CNN’s Sam Feist Named New CEO Of C-SPAN

Ted Johnson
·4 min read
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Sam Feist, the longtime Washington, D.C. bureau chief of CNN, will become the next CEO of C-SPAN.

Feist will succeed Rob Kennedy and Susan Swain, who have been in the role as co-CEOs since 2012. Founding CEO Brian Lamb remains on the board of directors.

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Feist has served as Washington bureau chief and senior vice president at CNN since 2011. He oversees newsgathering operations and production, as well as coverage of major political events. He joined the network in 1990, as a freelance producer in the London bureau, and later moved to Atlanta and then to Washington, D.C. in 1992. He became political director and vice president of Washington programming, and has coordinated daily political coverage and election night production since 2006. He also was the founding executive producer of The Situation Room.

In a statement, Feist said, “Our democracy needs C-SPAN now more than ever. I look forward to working
with C-SPAN’s extraordinary and dedicated team to expand the network’s reach and meet new audiences where they are.” He added, “C-SPAN is an American treasure and I could not be more excited to lead this essential institution.”

CNN has not named a successor. CEO Mark Thompson wrote a memo to employees this morning announcing Feist’s departure, calling him “one of the best-connected journalists in Washington with important and valuable relationships across the political spectrum.”

“In my short time at CNN, I have come to know and appreciate Sam’s passion for CNN, for our people, and for political journalism, and will miss his good counsel,” Thompson wrote.

C-SPAN was founded by the cable industry in 1979 to offer public service coverage of Congress, the White House and other major government and political events. It’s been funded through the cable industry, not through public tax dollars. But funding has become an issue as linear cable distribution declines, and one of the priorities of the search committee was to find a candidate who would explore new distribution opportunities.

In a statement, Kennedy and Swain said, “Out of a small group of excellent finalists, Sam Feist stood out for his deep respect for C-SPAN, his leadership skills, his knowledge of Washington, and his digital transformation bona fides. We are confident that we are leaving C-SPAN in good hands.”

Feist will remain at CNN through the end of June. Kennedy will step down on May 17, and Swain will continue in that role until Feist takes over.

The memo from CNN’s Thompson is below:

Dear all –

I have news to share with you today: Sam Feist has decided to step down as SVP and Washington Bureau Chief of CNN and will be leaving the company at the end of June. We’ll be sorry to see him go, as Sam has become a CNN institution after almost 33 years of service to our company and our audiences.

Sam began here as an intern in 1989 and, with stops in London and Atlanta, worked his way up to becoming the longest-serving Washington Bureau Chief in CNN’s history. He has worked as a camera operator, a TelePrompter operator, a guest booker, an assignment editor, a field producer, a show producer, Executive Producer of a dozen CNN programs, Executive Producer of election nights and debates, Executive in charge of CNN en Español and the Row, CNN’s Political Director, and since 2011, our Washington Bureau Chief.

Along the way, Sam became one of the best-connected journalists in Washington with important and valuable relationships across the political spectrum.

In my short time at CNN, I have come to know and appreciate Sam’s passion for CNN, for our people, and for political journalism, and will miss his good counsel. We will have more information to share prior to Sam’s departure around support for his portfolio.

Sam has an exciting new opportunity, which I will leave it to him to share, but on behalf of everyone at CNN, I do want to thank him for his many achievements at CNN over the years and the support and friendship he’s offered so many of us. I’m sure you will want to join me in wishing Sam nothing but success in his next chapter.

Mark


More to come.

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