CNN on TDS

The Daily Show on Monday, May 6th with Christiane Amanpour

The Daily Show on Wednesday, May 8th:

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Christiane Amanpour Returns to CNN Worldwide

Christiane Amanpour Returns to CNN Worldwide

AMANPOUR debuts Monday, April 16, 3:00pm Eastern on CNN International

Christiane Amanpour will host a new daily foreign affairs program on CNN International that will launch on Monday, April 16, it was announced today.

Beginning with the program’s launch, the 30-minute daily broadcast of Amanpour, will air weeknights at 3:00pm, and replay at 5:00pm. All times are Eastern.

“We are delighted to have Christiane back at CNN,” said Tony Maddox, executive vice president and managing director for CNN International. “Christiane’s sophisticated, incisive journalism is needed now, more than ever to add context and depth to the world’s biggest news and stories,” Maddox said.

Read more »

CNN on Comedy Central

Jon Stewart shared his opinion of CNN's Whitney Houston coverage on his February 14th show.

Stephen Colbert guest on February 2nd was CNN's Christiane Amanpour.





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Your Views On The News March 23, 2010

John King's new program debuted last night, did you watch it? What did you think?
Also curious about your opinions on the Washington Post column on Christiane Amanpour's move to ABC News. Here's the place to put your views on the news.

By Tom Shales
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
If being the moderator of "This Week," ABC's Sunday morning news-talk show, required Senate approval, then journalist Christiane Amanpour -- recently named by ABC News President David Westin to take over the job -- would already be in big trouble.
In a way, Amanpour, scheduled to leave CNN after 18 years of international coverage and take over the program in August, could be seen as the opposite of the perfect candidate. "This Week" deals mainly in domestic politics and inside-the-Beltway palaver, an area where Amanpour is widely considered to deficient. Consider: Whenever CNN has thrown one of its big election-night, convention, or presidential debate spectaculars, drafting nearly every living staff member to appear, Amanpour has had a conspicuously low profile.
And even though Amanpour has often been touted for her expertise on foreign affairs, she has vocal and passionate critics in that arena as well. Supporters of Israel have more than once charged Amanpour with bias against that country and its policies. A Web site devoted to criticism of Amanpour is titled, with less than a modicum of subtlety, "Christiane Amanpour's Outright Bias Against Israel Must Stop," available via Facebook.
Amanpour grew up in Great Britain and Iran. Her family fled Tehran in 1979 at the start of the Islamic revolution, when she was college age. She has steadfastly rejected claims about her objectivity, telling Leslie Stahl last year relative to her coverage of Iran: "I am not part of the current crop of opinion journalists or commentary journalists or feelings journalists. I strongly believe that I have to remain in the realm of fact."
The conservative Media Research Center, on its NewsBuster blog, claims Amanpour has the "standard liberal outlook on the world," but then there don't seem to be many journalists that conservatives do not consider liberal
The group called Westin's selection of Amanpour to anchor "This Week" a "bizarre choice," but had also knocked her predecessor in the job, George Stephanopoulos, who has since moved on to "Good Morning America" and who previously worked to elect Bill Clinton and served in his White House.
As if outside opposition to Amanpour weren't enough, ABC News is practically in a state of internal revolt over her selection, according to such industry-watchers as TV Newser, which quotes ABC insiders as resenting Westin's hiring of a highly paid celebrity interloper for a job that many thought would go to White House correspondent Jake Tapper or to "Nightline" co-anchor Terry Moran. Either would have made a better "This Week" anchor, and neither would put ABC News in the position of having to rationalize spending big bucks on an superstar while making brutal cutbacks in the division.
Referring to the ABC staff as "too demoralized to care" about the nomination, an unnamed network veteran told TV Newser, "The appointment of Amanpour is a sideshow" because "the future of a Sunday morning talk show is trivial to people who believe they have no future at ABC News."
In defense of ABC, morale is hardly sky-high at any of the network news departments as personnel pruning continues and the news divisions try to deal with changes in TV technology and the exploding proliferation of news sources thanks to cable and the Web.
ABC News executives apparently see the future as belonging to so-called "backpack journalists" who can lug video equipment around and shoot their own reports -- much like a character once devised and played by Al Franken (now a congressman, of course) on "Saturday Night Live." Franken's jerk-of-all-trades one-man news bureau even had a small satellite dish on his head.
Giving Amanpour the "This Week" job seems like one more bitter pill for ABC professionals to swallow, even as they overdose on all the others they've been forced to gulp down. After artfully orchestrating a smooth transition from Charlie Gibson to Diane Sawyer on ABC's "World News," Westin now seems to have ended his winning streak with a resounding clunk.
From many angles, it was a bad choice -- one which could create so much consternation that Westin will be forced to withdraw Amanpour's name and come up with another "nominee" for the job. That would hardly be a tragedy -- considering how many others deserve it more than she does.


