new journalist to their Special Investigations Unit Team. Below are excerpts from yesterday's press release:

Abbie Boudreau, a multiple Emmy-winning investigative reporter with ABC15 in Phoenix, will join CNN as an investigative correspondent, it was announced today by Mark Nelson, vice president and senior executive producer of CNN Productions which produces CNN: Special Investigations Unit, CNN Presents and other programming. Boudreau, who will join CNN Oct. 15, will be based at the network’s world headquarters in Atlanta.

“Abbie comes as a welcome addition to CNN as we continue expanding our investigative reporting with CNN: Special Investigations Unit and other long-form programming and investigative packages,” Nelson said. “In Phoenix, she demonstrated the rare ability to uncover stories with national implications from a local station. With the resources of CNN at her disposal, we anticipate even more high-impact results.”

“Investigative reporting is my passion, and I’m honored to join CNN as it expands its enterprise reporting efforts through Special Investigations Unit and other distinctive programs,” Boudreau said.

While at ABC15, Boudreau’s investigations exposed a cult posing as a drug-rehabilitation center for teenagers and uncovered improper spending habits of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, a report that won her a regional Edward R. Murrow award. In 2005, she was the first to report a possible design flaw produced by Cooper Tire & Rubber Co., the nation’s fourth largest tire manufacturer. A year later, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration launched an investigation into possible tire tread-separation defects in a line of Cooper tires.

Boudreau’s awards include four Rocky Mountain Emmy Awards for investigative reporting and writing, two regional Edward R. Murrow awards and honors from such groups as the Arizona AP Broadcasters Association, the Society of Professional Journalists and the American College of Emergency Physicians. Recently, her investigation into Cooper Tires earned her another regional Emmy nomination.

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On today's The Situation Room, Wolf Blitzer was showing off the Emmy CNN was awarded last night for the "America Votes 2006" midterm election coverage. Below are excerpts from today's press release:

The National Academy of Television and Arts and Sciences awarded CNN an Emmy award for the network’s live minute-by-minute coverage of the 2006 Election Day, in which Democrats took control of both the U.S. House and Senate for the first time in 12 years. The academy presented the 28th Annual News and Documentary Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 24, during a black-tie ceremony at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers in New York City.

“We’re pleased the Emmys have recognized CNN for having The Best Political Team on Television,” said Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S. “Our inventive Election Night coverage – combining dazzling production with rock-solid information – is the hallmark of what CNN is all about: We’re the place where the news comes alive.”

For Election Night in 2006, CNN rolled out the latest news gathering and news production technology to offer viewers the most content-rich election programming available anywhere. CNN’s 25-foot-wide video wall offered real-time information at a glance, offering vote tallies, live reports and other data from around the country simultaneously. A “smart screen” provided an interactive demonstration of the balance of power in both the House and Senate as results poured into the newsroom.

A breadth of political talent enabled the network to not only staff the studio with top analysts and correspondents but to place them strategically across the country for live reports from the scenes of the key races themselves.

In addition, CNN hosted its first “CNN E-lection Night Blog Party” in which the nation’s top political bloggers gathered to provide their own perspectives of the election.

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The title of today's post has nothing to do with the new season of Dancing With The Stars. There's breaking news on the Ellen / Wolf saga.... Yesterday, we found out that Ellen and Wolf have spoken and have agreed to appear on each other's programs! We here at All Thing CNN don't take sides, so first, we have a clip from Ellen when her show is interrupted so that she can talk to Wolf. (Keep an eye on the crawl at the bottom of the screen.)

And now, from The Situation Room, Wolf's reaction to talking to Ellen:

Let's hope that scheduling conflicts don't get in the way of making these appearances happen.