Campbell Brown Joins CNN: TV News Worst Secret Finally Confirmed

When I asked CNN president Jon Klein last week about the rumors that Weekend Today co-host Campbell Brown was coming from NBC to replace Paula Zahn, Klein defended Zahn's ratings and downplayed the notion Brown might be coming over.

"Campell Brown works for NBC News and she's a talented journalist," he said. "I think the speculation is fueled by the fact that a lot of people would be interested in a journalist of that caliber working for them."

Today, CNN confirmed its own interest, announcing that Brown, who said farewell to NBC Sunday, would join their network Sept. 1. No word yet on what she'll be doing for the network, but seeing how quickly Klein changed faces on American Morning after hiring Kiran Chetry, if I were Zahn, I wouldn't be hanging any new pictures on my office walls right now.

Here's the press release:

Campbell Brown, an experienced and respected broadcast anchor and correspondent, will join CNN on Sept. 1, it was announced today by Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S.  Brown joins the network from NBC News where she served as anchor of Weekend Today and correspondent for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, for whom she was also the main anchor substitute.

“We are extremely fortunate to be able to bring Campbell Brown to CNN,” said Klein.  “Campbell stands out in this business as an impressive anchor with a distinctive ability to connect with viewers. She has covered a range of stories over the years and is particularly well suited for CNN’s global and journalistic reach.”

"CNN has a first-rate and well-earned reputation for solid journalism,” Brown said. “I'm honored to join such an impressive team of anchors, reporters and producers and to become part of that long-standing tradition.”

Prior to joining Weekend Today, Brown covered numerous major news events for NBC and served as White House correspondent during the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and the build up and launch of combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Before being based at the White House, she had covered the Bush presidential campaign and Republican primaries, the Republican National Convention, the presidential debates and Election Day in 2000.  She also covered the Bush team from Austin, Texas, during the Florida recount story.          

When Brown joined NBC News in 1998, she served as a Washington, D.C.-based correspondent where she covered President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial among other stories and later served as Pentagon correspondent reporting on the war in Kosovo. 

Throughout her NBC News career Brown covered the most significant news events impacting the world including the war in Iraq, the last two presidential elections, the first Iraqi elections, and the death of Pope John Paul II from Rome. She reported from Gaza and the West Bank on the violence in the Middle East and extensively covered Hurricane Katrina and its devastating aftermath from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. 

From 1996 to 1998, she was a correspondent for the NBC News Channel, where she covered national breaking news stories such as the crash of Swiss Air Flight #111 and the pope’s historic visit to Cuba.

Brown started her career in local news as the political reporter covering Kansas politics for KSNT-TV, the NBC affiliate in Topeka, Kan.  She then moved to WWBT-TV, the NBC affiliate in Richmond, Va.  Brown also reported for WBAL-TV in Baltimore and WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., before joining NBC.

Brown graduated from Regis College in Denver with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. 

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.

Comments

[Marlene Watson]

I thnk that Campbell Brown should be very ashamed for the horrible way she treated Lady Rothschild yesterday on the CNN interview. She was curt, arguementative, rude, opinionated, nasty, ignorant, mean, sassy, critical and had the grace and upbringing of a sewer rat!!!!!!!!! She owes Lady Rothschild an apology, at the very least. Lady Rothschild, who was raised in an average home had the style and manners that Campbell Brown lacks.

[Joan Grimm]

Shame on you Campbell Brown and CNN for the espose treatment of the Palin daughter's pregnancy. She is a minor and to have her face splashed all over the nation as if she should have a scarlet letter on her chest is disgraceful!!! I think her mom is fair game, but please lighten up on her family. It is really getting down and dirty, sort of like the tabloid press! Gosh, I guess she needs to be chastised for not being sophisticated enough to have used preventatives! The children...especially the ones that are still minors.....should be off limits! Don't give me the tired rhetoric that it is the news and we must report it! Report it, fine! But you guys seemed to relish going on and on and on! Is it fun playing in the mud? Do you remember when you were seventeen?