CNN has named new executive producers on Friday for two of its primetime shows — The Source with Kaitlan Collins, CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip — and for Sunday political programs, State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash and Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju.
CNN U.S. programming chief Eric Sherling announced the new assignments to network staff on Friday.
Kristin Donnelly has been named Executive Producer of The Source with Kaitlan Collins. Donnelly helped develop and launch the show last July, and will continue to lead the team from the New York Bureau. Donnelly joined CNN in 2017 and prior to The Source, she was the executive producer for Inside Politics with John King. She previously served as the senior broadcast producer for The Lead with Jake Tapper.
Longtime CNN production executive Eric Hall has been named Executive Producer of NewsNight with Abby Phillip. In addition to his work with Phillip, Hall serves as the executive producer for several breaking news specials and special events for the network throughout the year, including the top-rated CNN New Year’s Eve Live special with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and CNN Election Specials. Previously, he served as the Executive Producer for New Day, CNN Newsroom, and CNN Right Now, overseeing and managing the editorial direction, production, and execution of the daily shows, while leading teams based in the Atlanta, New York and Washington bureaus.
Kirk McDonald has been named executive producer of Washington programming and special events programming after serving as executive producer of Inside Politics with Dana Bash and Inside Politics Sunday with Abby Phillip. McDonald will oversee all of the network’s D.C. based programming and will be responsible for programming and producing some of the network’s breaking news coverage. Previously, he was senior broadcast Producer for The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer and a supervising producer on Anderson Cooper 360, serving as Cooper’s anchor producer for 12 years. McDonald has played an notable role in CNN’s major events for years including numerous presidential primary debates, town halls, and election nights.
Rachel Streitfeld earns a new role as the executive producer of the network’s Sunday politics programs — State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, and Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju. Streitfeld joined CNN in 2006 after interning in the Washington, D.C. bureau, and became a presidential campaign field producer. She’s covered every national election since 2008, including presidential candidates Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, and was a campaign embed following New Hampshire’s Republican primary and Mitt Romney. Streitfeld also covered Capitol Hill, the White House and breaking news stories ranging from the Virginia Tech shooting to the Paris terror attacks. She later transitioned to producing for The Lead with Jake Tapper and joined State of the Union as a senior producer in 2018, where she also works on CNN special coverage and Dana Bash’s quarterly longform interview series, Being.