CNN Announces Promotions In Domestic Newsgathering, Hires Daniel Strauss To Cover National Politics

Ted Johnson
·3 min read
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CNN announced a series of promotions in its domestic newsgathering division.

Matthew Hilk was upped to senior vice president, news and domestic editorial director, as the editorial lead for domestic coverage and planning.

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Adam Levine was promoted to senior vice president of news and Washington executive editorial director, the editorial lead for D.C. newsgathering, with oversight of the investigative unit. The latter will now be part of newsgathering.

Leora Kapelus was named senior vice president of news and enterprise, coordinating large breaking news and enterprise stories, with expansion into weather/climate, health, and race and equality . In addition, Ben Tinker was named vice president of domestic beats, expanding oversight to include health/science, climate, weather and race.

The network also announced the hire of Daniel Strauss as a reporter covering national politics. Strauss was previously a staff writer and senior political correspondent at New Republic.

Virginia Moseley, executive vice president of editorial, outlined the promotions in a staff memo, below. Moseley is part of the interim leadership team at the network since the exit of Chris Licht.

Dear CNN colleagues,

I have spent the past several months assessing how to better align our strengths and find greater efficiencies in our processes, all with a focus on implementing a structure that empowers the staff, enhances our reporting, and positions us for collective success. What is integral to the value we provide our audience daily is our ability to work together seamlessly, create synergy and make informed decisions with speed. With that context, today I am excited to announce the leadership team for CNN’s Domestic Newsgathering division, effective immediately.

Matthew Hilk, Senior Vice President, News and Domestic Executive Editorial Director, will be the editorial lead for domestic coverage and planning, overseeing the National News Desk (NCC) and newsgathering by teams across the Northeast, Southeast, Central and West regions of the US.

Adam Levine, Senior Vice President, News and Washington Executive Editorial Director, will be the editorial lead for the Washington, DC bureau’s newsgathering, the DC Desk and reporting related to the White House, Capitol Hill, Department of Justice, National Security, and Washington enterprise. In addition, Adam will oversee our exceptional investigative unit which will be joining Newsgathering. He will partner closely with Washington DC Bureau Chief Sam Feist.

Leora Kapelus, Senior Vice President, News and Enterprise, will continue large breaking news and enterprise story coordination across CNN’s domestic and international digital and linear platform teams. She will also expand her responsibility for domestic enterprise reporting to include Weather/Climate, Health, and Race and Equality storytelling. In a new role, Ben Tinker will serve as Vice President of Domestic Beats, expanding his oversight of coverage areas to include health/science, climate, weather and race. Ben will report to Leora.

Rachel Smolkin, Senior Vice President, Global News, will continue to lead CNN’s Digital News teams worldwide, including Breaking News, National, Politics, Business, EMEA and Asia Pacific teams.

David Chalian, CNN Political Director, will continue to lead CNN’s Political Unit and the network’s coverage of US presidential and down-ballot campaigns & elections, as well as CNN’s Polling and Decision Desk teams.  He will also continue providing his reporting, insights, and analysis as a key member of our on-air political team.

Please join me in congratulating Matthew, Leora, Adam and Ben on their well-deserved promotions.

These changes also reflect our investment in key coverage areas and will further strengthen our ability to deliver impactful storytelling. We already have an exceptional foundation, and we have a forward-looking leadership team that will continue to help guide our enterprising, high-quality journalism in a rapidly evolving media world.

If you have any questions, please reach out to me or a member of the leadership team. Thank you for your support.

Virginia

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