CNN has announced that its senior national correspondent Kyung Lah will become a CNN senior investigative correspondent, joining the network’s investigative team. Lah has covered some of the most consequential national and international stories over her time with the network, and has in recent years provided in-depth coverage of presidential campaigns.
In fact, she is currently covering the 2024 presidential campaign, focusing on the Iowa caucuses.
Lah’s political reporting across Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada, Michigan and Pennsylvania was recognized by the Walter Cronkite Awards for excellence in television political journalism in 2023. She was also a part of the CNN team recognized with a Columbia du Pont Award for its coverage of the war in Ukraine in 2022.
Prior to that, Lah covered the 2020 presidential race, focusing on then-candidates for the Democratic nomination Sen. Kamala Harris and Sen. Amy Klobuchar. As the US grappled with Covid-19, Lah pivoted to cover the economic impact of the pandemic on Americans and her report on a Houston family’s eviction went viral, humanizing the financial strain many faced.
Currently based in Los Angeles, Lah previously served as the Tokyo correspondent for CNN. In March 2011, Lah was in Tokyo as the 9.0 earthquake struck Japan and she covered the resulting tsunami and the nuclear disaster at Fukushima. Lah has reported extensively throughout East Asia, reporting stories of conflict and human struggle from China, Korea, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Pakistan. Lah has interviewed numerous Japanese prime ministers as well as leaders from China and Pakistan.
Taking on Lah’s role is Ryan Young. Based in CNN’s Atlanta bureau, Young has in recent years reported extensively on law enforcement across America and covering diverse news stories across the U.S.
He reported from Nashville as two Democratic members of the state house were expelled for participating in protests at the state Capitol calling for more gun control in the wake of the deadly mass shooting at a school, and he spoke with the two expelled members in the crowds. In addition, he reported on the ‘sense of pride’ felt across police ranks as officers across the U.S. hailed the quick, heroic Nashville law enforcement response to the deadly school shooting. He also reported from Mississippi, as a sheriff rolled out reforms after deputies and an officer pleaded guilty to torturing two Black men.
Young joined CNN in 2015 and most recently served as CNN national correspondent.
