Kathy O’Hearn has been named EP of the new Christiane Amanpour CNNI program.
The New York-based, half-hour weekday program is set to launch in September, and will air on CNNI as well as Sunday afternoons on CNN/U.S.
O’Hearn moved to the Special Events unit in July at ABC News after serving as EP of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.” She previously oversaw CNNfn and “American Morning with Paula Zahn.”
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Award-winning producer Kathy O’Hearn has been tapped by CNN to executive produce chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour’s forthcoming program on CNN International, it was announced today by Tony Maddox, executive vice president and managing director of CNN International.
O’Hearn, who has more than 30 years of experience producing for both broadcast and cable networks, returns to CNN in preparation for the September launch of the New York-based, half-hour weekday program set to air during European prime-time on CNN International and on Sunday afternoons on CNN/U.S.
“Kathy and Christiane will make a formidable team,” said Maddox. “By combining Kathy’s track record of news-making interviews and award-winning show production with Christiane’s journalistic tenacity and global recognition, we have created a signature show that will be the heart of the schedule.”
O’Hearn returns to CNN after working at ABC, where she was most recently involved in the network’s coverage of the 2008 U.S. Presidential election. She previously served as executive producer for ‘This Week With George Stephanopoulos’ for three years, helping to reposition the Sunday morning talk show while securing consistent ratings growth.
While at CNN, O’Hearn was central to the network’s Emmy Award-winning coverage of 9/11 and coordinated the morning coverage in the ensuing months. She was also integral to the creation and launch of ‘American Morning with Paula Zahn.’ Prior to that, O’Hearn oversaw programming for the network’s business and financial network, CNNfn, and helped relaunch ‘Lou Dobbs Moneyline.’
She has been recognized with many awards throughout her career, including the Walter Cronkite Award for political reporting in 2009 and 2007; Emmy Award for Elian Gonzalez coverage in 2000; Peabody Award for ‘ABC 2000’ in 1999; Overseas Press Club Award for coverage of the AIDS crisis in Thailand in 1999; and two Edward R. Murrow Awards for coverage of the Red River, North Dakota flooding in 1999.
The new Amanpour show comes amid major growth at both CNN International and in CNN’s international newsgathering resources. The repositioning of CNN International includes an ambitious programming schedule that is being bolstered by more than six new prime-time programs in 2009, culminating with the Amanpour launch in September.
Since the fall of 2007, CNN has continued to open new editorial operations and production centers while adding more than a dozen correspondents across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America.