CNN’s Live Coverage of School Shooting

CNN’s live coverage of the school shooting in Connecticut includes Susan Candiotti on location.  Ashleigh Banfield and Jason Carroll are covering the story as well. CNN and CNN International are in simulcast.  CNN en Español, HLN and CNN.com continue with their live coverage.

This weekend's programming has also been changed:

SATURDAY, December 15, 2012

THE SITUATION ROOM WITH WOLF BLITZER – Airs Saturday LIVE 6:00PM – 7:00PM

Coverage of the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut

Anchor: Wolf Blitzer

SUNDAY, December 16, 2012

STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY – Airs LIVE Sunday 9:00AM – 10:00AM and NOON

Coverage of the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut

Anchor:  Candy Crowley

RELIABLE SOURCES – Airs LIVE Sunday 11:00AM – NOON

Coverage of the shootings in Newtown, Connecticut

Host:      Howard Kurtz

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Piers Morgan on The View 12/10/12

 

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Arwa Damon in Vogue

Photographed by Bjarne Jonasson

Vogue.com has a great article on CNN's Arwa Damon with quotes from CNN colleagues Tony Maddox and Anderson Cooper.  Here's the first few paragraphs, to read the entire piece just click on this link. 


The Manhattan apartment CNN’s Arwa Damon has been camping out in this past week is a disaster zone. Among the flock of pashminas and well-worn jeans are all the trappings of a Boy Scout: fingerless gloves; bottles of DEET; dry shampoo; a bandanna that, with a pen, can be jury-rigged into a tourniquet; LED headlamps; small black nylon hoods (“because here’s the deal: We’re using night-vision cameras with bright screens, and we don’t want to be seen,” she says); size 8 combat boots; three cell phones (­American, Libyan, Lebanese); a heap of dark clothing. “I buy colors, but I don’t wear them,” says the diminutive blonde, her hair tucked into a paperboy cap. “Black is easier.” She throws it all into a suitcase, forming a pile twice its height, and points to a backpack in the corner. “When I’m on assignment, everything I need has to be carried on my back.” She climbs on top of the suitcase and zips it closed.
In the weeks since Damon discovered the personal diary of Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens in the burned-out American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, this 35-year-old television reporter has been at the center of a developing story—never a comfortable position for someone whose job is to break the news, not create it. She and a cameraman arrived at the consulate three days after the terrorist attack on September 11, and, with no U.S. officials or security on the scene, they went right in—cameras rolling, lights blazing. “It was a grim sight,” Damon says. Smashed furniture was everywhere; tile shards littered the floor. “There were smeared partial handprints. The safe room was completely burned from the inside.” In an ash-shrouded bedroom, Damon found the ambassador’s hardbound diary, set in plain view on the floor between the bed and an upholstered side chair. The seven pages of handwritten scrawl inside revealed a man who had begun to fear for his safety in a country only recently emerging from revolution.
Damon’s network broadcast her footage and reported on concerns raised in the diary, sparking a now-roiling debate over security conditions in Benghazi. Why was the consulate so lightly defended? Why were news crews seemingly the only ones with eyes and ears on the ground after the attack? The State Department weighed in harshly, calling CNN “disgusting” for its use of the ambassador’s diary as a source (CNN says the Stevens family was contacted within hours of the discovery and the diary’s newsworthy content was independently corroborated).
Damon doesn’t revel in the reporting that initiated a national outrage. Nor does she waste a minute worrying about what Hillary Clinton’s team thinks of her. “Honestly, it’s a blip,” she says, piling her final pieces of gear into the backpack. “You never want to be part of the news. But doing what I do, you’re used to curveballs. You deal with it because you deal with everything.”

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Your Views on the News 12/10/12

It's been a while since we asked our loyal readers to give their opinion on how to fix CNN. With a new president set to come on board in January and the an article in today's NY Post  (read after the jump) about changes he's considering we thought it the perfect time for you to tell Mr. Zucker how you'd fix CNN.  It's all in good fun but you never know who might be reading so here's your chance. 

Read more »

Jack Cafferty Exits CNN

Blame it on the busy holiday season but we totally missed that Jack Cafferty's contract was not renewed and his last day at CNN was November 15th.  TVNewser reported last week:

Jack Cafferty, resident curmudgeon on “The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer,” whose TV news career began 52 years ago in Reno, has left CNN, TVNewser has learned.
Cafferty has provided commentary and insight for “The Situation Room,” since 2005. Previously at CNN, he was co-host on “American Morning,” and of a weekend business show. Before joining CNN, Cafferty was with the now shuttered CNNfn business channel.
Cafferty was a fixture in the New York market where he spent more than 20 years at three stations: WPIX, WNYW and WNBC.
Cafferty was last see on “The Situation Room” Nov. 15 which was his last day. Cafferty’s contract with CNN was not renewed.
“There is no one like Jack Cafferty,” says a CNN spokesperson. “He’s brought a lot of wit and wisdom to viewers over the years.”