King did a recent interview with TVGuideMagazine.com and talked of his new set, philosophy of the program, etc.


K.I.N.G. in the USA
by Joseph Hudak March 22, 2010 08:47 AM EST

Armed with his innovatively high-tech Magic Wall, CNN’s John King broke out as one of the most versatile reporters to cover the 2008 presidential election. Now, the politically minded anchor aims to break down the wall separating Everyday America from the D.C. Beltway with his new nightly series John King, USA—premiering tonight at 7/6c on CNN.

“We want to cover politics in an accessible way, and by that I mean not being held hostage to the language of Washington. We want to take people behind the curtain,” King tells tvguidemagazine.com. “The biggest challenge to our business right now is to be relevant, because people are so busy and have so many choices.” It’s those very choices that make modern-day U.S. citizens among the most well-informed, King believes. “If you’re watching a cable news program at that time of night, you probably have a pretty good sense of what already happened that day. You log on at work, you get breaking news alerts, or you listen to the radio on the drive home,” he says. “So we have to tell them something they don’t know or that gives them new insight.”

According to King, that insight may come from an auto mechanic in Detroit or a farmer in Nebraska. “We make the mistake of sometimes reporting based on who is winning in Washington: Is it a good day for the Democrats or for the Republicans?” admits King. “I want to ask what the impact is on the person whose tax dollars or healthcare is at question. We have to put the people back in.”

The series also aims to make people feel at home, with a new, loose-feeling set that King says is different than anything currently on CNN. “It’s a mix of living-room comfort and fantastic technology,” he says, revealing his new Kingdom will boast an updated Magic Wall, a 103” plasma touch screen, and assorted personal trinkets—like items from the Massachusetts native’s baseball collection. “I’m a Red Sox fan, so the first big challenge will be to check our ratings in New York,” laughs King, who nonetheless may have a homerun on his hands thanks to USA’s homespun mission.

“Washington is a very fascinating place, but there are decisions being made in city halls and at kitchen tables all around this country that are just as important as anything happening here,” he states emphatically. “We have to cover all of it.”

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Christiane Amanpour Goes to ABC

Christiane Amanpour will be moving to ABC to host
a Sunday morning talk show beginning in the summer. Here's the full
article by the associated press:

NEW YORK — ABC News has hired Christiane
Amanpour, one of CNN’s best-known personalities for her hard-nosed reporting
from war zones over the past two decades, to host its Sunday morning political
talk show starting this summer.

She replaces George Stephanopoulos, who left the show in December to take over as co-host of ABC’s ‘Good Morning
America.’

An Iran-born journalist whose expertise is in international stories, and who has complained about the lack of overseas news in the American news media, would seem an unusual choice for a job that has largely been devoted to discussions of political and domestic news. That also may
represent a real opportunity.

“With Christiane, we have the opportunity to provide our audiences with something different on Sunday mornings,” ABC News President David Westin said.

Amanpour, 52, said she was exhilarated by the challenge.

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime and a unique opportunity,” she said.

She had a high profile as CNN’s top international correspondent in the days when there was only one cable news network, reporting from conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, the Balkans and elsewhere.

Since moving to New York three years ago to be with her husband, former U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin, Amanpour has been seen much less frequently. She hosts a daily program for the CNN International network. Highlights of those are shown for a half hour each Sunday afternoon on CNN’s domestic network.

ABC has courted her for a job since back when Roone Arledge was head of the news division, more than a decade ago. She and Westin both said the time was right now.

“Of all the people I know in this business, Christiane knows herself and she knows the news,” said Frank Sesno, former CNN Washington bureau chief. “I think it’s a very interesting and wise move for her and I think it will be a very different kind of program. George was the consummate insider, a former White House staffer turned interviewer. Christiane is the exact opposite.”

She’s already a non-Washington insider, who will commute to her new job from a home in New York.

That could be a risk for ABC, whose Sunday morning program has generally run a strong second to NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ with the competition closer since the death of NBC’s Tim Russert.

Amanpour downplayed the idea that ‘This Week‘ will dramatically change.

“This is something that people have come to really know and depend on,” she said. “The creative DNA of the show will remain. What we want to do is broaden it even more.”

Ian Cameron, executive producer of ‘This Week,’ said he looked back at tapes of the show when David Brinkley was host and found there was more news of the world discussed. The more intense domestic focus is a recent phenomenon, he said, perhaps partly in response to polls showing American news viewers with less of an interest in international news.

“That will be our challenge,” Cameron said. “We’ll need to explain to our viewers why we’re doing these stories, why it’s connected to their lives and what it means to them.”

He minimized Amanpour’s supposed lack of expertise in domestic subjects, noting she can become versed in them like she had to learn about different conflicts while traveling the world

Amanpour was chosen over some internal ABC candidates, some of whom filled in since Stephanopoulos left, including Jake Tapper and Terry Moran. Former ABC ‘Nightline’ host Ted Koppel was even in the mix at one point. Tapper will fill in as host until Amanpour takes over in August.

