CNN Lands Jake Tapper

CNN announced that it has hired Jake Tapper. Easily the best pickup by CNN in 10 years…

JAKE TAPPER JOINS CNN AS ANCHOR AND CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT

Tapper to Anchor New Weekday Program Beginning in 2013

Accomplished Washington journalist Jake Tapper, who has served the last four years as ABC’s senior White House correspondent and is a best-selling author, joins CNN as anchor of a new weekday program and CNN’s chief Washington correspondent, it was announced today by Ken Jautz, executive vice president of CNN/U.S.

Tapper has been a widely-respected reporter in the nation’s capital for 14 years and his most recent book, The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor, is currently on The New York Times best seller list. In his new role at CNN, he will be a key Washington, D.C. anchor and correspondent for CNN.

“We are thrilled to have Jake join CNN and take the helm of a brand new weekday program,” said Jautz. “Jake is an exceptional reporter and communicator, and we look forward to developing a program that takes advantage of all of his strengths, his passion and his knowledge of national issues and events.”

“With CNN’s impeccable reporting during the elections and the exciting changes in the works for the network, this is a perfect time to join the CNN team,” said Tapper. “I am excited about the prospect of working with both the new leadership and some old friends and colleagues.”

Tapper comes to CNN from ABC News, where he most recently served as senior White House correspondent, a position he was named to immediately following the 2008 presidential election. In this role, Tapper contributed regularly to “Good Morning America,” “Nightline,” and “World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer,” in addition to serving as substitute host of “This Week” and publishing to his “Political Punch” blog on ABCNews.com. While on the White House beat, Tapper has earned the coveted Merriman Smith Award for presidential coverage from the White House Correspondents’ Association an unprecedented three times in a row. He also played a key role in the network’s Emmy award winning coverage of the inauguration of President Barack Obama.

Tapper has covered a wide range of stories since joining ABC News in 2003, including the war in Iraq and Hurricane Katrina. In 2008, he served as the lead political reporter for the coverage of the presidential election. He traveled to early voting states across the country for interviews with the candidates, including the eventual Democratic and Republican nominees, then-Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain.

Prior to joining ABC News, Tapper served as Washington correspondent, then national correspondent, for Salon.com. He began his journalism career at the Washington City Paper and his writings have since been published in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post,The Los Angeles Times and The Weekly Standard, among others. He authored a political comic strip, “Capitol Hell,” which appeared in Roll Call from 1994 to 2003.

Tapper also appeared on CNN in 2001, including co-hosting the show “Take 5,” a weekend program that featured young journalists talking about politics and pop culture.

Tapper is the author of three books including the newly-released “The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor,” currently on The New York Times best seller list. His book Down and Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency was published in 2001 and Body Slam: The Jesse Ventura Story was published in 1999. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

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