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This Weekend's Programming 12/8/ & 12/9/12

SATURDAY, December 8, 2012

SANJAY GUPTA, MD – Airs Saturday 4:30PM – 5:00PM

This week on Sanjay Gupta MD, Sanjay talks with Frankie Muniz – fondly remembered for “Malcolm in the Middle,” and now the drummer for the band Kingsfoil.  Muniz shocked the world this week when he said he had suffered a mini-stroke. He tells Sanjay the real story behind his frightening experience.  Also, the latest on diagnosing and treating "hoarding."

 

THE SITUATION ROOM WITH WOLF BLITZER – Airs Saturday 6:00PM – 7:00PM

Topic:   Leaving Congress

Guest:  Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC)

Guest:  Edwin J. Feulner, president and founding trustee, The Heritage Foundation

Topic:   Syria; Hillary Clinton

Guest:  Tony Blair, former British Prime Minister

Anchor: Wolf Blitzer

CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE (Encore Presentation) – Airs Saturday 8:00PM – 10:00PM and 11:00PM (Sunday 2:00AM and 4:00AM)

Hosted by Anderson Cooper, "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute" celebrates the year's top 10 CNN Heroes, who each receive a $50,000 grant for their extraordinary efforts to improve the lives of others. At the end of the show, Cooper will announce the CNN Hero of the Year. That person, one of the top 10 Heroes, has been selected by a public vote that ended Wednesday on CNN.com. He or she will receive an additional $250,000 to continue their work. Many celebrities will be joining CNN to help tell these Heroes' remarkable stories at Sunday's show. This year's celebrity presenters include movie stars Susan Sarandon, Adrien Brody, Maria Bello, Viola Davis, Harvey Keitel and Josh Duhamel; athletes Jeff Gordon and Cullen Jones; and hip-hop artist 50 Cent. Television stars Rainn Wilson ("The Office"), Rico Rodriguez ("Modern Family"), Jane Lynch ("Glee"), Miranda Cosgrove ("iCarly") and David Spade ("Rules of Engagement") will also be in attendance. During the show, three-time Grammy Award winner Ne-Yo will be performing, as will "American Idol" winner Phillip Phillips.

SUNDAY, December 9, 2012

SANJAY GUPTA, MD – Airs Sunday 7:30AM – 8:00AM

This week on Sanjay Gupta MD, Sanjay talks with Frankie Muniz – fondly remembered for “Malcolm in the Middle,” and now the drummer for the band Kingsfoil.  Muniz shocked the world this week when he said he had suffered a mini-stroke. He tells Sanjay the real story behind his frightening experience.  Also, the latest on diagnosing and treating "hoarding."

STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY – Airs LIVE Sunday 9:00AM – 10:00AM and NOON

Topic:    Fiscal Cliff; World Economy; A Look at the Euro

Guest:   Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund

Topic:    Fiscal Cliff Negotiations

Guest:   Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN)

Guest:   Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK)

Topic:    Fiscal Cliff; Politics

Guest:   Mark Zandi, chief Economist for Moody's Analytics

Guest:   Stephen Moore, editorial board member and senior economics writer, The Wall Street Journal

Guest:   Dana Bash, senior congressional correspondent, CNN

Guest:   Jackie Calmes, White House correspondent, The New York Times

Anchor:  Candy Crowley

FAREED ZAKARIA GPS – Airs 10:00AM – 11:00AM and 1:00PM – 2:00PM     

Topic:      Will a ‘grand bargain’ be reached before the ‘fiscal cliff?’; Should the U.S. be concerned about chemical weapons in Syria?; Will Morsy stick with democracy?

Guest:     James A. Baker, former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury (Ronald Reagan Administration), former Secretary of State (George H.W. Bush Administration).  

Topics:    A cure for cancer on the horizon?

Guest:     Ronald A. DePinho, MD, president of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Anchor:   Fareed Zakaria

RELIABLE SOURCES – Airs LIVE Sunday 11:00AM – NOON

Topics:   Bob Costas’ Controversial Halftime Comments

Guest:    Mike Wise, sports columnist, The Washington Post

Guest:    Christine Brennan, sports writer, USA Today

Topics:   NY Post Publishes Photo of Man on Subway Track; MSNBC Anchors Visit the White House; Fox News Relationship with David Petraeus

Guest:    Callie Crossley, host of “Boston Public Radio,” WGBH

Guest:    Erik Wemple, media critic, The Washington Post

Topics:   New Book

Guest:    Jake Tapper, senior White House correspondent, ABC News; author, “The Outpost”

Topics:   Raising a Son with Asperger Syndrome

Guest:    Ron Fournier, editorial director, National Journal

Host:      Howard Kurtz

THE NEXT LIST –  Sunday 2:00PM – 2:30PM

This week The Next List profiles Neri Oxman, a designer, an architect, artist and a professor who believes that we could one day in the very near future 3D print our buildings. Oxman founded the Mediated Matter group at MIT’s Media Lab where she’s experimenting with different printable materials – everything from concrete to silk.  