“It’s a real good and challenging fit for her and a good and challenging fit for ABC,” Sesno said. “I don’t think the television audience needs another inside-the-Beltway, inside-the-filibuster conversation on Sunday.”

Jim Walton, president of CNN Worldwide, saluted Amanpour and said her work burnished the CNN news brand and gave it authority.

“CNN and Christiane helped make each other great,” he said.

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Your Views On The News March 15, 2010

There was a lot of buzz on the Internet last week about changes that may or may not be coming to CNN. As a long time AC360 watcher I have noticed a difference in the program's direction during the last few weeks. Less panels and more diverse stories on a wider range of topics have been a welcome change. Here are a few observations from insiders about what maybe in the works for American Morning. The Wrap wrote:"CNN – which has been shuffling its weekend and evening lineups of late – is developing a new morning show pilot, with a format closer to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” and “Fox & Friends” than anything it has ever done, TheWrap has learned......
But according to one source familiar with the network’s development process, CNN is testing a concept that would include personalities with dueling political ideologies and opinions. That would be a bit of a departure for CNN, which considers itself to be a bipartisan, journalistically-driven network unlike its rivals at Fox News and MSNBC. (CNN does have a roving band of politically-charged commentators like Mary Matalin and Ed Rollins, but other than Lou Dobbs and the late "Crossfire," never had them host.)
A CNN insider, however, stressed that the programming and talent department are “always testing new talent” and formats, and that the pilot in question is not similar to “Morning Joe.”
It’s also unclear how the pilot would affect CNN’s current a.m. offering, “American Morning.” While the show, hosted by Kiran Chetry and John Roberts, is in second place in the ratings behind “Fox & Friends,” the gap is widening.
According to Nielsen, “American Morning” is down 30 percent across the board in 2010."Medialite took The Wrap's story a few steps further and wrote:
"In some ways, what’s happening in the morning at CNN is symptomatic of a larger issue at CNN – where hard news continues to drive prime time as well. While the formula may have worked in the past, the ratings are declining, and CNN hasn’t evolved in the same way the competition (FNC, MSNBC and even sister-network HLN) have.
Another element to this is Kiran Chetry, who came over from Fox News (very suddenly) almost three years ago exactly. Would a change at CNN in the morning coincide with her contract being up? CNN had no comment (although, regarding Chetry, others yesterday did).
One final note – in TVNewser’s write-up yesterday they highlight “another top-line talent may bolt the cable channel when her contract expires. We hear she’s being wooed by one of the big 3 news divisions.” It would make sense that this person is Christiane Amanpour, whose name has been rumored for the vacant This Week job. In that case, it wouldn’t directly related to CNN’s morning show changes (or non-changes). "

And while we're on the topic of Christiane Amanpour,
TVNewseris reporting that she was offered the job at ABC News and has not decided where her future lies.




Someone who has found her future is Gerri Willis, who has signed with Fox Business News. Willis will host a primetime weekend program called Willis Report. When announcing the new hire Roger Alies,FBN chairman and CEO, said "Most of the CNN talent have been restrained from showing what they can do."


So there you have some of the latest developments in CNN's struggle back up the viewship ladder. We look forward to your views on the news.



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Christiane Amanpour in Talks with ABC

Christiane Amanpour and her husband James Rubin, former Assistant Secretary of State and spokesman for the US State Department

Politico is reporting that Christiane Amanpour is in talks with ABC News to be the permanent host of 'This Week'. A CNN spokesperson declined to comment but sources say she’s among the internal and external candidates ABC is considering to replace George Stephanopoulos, who left to co-anchor “Good Morning America” in December.

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Christiane Amanpour To Speak At Harvard

Christiane Amanpour will speak at Harvard University on May 26th at 2pm as a part of 2010 Senior Class Day. Here's the article from the Harvard Gazette:

Christiane Amanpour, chief international correspondent with CNN and anchor of the daily interview program “Amanpour,” has been selected as the 2010 Senior Class Day speaker. She will address Harvard College graduates and their guests on May 26 at 2 p.m. in Tercentenary Theatre in Harvard Yard.

“Christiane has reported from every major crisis of our generation,” said Nworah Ayogu ’10, first marshal of the Class of 2010. “Based on her life experience and perspective, we are extremely excited for her speech. The Class of 2010 is honored to have one of the greatest journalists of our time as our Class Day speaker.”

Senior Class Day is a student-focused, somewhat informal celebration that takes place the day before Commencement. In addition to a featured speaker selected by the Senior Class Committee, the exercises include award presentations and undergraduate orations.

In her work as an internationally renowned journalist, Amanpour has covered stories on the Gulf War, the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11, and Hurricane Katrina. She has reported on crises in the Palestinian territories, Pakistan, Somalia, and Rwanda.

