CNN is strengthening its talent development and recruitment team.
Senior director of talent recruitment and development Shawn Giangeruso has been promoted to the role of vice president. In this role, Giangeruso will focus on developing on-air talent across CNN Worldwide—and continue to coordinate CNN’s talent coaching practice, which includes journalism, on-air performance training and custom coaching. He has worked in the network’s talent development division for more than a decade, joining CNN in 2010 after a stint as a senior broadcast producer at sibling legacy Turner property, TruTV. He previously spent eight years as an executive producer at Court TV, and had a three-year stint as a producer at Fox News, beginning in 1996.
Jamie Foster has also been named CNN vp of talent development. Foster, who will now focus on off-air talent, was most recently an executive producer of evening programming for CNN+. Prior to joining CNN in Nov. 2021, he was most recently was an agent for the NWT Group, which represents high-profile journalists working on English and Spanish speaking platforms around the U.S. Foster established a 25-year career in local news before becoming an agent, including 12 years as news director for WATE in Knoxville, three years as the news director for WJLA in Washington DC—and earlier in his career spent six years as an assistant news director and ep at KNBC in Los Angeles.
Giangeruso and Foster will both report to talent recruitment and development svp Ramón Escobar.
Here’s the internal note Escobar sent to staff Wednesday, obtained by TVNewser:
I’m thrilled to announce a well-deserved promotion and also an exciting addition to CNN’s Talent Recruitment & Development team!
Shawn Giangeruso now becomes Vice President, Talent Recruitment & Development with a focus on on-air talent. Shawn will continue to be responsible for talent scouting & recruitment as well internal development of CNN anchors, correspondents & reporters across all CNN platforms including CNN, CNN International, HLN, CNN Newsource & CNN Digital. He coordinates our vast talent coaching practice which includes journalism, on-air performance training and custom coaching. He also will expand his duties helping me oversee our overall contributor strategy to include scouting, developing and coaching talent in that area as well. Shawn has been an integral part in building CNN’s successful talent strategy. He helped build our recruiting pipeline, developed our talent database and helped create our “deep dive” journalism workshops, which have become the industry standard for driving Diversity, Equity & Inclusion.
Shawn began his CNN career in 2010, producing internal pilots and new programming on the Program Development team. A cable news veteran, Shawn spent more than a decade in the control room producing and supervising live news programming. A legacy Turner employee, Shawn was an Executive Producer at Court TV, launching and producing crime, justice and talk programming in both daytime and primetime. He has also been a Senior Broadcast Producer, Line Producer and Talent Producer. As part of the original launch team, Shawn spent three years producing for FOX News Channel’s primetime and breaking news programming. He joined FOX News from CNBC.
Jamie Foster joins the team as Vice President, Talent Recruitment & Development with a focus on off-air editorial talent. Jamie will help develop our talent strategy to scout and attract the best talent from around the world in the areas of news producing, programming, newsgathering and digital journalism. He will be CNN’s main liaison to our corporate talent acquisition partners. He will also help lead our development efforts, which include internal and external journalism workshops focused on developing news producers and journalists.
Jamie was most recently an EP at CNN+. Prior to that, he helped lead the producer recruiting practice for the NWT Talent Agency, where he recruited, coached and helped place some of the top producers in the country.
Jamie has extensive experience as a newsroom leader in several top stations across the country as News Director of WJLA in Washington, DC and WATE in Knoxville, where he was honored with a Murrow Award for Breaking News. He was EP of WFAA in Dallas, where he won another Murrow Award for Best Newscast. He was EP of WSVN in Miami and rose up the ranks of KNBC in LA from producer to Assistant News Director. He was a producer at WJZ in Baltimore. He got his start as production assistant, sports photographer and associate producer in the Richmond, Virginia market.
Shawn and Jamie will be based in NYC and report to me. Please join me in congratulating them both!
Ramón