WHO IS BLACK IN AMERICA? – Airs Sunday 8:00PM – 9:00PM and 11:00PM (Monday 2:00AM)

For her fifth exploration of African-American history, issues, and culture, CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien explores interpretations of race and identity for African Americans.  The 2010 U.S. Census reported 15 percent of new marriages are interracial, and one in seven American newborns are of mixed race, yet racial identity is often complicated by perspectives of community acceptance.  O’Brien follows the journeys of two high school seniors as they explore their own senses of racial identity, expressing their feelings through a spoken word workshop in Philadelphia.  O’Brien also interviews Drexel University professor Yaba Blay, spoken word artist Perry “Vision” DiVirgilio, anti-racism activist and author Tim Wise, and writer, speaker, and image activist Michaela Angela Davis about the historical roots of how race is often defined in America, the prejudicial concept of colorism, and discusses their reflections on categorizing people by race, and racial identity.

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Sunday's New Soledad O'Brien Special 'Who is Black in America?'

Soledad O’Brien Explores Racial and Ethnic Identity in Provocative Black in America

Who is Black in America? Debuts Sunday, Dec. 09 at 8:00p.m. and 11:00p.m. ET & PT

“I don’t really feel Black,” says 17-year-old Nayo Jones.  Her mother is Black; she was raised apart from her by her White father, and she identifies herself as biracial.  “I was raised up with White people, White music, White food so it’s not something I know,” she says in a new documentary that explores the sensitive concepts of race, cultural identity, and skin tone.

For the fifth installment of her groundbreaking Black in America series, CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien reports for Who is Black in America?  The documentary debuts Sunday, Dec. 09 at 8:00p.m. and 11:00p.m. ET & PT and replays on Saturday, Dec. 15 at 8:00p.m. and 11:00p.m. ET & PT. 

Is Jones Black?  Is Blackness based upon skin color or other factors?  The 2010 U.S. Census found 15 percent of new marriages are interracial, a figure that is twice what was reported in 1980.  One in seven American newborns were of mixed race in 2010, representing an increase of two percent from the 2000 U.S. Census.  Within this context, O’Brien examines how much regarding race and identity are personal choices vs. reflections of an external social construct. 

Tim Wise, an author and anti-racism activist believes in self identification, but says, in practice, society often will remind biracial people like Jones of their Blackness, “in a million subtle ways,” he says in the documentary.

As the hour unfolds, O’Brien follows Jones, and her best friend and fellow high school student Becca Khalil, as they take part in a spoken word workshop led by the Philadelphia-based poet, Perry “Vision” DiVirgilio. 

Vision, who is biracial, says he never felt quite White or Black enough to fit in with friends who had parents of one race.  Vision identifies as Black, and says that identity is more than skin – that identity encompasses experiences and struggles.  Through his workshop, he encourages young people to think, talk, and write about identity, as well as the concept of colorism, which he blames for his early struggles with self-esteem and identity.

“Colorism is a system in which light skin is more valued than dark skin,” says Drexel University’s assistant teaching professor for Africana studies, Yaba Blay.  Blay tells O’Brien that, as a young African-American woman growing up in New Orleans, she felt discriminated against – often by lighter skinned African Americans – due to her dark skin tone. 

Blay’s work focuses on how prejudice related to skin tone can confuse and negatively impact identity and self esteem.  She aims to help others also develop positive images of cultural identity – for African Americans of all shades.

Often complicating concepts of identity beyond multiracial heritage is skin tone.  Khalil, who has light-colored skin and two parents who are Egyptian in origin, identifies herself as African American.  She feels contemporaries dismiss her African American identity due to her light skin tone.  She says in the documentary that she wishes she had darker skin.

Writer, producer, and image activist, Michaela Angela Davis says she accepts that race is a social construct, but she feels it is important for people to name and claim their own racial identity: “You are who you say that you are,” she says in the documentary.

Online, a complimentary digital extension will continue the discussion of Who is Black in America? by featuring iReports, news stories, and opinion pieces on what racial identity means today from a variety of perspectives.  Stories can be found at www.cnn.com/blackinamerica.   

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