Throughout her career — which has spanned a quarter century — Amanpour has interviewed many world leaders, including Iranian presidents Mohammad Khatami and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and the presidents of Afghanistan, Sudan, and Syria. She was the first international correspondent to interview British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac, and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf after 9/11.

In recognition of her coverage of the Bosnian war, the city of Sarajevo named Amanpour an honorary citizen in 1998.

Amanpour has received nine news and documentary Emmys, four George Foster Peabody Awards, three Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, the Courage in Journalism Award, an Edward R. Murrow award, and an inaugural Television Academy Honor. She has received honorary degrees from the American University of Paris, Georgetown University, New York University, Smith College, Emory University, and the University of Michigan.

Amanpour started her career at CNN in 1983. She graduated from theUniversity of Rhode Island with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. She lives in New York City.

For more information on Harvard’s 359th Commencement, including its schedule.

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Christiane Amanpour in The New York Times

The New York Times posted an quick interview with Christiane Amanpour including 34 questions about her life and work. Click here for the article and more pictures. Here's an excerpt:

Christiane Amanpour
Age: 52
Occupation: Journalist
Current Project: "Amanpour," a weekly program on CNN that investigates international news stories.

1. Most Amiable Dictator: Slobodan Milosevic. He would slap you on the back, offer you a drink. He tried to be charming. But many of them do. You have to be on your guard.

2. Worst of War-Zone Living: Frivolously trying to keep clean and keep a sense of personal dignity amid massive deprivation.

3. Pleasure in War Reporting: A lot of people say that what gets war correspondents off is the danger; I get more joy in having beaten those who would destroy. Also, feeling part of a small community of people who are going through what we are going through and doing something worthwhile.

4. Fan Mail: People send me beautiful things from around the world. I’m looking right now at a little mother-of-pearl-engraved penholder. It says, “CNN Christiane Amanpour.” It must have come from Iran, because it has a symbol of Zoroastrianism on it.

5. Morning Routine: I don’t sleep well, but I finally get out of bed at 7 a.m. In one hour I get my son and myself up and ready. I listen to NPR, and I keep turning it on and off, depending on what is appropriate for my son. I walk out the door at 8 a.m.

6. Packing for Work: I take the bare necessities. I have developed my own everyday uniform, which makes it easier for me to get up and get to work. In Bosnia, I wore the same parka. It was olive green with a fake-fur hood, and I became known for it.

7. Always on Her: Gold bracelets, bangles from Iran and other parts of the Middle East.

8. Talent She Covets: I wish I was really funny and much quicker.

9. Favorite Place in the Apartment: The dining room, because it has a great view and it gets a huge amount of sun.

10. Hobby: Horse riding. One of my early mentors was my riding teacher in Iran. He was a former Iranian Army colonel. I learned to ride competitively. I raced in Iran. It gave me the physical stamina and courage I need to do my work.

11. Favorite Riding Item: My hard hat. My husband kitted me out for riding a few years ago. For a while, I didn’t have the right gear. Now I do. It’s great.

12. Favorite Item in the Apartment: A massive painting that I got in Iran, a few years ago, by Farideh Lashai, a friend who is also Iran’s pre-eminent abstract-expressionist painter. It gives me joy every time I walk in my door.

13. Old Item She Can’t Throw Out: My current laptop, which is a 2005 Sony Vaio. I am slow to change technologically.

14. How She Tells Her Son She’s Going to War: I didn’t tell him when he was little. I just said, “Mommy is going to work.” It gets more difficult as he gets older. He’s 9 now, but I never let him watch television news, so he isn’t aware of all the implications.

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Amanpour in Haiti

Christiane Amanpour did a live shot on The Situation Room this afternoon from Port-au-Prince. She will be doing her program 'Amanpour' on Sunday from Haiti. Here's her conversation with Wolf Blitzer about her early impressions of the Haiti disaster.

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CNNi Amanpour Program December 27-January 3

SUNDAY, DEC 27: AL QAEDA TODAY/MIDEAST PEACE

Topic: al Qaeda Today
AMANPOUR has an inside look at how al Qaeda is evolving and spreading throughout Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States through its adept use of the tools of modern communication to perpetuate jihad. In his first TV interview since Fort Hood, Christiane sits down with the U.S. Ambassador at large for Counterterrorism.
DANIEL BENJAMIN - U.S. State Department Amb. at large for Counterterrorism
KAREN GREENBERG, Executive Director of the Center on Law and Security and editor of the books Al Qaeda Now and The Torture Debate in America.
THOMAS HEGGHAMMER - Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, associate at Harvard Kennedy School and a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI) in Oslo
Topic: MIDEAST PEACE PROCESS
It's one of the most intractable wars of our time the struggle between Palestinians and Israelis over land, the Holy Land. The past 60 years have seen violence and uprising in the Middle East, interrupted only briefly by moments of hope. U.S. President Obama began his administration appointing a high profile envoy and promising to break the log jam, but ten months later it's still deadlocked.
AARON DAVID MILLER, Woodrow Wilson Center/former diplomat who served six U.S. Secretary's of State
AMIRA HASS, Ha'aretz , correspondent in the Palestinian territories

