'Matter of Fact with Soledad O'Brien' Premieres This Weekend

Soledad O’Brien will debut on Sept. 10-11 as anchor and producer for the second season of Hearst Television’s political magazine show Matter of Fact.


The half-hour program, launched in November 2015 is produced at the Newseum in Washington D.C., and airs on Sunday morning in many markets.

Soledad O'Brien Will Anchor "Matter of Fact”

Soledad O’Brien will join the second season of Hearst Television’s political magazine show Matter of Fact as anchor and producer. O’Brien’s Starfish Media Group also will co-produce national specials with Hearst Television.


The half-hour program, launched last November, was previously hosted by Fernando Espuelas, and will be renamed Matter of Fact with Soledad O’Brien.

The show is produced out of the Newseum in Washington D.C., and airs on Sunday morning in many markets.

O’Brien will debut on the show on Sept. 10-11 which will include a commemoration of the 15th anniversary of 9/11.

Soledad O'Brien Returns to CNN Mornings in 2012

 CNN anounced last week that it will launch a new format of news and conversation in the morning, including a 7-9am ET show anchored by award-winning journalist Soledad O’Brien in 2012.

O’Brien will anchor a new "conversational ensemble program" that explores top issues of the day while opening the conversation to people from all walks of life. O’Brien will continue to be a special correspondent for long-form documentaries at CNN.

“I couldn’t be more eager to return to daily news, to bring conversation and context to CNN viewers in the morning. I welcome the opportunity to give voice to people who aren’t often heard, and stories that are sometimes overlooked,” says O’Brien. “I love telling people’s stories, and I’m looking forward to bringing the perspective, heart and storytelling that have worked well in our documentaries to a morning audience”

Since joining CNN in 2003, O’Brien has reported breaking news from around the globe—including the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, hurricane Katrina, and the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. In addition, she has produced award-winning documentaries, including the acclaimed Black in America, Latino in America and Muslim in America. Earlier this year she was part of a CNN team that won an Emmy Award for their reporting of the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.

O’Brien came to CNN from NBC, where she anchored the network’s Weekend Today show from 1999-2003. She was named Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Black Journalists in 2010. That same year she launched a personal foundation with her husband, the Soledad O’Brien and Brad Raymond Foundation to send underprivileged youth to and through college.

Banfield

Sambolin

Ashleigh Banfield and Zoraida Sambolin will anchor from 5-7am ET, kicking off the new CNN morning block with a new program covering a broad spectrum of the day’s news from two highly personable and passionate journalists.

Soledad and the Katie Couric Rumor Mill

O'Brien & Couric at a book party for Soledad's latest book

Soledad at NBC -2003

The Katie Couric rumor mill is cranking up again because there have been reports that she will leave her anchor position at CBS Evening News.

Couric is expected to leave her position after almost five years. The ratings have been less than stellar and her contract is up on June 4. Of course, CBS had been in third place behind NBC and ABC for 13 years prior to Couric’s arrival, so you can't blame Katie for all of it. They can blame her for not improving it.

The two current rumor paths are what Katie will do next and who will take her seat at CBS. The popular rumor for the former is that she will launch a syndicated talk show next year. On the latter path, Soledad O'Brien has been included in the list of possible Couric replacements.

The Wrap TV  said that of Soledad: "The CNN anchor might actually be capable of matching the perkiness quotient that Couric's replacement will require."

Soledad is friends with Couric as they worked together at NBC when Soledad hosted the Weekend Today program during the late 1990s.

Anchoring at CNN

And the New Anchor Is - Barbie

Mattel asked the public what careers the 2010 editions of Barbie dolls should pursue.

The winner amongst girls was "news anchor."

Look out Soledad...

BTW, The general public voted "computer engineer" to the top. Both Barbies will be out this year. Which one will earn more money - in sales AND in doll-land career dollars? I'm betting on anchor Barbie for both...

SoledadOBrien.info

Soledad and CNN at the Republican National Convention

CNN will quickly shift its resources and team from Denver to St. Paul this week for special coverage leading up to the Republican National Convention.

Soledad O'Brien will once again be pulling multiple assignments next week anchoring three segments during the 9-4 p.m. period.

Throughout the week, a special edition of CNN Newsroom from 9 a.m. to noon will feature her presenting extended segments of convention coverage.

A special noon hour will again be led by Soledad O'Brien, Ali Velshi and Gerri Willis and will focus on the economy and presidential politics. The hour will include guests and panelists live from the CNN Grill on site.

CNN Newsroom will return from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. with Soledad O'Brien leading CNN's special convention coverage with frequent highlights and reports live from St. Paul.

