CNN’s Loss is Al Jezerra’s Gain
Emmy Award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien, formerly with CNN, has signed on with Al Jezeera America, the new American news channel set to launch in the U.S. in August. Through her production company, Starfish Media Group, O’Brien will contribute short-form segments as Special Correspondent to Al Jazeera America’s primetime current affairs magazine program America Tonight, and Starfish will produce hour-long documentary specials.
“I look forward to beginning a relationship with Al Jazeera America, which has made a commitment to producing quality programming and pursuing underreported stories,” O’Brien said. “I am thrilled to be back in business with Kim Bondy, who is a long-time friend and among the finest journalists in the broadcast news business today. With this agreement, Starfish continues its expansion as a cross-platform media company dedicated to compelling storytelling and enterprise journalism.”
Kim Bondy, America Tonight’s senior executive producer, said she was delighted to have a world-class journalist like Soledad as part of the show. “Soledad and I have worked together since 1997, so I know she cares deeply about covering the human side of a story based solely on the facts,” she said. “That’s a perfect fit for America Tonight, which will go beyond statistics and headlines to provide an in-depth, unbiased look at the events of the day and how they affect our viewers.”
O’Brien most recently served as an anchor and special correspondent for CNN, where she was the co-anchor of its CNN’s flagship morning program, “American Morning,” and the anchor of “Starting Point with Soledad O’Brien.”
O’Brien began her career as an associate producer and news writer at the then-NBC affiliate WBZ-TV in Boston and served three years as a local reporter and bureau chief for NBC affiliate KRON in San Francisco. She distinguished herself at CNN by reporting from the scene of such stories as the London terrorism attacks in 2005, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Japan earthquake and tsunami in 2011. O’Brien also produced and hosted the widely acclaimed In America documentary series, including Black in America and Latino in America. In 2011, O’Brien won her first Emmy Award for Crisis in Haiti (on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360) in the category of Outstanding Live Coverage of a Current News Story – Long Form. She was also a member of CNN’s Peabody Award winning coverage of the British Petroleum oil spill. She received the 2009 Medallion of Excellence for Leadership and Community Service Award from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.
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