MONDAY, DECEMBER 28th: RWANDA: FROM GENOCIDE TO RECONCILIATION

Joseph Sebarenzi speaks to AMANPOUR about his new memoir about the Rwandan genocide that killed his entire family and 800,000 other Tutsis, to becoming a member of parliament and later a specialist on conflict resolution. His story mirrors the story of Rwanda itself, as is struggles to come back from the abyss. HE is joined by Philip Gourevitch, a journalist who has chronicled Rwanda’s genocide and journey toward reconciliation.

JOSEPH SEBARENZI, author “God Sleeps in Rwanda” / TWC
PHILIP GOUREVITCH, author “We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families”

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29th: NEGOTIATING WITH THE TALIBAN

Eight years after being routed from Afghanistan after 9/11 the Taliban have returned with a vengeance. U.S. and NATO troops are struggling to defeat them but they only seem to be gaining ground. Our roundtable guests discuss whether or not it’s time to switch tactics and try negotiating with the Taliban.

AHMED RASHID, Author, Taliban via remote MADRID
THOMAS JOHNSON, Professor, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA TWC
MICHAEL SEMPLE Author, Reconciliation in Afghanistan, TWC

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30th: WORLD’S PROSECUTOR

Luis Moreno-Ocampo, the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor, briefs AMANPOUR on the latest in the prosecution of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and the ongoing violence in Sudan. He’ll also discuss the ICC’s role in prosecuting war crimes in Gaza, election violence in Kenya and allegations of abuse by the U.S. military in Afghanistan.

LUIS MORENO-OCAMPO, International Criminal Court Prosecutor

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31st: AFRICAN WOMEN STANDING FOR PEACE

Grammy-winning singer Angelique Kidjo and Leymah Gbowee recall how women forced Charles Taylor, an accused war criminal, into a peace agreement, and are now laying the groundwork for similar peace agreements in other African nations.

ANJELIQUE KIDJO, singer/musician / composer “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” TWC
LEYMAH GBOWEE, Liberian peace activist / protagonist “Pray the Devil Back to Hell”/ Founder and Executive Director, Women in Peace and Security Network - Africa (WIPSEN-Africa)
http://www.praythedevilbacktohell.com/nonflash/about.htm

FRIDAY; JANUARY 1st: MAYA LIN: WHAT IS MISSING?
In conjunction with COP 15, Maya Lin launches what will become her last memorial – What is Missing? It is a multi-sited and multi-platform art and media work dedicated to raising awareness about endangered and extinct species. What is Missing? links habitat and species loss with the current crisis of extinction – the 6th mass extinction in the earth’s history – but the first to be caused by the actions of a single species – humankind – while also making the crucial link between global warming emissions (20 % of which are caused by deforestation) and habitat protection
MAYA LIN, artist/architect

SATURDAY, JANUARY 2nd-SUNDAY, JANUARY 3rd: WEEKEND SHOW

TOPIC: SELLING WIVES
Drought and the global economic crisis are making the situation worse for many women and girls in India who are being used as currency to raise money for their impoverished families. All too often, these women find themselves the victims of sexual trafficking. AMANPOUR asks what can be done to stop this multi-billion dollar trade.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT
RUCHIRA GUPTA, Founder of APNE AAP
TAINA BIEN-AIME, Executive Director Equality Now

TOPIC: AFGHAN OPIUM TRADE
Amanpour has the first look at a new report from the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime on the global heroine trade. More people die from this drug than any other in the world – 90 percent of it grown inside Afghanistan. Is there anything that can be done to stop it?

ANTONIO MARIA COSTA, UN office of Drugs and Crime TWC
GRETCHEN PETERS, Author ”Seeds of Terror: How Heroin Is Bankrolling the Taliban and al Qaeda”

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CNNi Amanpour Program December 21-

MONDAY, DECEMBER 21: MUGABE ON-THE-RECORD

Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe sits down with Christiane Amanpour for an exclusive interview, his first to the western media in years and the first to CNN since he banned the network from reporting from his country. He defends Zimbabwe’s power-sharing agreement, talks about the arrests of his political opponents, and slams international sanctions.
ROBERT MUGABE, President of Zimbabwe