The Situation Room will pick up at 4 p.m. with Wolf Blitzer anchoring from the convention floor, and then the network will move into its special primetime convention coverage beginning at approximately 6 p.m. Campbell Brown, Gloria Borger and John King, along with the "magic wall," will join Blitzer on CNN's floor set. The coverage will extend late into the night and lead into a special midnight edition of Larry King Live.

Throughout the day and evening, CNN's political team will once again offer the latest news and thoughtful analysis. Correspondents include Dana Bash, Candy Crowley, Joe Johns, Suzanne Malveaux, Bill Schneider and Jessica Yellin.

CNN Schedule for Democratic Convention Coverage

A special convention edition of American Morning will air the week of Monday, Aug. 25 through Friday, Aug. 29 from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

A special edition of CNN Newsroom from 9 a.m. to noon will feature anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien and extended segments and frequent live shots from the convention site.

For the noon hour, CNN will feature Soledad O'Brien and anchors Gerri Willis and Ali Velshi live from New York's Election Center with guests and panel discussions live from CNN's Grill. The hour will have a convention-focused theme with the role of the economy and other pocketbook issues in the election.

CNN Newsroom will return from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. with Soledad O'Brien leading CNN's special convention coverage.

Beginning at 4 p.m., lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer will anchor The Situation Room from the convention floor. Each day, the convention will gavel to order while The Situation Room is in progress and offering the first look at that day's activities.

CNN will move into its primetime convention coverage beginning at approximately 6 p.m. Anchor Anderson Cooper, senior political analyst Gloria Borger, and chief national correspondent John King, along with the "magic wall," will join Blitzer on CNN's floor set in the Pepsi Center. The coverage will extend late into the night and lead into a special midnight edition of Larry King Live.

On the final evening, CNN will relocate its political team and resources to Invesco Field at Mile High, where Sen. Obama is expected to accept his party's nomination.

Throughout the day and evening, CNN's political team will offer the latest news and thoughtful analysis. Correspondents include Dana Bash, Candy Crowley, Joe Johns, Suzanne Malveaux, Bill Schneider and Jessica Yellin.

Soledad O'Brien: 5 Years at CNN

Soledad O'Brien celebrates her fifth anniversary with CNN. She joined CNN in July of 2003 after spending seven years with NBC/MSNBC.

Soledad is currently part of CNN's political team, as well as a network anchor and correspondent for the CNN Special Investigations Unit and CNN Presents. She first served as co-anchor of American Morning.

Before her CNN assignments, she anchored the weekend edition of NBC's Today, anchored several shows on MSNBC.

For full biographical information, see SoledadOBrien.info.

Soledad and CNN Will Be In Full Force At The Conventions

Starting at the end of August, Soledad O'Brien and the CNN crew will be very busy covering the Democratic and Republican conventions in Denver and Saint Paul.

CNN anchor Soledad O'Brien will serve as the main anchor at the conventions during the day, with Wolf Blitzer taking over after 4pm ET.

The network will anchor its multi-platform coverage of both events from sets on the delegation floors at the Pepsi Center in Denver from Aug. 25 to 28 and the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., from Sept. 1 to 4.

Along with O'Brien and Blitzer, Campbell Brown and Anderson Cooper along with the "Best Political Team on Television" will provide analysis during the network's primetime coverage. Larry King will wrap up each day's events at midnight and John Roberts will start the convention news in the morning on American Morning.

CNN will kick off its convention coverage with two primetime documentaries profiling Sen. John McCain and Sen. Barack Obama.

"This is an election like no other and we've been covering it in a brand new way
that is connecting with viewers," says David Bohrman, executive producer of
political coverage and Washington bureau chief. "We'll continue setting the pace
and pushing the envelope to give viewers the best seats in the house and the
best understanding of what is happening and why."

In addition to the CNN "ringside" sets and documentaries, the network will also have CNN Grills situated immediately outside the delegate entrances at both conventions. The CNN Grills are additional broadcast centers that bring delegates, newsmakers and members of the media together to participate in CNN live broadcasts and mingle with CNN guests. CNN had used the "CNN Diner" for the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York.

The network will also use multiple Sky Booths to accommodate its partners including CNN.com, CNN International, CNN Radio, CNN en Espanol, CNN Newsource, CNN Headline News and TV Asahi.

There will be extensive use of the latest wireless technology for high-quality coverage from its numerous broadcast locations. CNN will shoot and air the convention in HD and will introduce new HD cameras for this event.

The popular CNN "multi-touch" ) AKA the "magic wall") will be at both conventions to better communicate delegate math and the Electoral College breakdown.

The network's mobile news bureau, the CNN Election Express, will be parked just steps away from the main delegate entrances at the two conventions. It will serve as the network's primary production facility for the CNN Grills and the live shot locations, as well as the main transmission vehicle for Sen. Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field.