July 25th, 2012

Victor Blackwell Joins CNN as Anchor and Correspondent

Victor Blackwell will join CNN as an Atlanta-based anchor and correspondent, co-hosting CNN Newsroom Saturday mornings with Randi Kaye, it was announced today by Ken Jautz, executive vice president of CNN.

Blackwell comes to CNN from WPBF 25 News in West Palm Beach, Fla., where he served as an anchor for the 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. newscasts. He has been honored with an Emmy award, several regional Emmy nominations, two Telly awards, several Associated Press awards and honors from the Society of Professional Journalists. He also earned the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award and the UNITY Award, both from the Radio Television Digital News Association, for a special report on the disproportionate drop out rate amongst young black men.

“Victor is a passionate and committed journalist,’ said Jautz. “He will be a strong addition to our weekend morning team and in the field.”

Prior to his tenure at WPBF, Blackwell worked for WTLV/WJXX in Jacksonville, Fla. He broke into journalism writing for the Community Times newspaper in Columbia, Md. He has worked as a producer for Radio11 WBAL in Baltimore and as a co-producer for WHUT-TV in Washington. He has also worked for WPMT-TV in York, Penn., and WHAG-TV in Hagerstown, Md.

Blackwell’s reporting includes an investigation of synthetic marijuana, its effects and the local people making money from the drug. He covered the final space shuttle launch on location in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and he covered the Casey Anthony trial and verdict in Orlando, Fla., including exclusive interviews with Anthony’s roommates.

CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner Company, is the most trusted source for news and information. Its reach extends to nine cable and satellite television networks; one private place-based network; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; CNN Digital Network, the No. 1 network of news Web sites in the United States; CNN Newsource, the world’s most extensively-syndicated news service; and strategic international partnerships within both television and the digital media.

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Contact:

Christal Jones           404.878.0285                 christal.jones@turner.com                 @joneschristal

Bridget Leininger     404.827.1621                 bridget.leininger@turner.com            @bleiningercnn