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22: COLOMBIA DRUGS
President Richard Nixon launched America’s “War on Drugs” in 1969 – yes, 40 years ago – but this war, too, is far from won. In fact, the business of illegal trafficking of drugs has soared from to an estimated $400 billion. While the explosion of violence in Mexico has made headlines over the past year, a cartel war has made Colombia just as deadly. Amanpour is joined by former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria who will talk about how the drug trade has changed and gone even more global. We’ll also have an exclusive look at a new documentary “Sins of My Father.” It tells a story of reconciliation between Pablo Escobar’s son and the sons of his father’s victims.
CESAR GAVIRIA, Former Colombian President
NICOLAS ENTEL, Director “Sins of My Father”

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23: VIOLENCE IN CONGO
The civil war in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed five million people and the fighting continues with the most terrible consequences reserved for women. Human rights advocates say there an epidemic of rape and other acts of violence against Congolese women that is now being perpetuated by the very troops brought in to protect them.
ANNEKE VAN WOUDENBERG, Human Rights Watch’s senior researcher for the Democratic Republic of Congo
JEAN-MARIE GUEHENNO, Fmr. Under-Secretary-General for peacekeeping operations (2000 to 2008)

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24: IRAN HOSTAGE ANNIVERSARY
Thirty years later, Christiane sits down with the mastermind of the student takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. She is also joined by former hostage John Limbert, who for the first time addresses his former captor about what happened then. The Obama administration recently appointed him to be the State Department’s top man on Iran. They’ll be joined by President Carter’s principal aide on Iran during the hostage crisis, Gary Sick, for a conversation about the future of U.S.-Iran relations.
EBRAHIM ASGHARZADEH, former student leader of Embassy takeover
JOHN LIMBERT, former U.S. hostage
GARY SICK, principal White House aide for Iran during the Iranian Revolution and the hostage crisis

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 25th: TINA BROWN AND HARRY EVANS
Two people with legendary careers in newspapers and publishing share their story with AMANPOUR. Sir Harold Evans was the editor of the prestigious Sunday Times and The Times, revolutionizing British journalism by bringing to light many of the most important stories of our time. Tina Brown achieved fame as the first female editor of the New Yorker and Editor-in-Chief of Vanity Fair. Now she is making her mark on the web with Daily Beast. In a rare joint interview, the powerhouse couple sit down to talk about their life together and the future of the craft of the trade they helped create.
SIR HAROLD EVANS, author “My Paper Chase”
TINA BROWN, Editor/Founder, Daily Beast

SATURDAY DEC 26th: AL QAEDA TODAY/MIDEAST PEACE
Topic: al Qaeda Today
AMANPOUR has an inside look at how al Qaeda is evolving and spreading throughout Europe, the United Kingdom and the United States through its adept use of the tools of modern communication to perpetuate jihad. In his first TV interview since Fort Hood, Christiane sits down with the U.S. Ambassador at large for Counterterrorism.
DANIEL BENJAMIN - U.S. State Department Amb. at large for Counterterrorism
KAREN GREENBERG, Executive Director of the Center on Law and Security and editor of the books Al Qaeda Now and The Torture Debate in America.
THOMAS HEGGHAMMER - Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, associate at Harvard Kennedy School and a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI) in Oslo
Topic: MIDEAST PEACE PROCESS
It's one of the most intractable wars of our time the struggle between Palestinians and Israelis over land, the Holy Land. The past 60 years have seen violence and uprising in the Middle East, interrupted only briefly by moments of hope. U.S. President Obama began his administration appointing a high profile envoy and promising to break the log jam, but ten months later it's still deadlocked.
AARON DAVID MILLER, Woodrow Wilson Center/former diplomat who served six U.S. Secretary's of State
AMIRA HASS, Ha'aretz , correspondent in the Palestinian territories


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Christiane Amanpour Hosts Awards Ceremony

Christiane Amanpour hosted the Committee to Protect Journalists' 2009 International Press Freedom Awards ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. Here's the article from Africa News.

Hosted by Christiane Amanpour, CNN’s chief international correspondent and a member of the CPJ board, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hall in New York, USA, the ceremony highlighted the impunity in journalist murders, the recent killings of Philippine journalists, and the Internet’s emerging role in press freedom.

One of the two African awardees, Tunisian Naziha Réjiba, is the editor of the independent online news journal Kalima. She has been the target of continual government intimidation and harassment.

Her home is under constant surveillance, her phones are monitored, and she has been summoned for repeated police interrogations. “I am neither a hero nor a victim,” she told the crowd at the awards ceremony, “but a journalist who wishes to work under normal conditions. The degree of repression in Tunisia is such that it transforms normal activities into something exceptional.”

Mustafa Haji Abdinur, Somalia correspondent for Agence France-Presse, AFP, and editor-in-chief of the independent radio station Radio Simba, told journalists about the danger he faces reporting in one of the world’s deadliest countries for journalists.

“This year alone, six of my colleagues have been killed in Somalia. That makes it the deadliest country in Africa for journalists. No one has had to answer for their deaths,” he said.

“Friends, if a journalist is killed the news is also killed. We need your support now more than ever before. Please don’t forget us.”

About 800 people attended the benefit dinner, which raised more than $1.3 million.
Earlier, Amanpour opened the evening highlighting impunity in the cases of murdered journalists.

Two other awardees from Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka respectively, could not attend the ceremony because of their ongoing imprisonments.

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Christiane Amanpour Article on Her New Show

The Independent has a new article titled "Back On The Frontline But Without a Flak Jacket" on Christiane Amanpour and her new show. Here's an excerpt:

Christiane Amanpour is surveying her studio, proud. It is typically, grandiosely, CNN. Her name scrolls in giant letters across a dozen flat-screen televisions, bathed in a rich red. Along the vast video wall that dominates one side of the set, a map of the world floats in blue.

"Teal," she corrects. "All the American shows use red, white and blue. We didn't want that." After all, the show – titled simply Amanpour – is a new daily flagship for prime time on CNN International. A "greatest hits" package is aired on Sundays in the US, but the programme is a deliberately internationalist contrast to most of the rest of the output from the New York newsroom where it is based. It is serious global news, from the quintessential global news reporter.

There is something inherently incongruous about the famed war correspondent confined in a studio. This is the woman who rose to worldwide prominence, with CNN itself, as one of the flak-jacketed rooftop anchors of the first Gulf War. Like the BBC's Kate Adie before her, Amanpour exists in the popular imagination as a fifth rider, a short distance behind the apocalyptic horsemen. Her reporting, most notably her heartfelt descriptions of ethnic cleansing in Sarajevo, has been credited with changing US foreign policy. Her laptop case, stickered with entry visas from war zones across the world, is on show in Washington's Newseum, an institution dedicated to journalism. What on earth is she doing behind a desk?

"For me, this is a real challenge," she says. "I am perfectly used to being out there fighting for the story. This, however, is outside my comfort zone. The common imperative is to explain. For me, that is my mission statement. To continue doing what I have been doing in the field, going to difficult places and bringing information back, and presenting it in an honest way, and in as human a way as possible. To tell stories that are vital and compelling, and to connect with people."

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Jeffrey Toobin & Christiane Amanpour Appearances

Jeffrey Toobin will be speaking at a conference hosted by Hofstra Law School on October 18-20.

Cyrus Vance, Jr., a candidate for Manhattan District Attorney and a partner at Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason Anello & Bohrer PC, along with Barry C. Scheck, professor of law and director of The Innocence Project at Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School and Jeffrey Toobin, an author and CNN analyst, will be among the speakers at a legal ethics conference, hosted by Hofstra Law School from Oct. 18 to 20. The conference is titled Power, Politics and Public Service: The Legal Ethics of Lawyers in Government For more information or to register, visit law.hofstra.edu/Conferences. To view the webcast of the entire conference, visit law.hofstra.edu/Webcast. Call Sun Min 463-5013.

Christiane Amanpour attended the 6th Annual Keep a Child Alive Black Ball on 10/15. The event raises money to get medication to families with AIDS in Africa.




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South Pacific Disasters

The South Pacific has been pummeled by natural disasters for the past week, with huge death tolls in several countries. On Friday, both Arwa Damon and Dan Rivers reported on rescue efforts in Padang, Indonesia:

Saturday morning, Arwa had a longer piece from the site of a collapsed school in Padang:

(You can follow Arwa on Twitter @ arwadamonCNN.)

Dan Rivers took to the air and got a look at the scope of the destruction:

(You can follow Dan on Twitter @ danieljerivers.)

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For this week's look at BackStory on Domestic, Michael Holmes brought a report from John Vause about covering the celebration of China's "National Day" marking 60 years of communist rule. It's a good look at what it sometimes takes to get a story -- in this case, 10 hours of effort:

(You can follow Michael on Twitter @ holmesCNN.)

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Kevin Flower is the Jerusalem bureau chief, but on Friday he got in front of the camera to report on the "proof of life" video of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, whose kidnapping by Palestinian militants in June of 2006 was a major contributor to the Israel/Lebanon war later that summer:

Kevin also did a second report for The Situation Room, showing more of the PoL video as well as footage of some of the 19 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for the video:

(You can follow Kevin on Twitter @ KevinFlowerCNN.)

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Sunday on Christiane Amanpour's program, the first focus was on the nuclear agreement with Iran that will have them reducing their uranium stockpile by selling much of it to Russia and France.

Christiane spoke (via translator) with Iran's top diplomat at the Geneva talks, Saeed Jalili. (He emphasized that the not-secret site they have was revealed earlier than was legally required. Nice way to gloss over the SECRET site, huh?)

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Also on to talk about the agreement were Mohammed Marandi, a professor at Tehran University who said that Iran wants US opinions towards Iran to change, and Ray Takeyh, a former Obama administration adviser who said that the US wants Iran to be more transparent, to lower their stockpile of uranium, and to have on-going dialogue rather than episodic.

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The rest of the program focused on the situation in Somalia, including a report from Sudanese journalist Nima Elbagir in Mogadishu. Insurgents now control three-quarters of the city and are encouraging fighters from other countries to come to Somalia and join them.

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Ken Menkhaus, a former UN adviser in Somalia, thinks al Qaeda would be at risk if they based there, that Somali militants would not tolerate a large force of outsiders.

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Another report from Nima Elbagir about the situation for civilians. About one-third of the residents of Mogadishu have fled the city. Refugee camps line the road running north from the city, but the radical Islamic group that controls the area does not tolerate foreign aid groups coming into the area. Half the Somali population, nearly 4 million people, are completely reliant on aid. Oxfam calls it the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

(You can follow Christiane on Twitter @ AmanpourCNN.)

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Where in the World...?

MONDAY: Morgan Neill was in Zurich, Switzerland; Dan Rivers was in Manila, Philippines; Mohammed Jamjoon was in Baghdad. Suzanne Malveaux was in for Wolf Blitzer.

TUESDAY: Awra Damon tweeted that she was heading to Viet Nam, although bad weather prevented her arrival there.

WEDNESDAY: Don Lemon was in for Kyra Phillips; John Roberts was in for Campbell Brown.

THURSDAY: Ed Henry was in Copenhagen, Denmark; Matthew Chance was in Geneva, Switzerland; Ted Rowlands was in Leone, American Samoa; Dan was in Padang, Indonesia; Candy Crowley was in Atlanta; Ali Velshi was in Chicago.

FRIDAY: Bureau Chief Kevin Flower reported from Jerusalem; Arwa was in Padang; Dr. Sanjay Gupta was in Tromso, Norway, north of the Arctic Circle (above); John King was in Washington. Christine Romans was in for John Roberts; Jim Moret was in for Larry King.

(Only posting Mon-Fri right now because WITW will be moving back to Saturdays later this week and will cover the prior Saturday-Friday.)

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"Amanpour." debuts; Iranian missile sequel

Iran launched more missiles overnight, and Domestic briefly took the International feed so that Reza Sayah (in Islamabad) could explain the meaning behind the tests:

Atia Abawi reported Sunday on the latest American/NATO deaths in Afghanistan as well as an unsuccessful suicide attack that targeted a very popular member of the government:

This morning, Rob Marciano gave us a look at the typhoon that caused massive flooding in the Philippines, followed by a live report from Dan Rivers in Manila:

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Christiane Amanpour's new program finally debuted on Domestic this weekend -- here's a rundown of this week's show:

Her first guest was Afghanistan's president Hamid Karzai (in Kabul). They discussed the disputed election results (the election committee has now given Karzai the 50% of the vote needed to avoid a runoff), General McChrystal's request for more American troops to be sent to the country, and Christiane also played a portion of an interview she conducted with him in Kandahar in December of 2001 one week before he originally took office. At that time, he felt that the country would be peaceful and stable, which did not happen because the focus of the international community turned elsewhere:

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The next guest was Special Envoy to Afghanistan/Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, who said that the comparisons between Afghanistan and Viet Nam don't hold up because Viet Nam was no threat to the US. He declined to say whether he agreed with the request for more troops but did answer regarding why the strategy is not yet in place:

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Christiane's third guest was Pakistan's foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who says that the new administration in his country has successfully turned the tide of public opinion so that the public now sees the fight against terrorism as their fight. (I would have thought it was more the assassination of Benazir Bhutto and the recent spate of suicide bombings that did that, but whatever.) He also says they are not reluctant to take on terrorists, including the Afghan Taliban who find sanctuary within Pakistan:

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Quick -- name the current head of NATO. Well, if you can't, Christiane interviewed him next, so you can get to know the former prime minister of Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmusse. His first decision as PM was to send troops into Afghanistan. He says, "We have to do more now so we can do less in the future." Christiane then asks him a great question:

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The final interview of the program was an exclusive with Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe. He believes that it is time for the international community to lift the sanctions imposed on the country, but when asked why the election went so badly, why white Zambabweans are being forced off their land, etc, he was, shall we say, less than forthcoming.

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Christiane closed the program with some words about what future shows would be like:

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Where in the World...?

MONDAY: Joe Johns was in Raleigh, North Carolina; Wolf Blitzer and Michael Ware were both in New York.

TUESDAY: Kyra Phillips was in for Rick Sanchez.

WEDNESDAY: John Zarella was in Honduras; Sanjay Gupta was in New York in the morning and in Philadelphia in the evening.

THURSDAY: Ed Henry and Brian Todd were both in Pittsburgh for the G-20 (although only Brian got tear-gassed!)

FRIDAY: Betty Nguyen was in for Tony Harris; TJ Holmes was in for Rick; Rick was in New York and filling in for Campbell Brown.

Wow, that was a long post.... See you Thursday!

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