
TWO-TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMP AND 'DANCING WITH THE STARS' MIRRORBALL WINNER HINES WARD JOINS HLN’S 'MORNING EXPRESS WITH ROBIN MEADE' AS SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR
Ward to Also Provide Sports Commentary and Analysis Across all CNN Platforms
Hines Ward, two-time Super Bowl champion and Dancing with the Stars Mirrorball trophy winner, joins HLN’s Morning Express with Robin Meade as sports contributor. Based at the network’s headquarters in Atlanta, Ward will also provide analysis and commentary on major sporting events and breaking news across all CNN platforms, including CNN/U.S., CNN Digital, CNNMoney and CNN International.
Beginning July 1, the Super Bowl XL MVP, joins the popular HLN morning crew of host Robin Meade, meteorologist Bob Van Dillen and consumer business correspondent Jennifer Westhoven. Morning Express with Robin Meade is a ratings juggernaut for the network. The wildly successful morning show is up double-digits year-to-date in both total viewers and persons 25-54.
“I’m incredibly grateful to HLN and CNN for welcoming me to their prestigious team,” said Ward. “Throughout my career, I’ve always envisioned myself as more than just a football player and this platform will allow me to express myself in different and unique ways. I’m excited to be able to share my journey and my stories with our audiences, both in the US and worldwide.”
“Hines is a true champion with such a wining personality,” said Bill Galvin, SVP, Sports Programming, CNN. “His perspective on sports extends well beyond the football field – a fresh voice we’re excited to share with HLN and CNN audiences.”
Upon his retirement in 2012 from the NFL, where here he played for 14 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Ward trained and completed the 2013 Ironman World Championships held annually in Hawaii. He began his television career as an analyst for NBC’s Sunday primetime NFL show, Football Night in America.
He founded and operates Helping Hands Foundations both in the U.S. and Korea, and is an active participant with numerous other charities including The Caring Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and Pearl S. Buck International. Ward also started an after-school education program for kids in his home state of Georgia, where he attended Forest Park High School and went on to be a top scholar-athlete at the University of Georgia, earning All-SEC honors his senior year and finishing his college career as Georgia's second all-time receiver with 144 receptions. He currently lives in Atlanta with his wife and son.
Ward is represented by CSE Talent, which offers management and career assistance to its elite roster of over 200 clients including pro and collegiate coaches, baseball players, golfers, management, and news and sport media talent.
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Declassified: Untold Stories of American Spies Trailer:
The Hunt with John Walsh S3 Trailer:
Declassified: Untold Stories of American Spies, a new eight-part CNN Original Series, debuts on Sunday, June 19, at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Hosted by former U.S. Congressman Mike Rogers, also the former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, each episode features a newly declassified mission told first-hand by the agents who lived it, providing viewers with unprecedented access to the riveting and secret world of espionage.
Declassified covers missions set in fascinating locations and time periods from Cold War era Moscow to modern day Iran, from the streets of 1980s Cuba to today’s bustling Beijing. All 16 intelligence agencies from the CIA to the FBI are represented, revealing the unbelievable true stories of America’s covert operations in the United States and around the world. The hour-long series is produced by All3Media America with Gregory J Lipstone, Domini Hofmann, Aaron Saidman, Stephen Lambert and Mike Rogers serving as executive producers.
The season three premiere of The Hunt with John Walsh will precede Declassified at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Host Walsh, a passionate victims’ rights activist and spokesperson for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, continues to expose the criminal investigation stories of fugitives at large. Through interviews with victims, loved ones and law enforcement, the hour-long series provides the public with salient information to facilitate the capture of the profiled criminals.
After two seasons, 10 cases have been resolved following the show’s exposure. The Hunt with John Walsh is produced by the Peabody and Emmy Award-winning Zero Point Zero Production, Inc. (Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown).
About CNN Original Series
The CNN Original Series group develops non-scripted programming for television via commissioned projects, acquisitions and in-house production. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development, oversees CNN Original Series and CNN Films for CNN Worldwide. Lizzie Fox, vice president of current programming, supervises production of all CNN Original Series.
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Press Contact – Heather Brown; 212-275-8428; [email protected]
CNN’s Anthony Bourdain will have dinner with President Obama this evening while in Hanoi, Vietnam. Their conversation will be featured in an upcoming episode of Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown, returning for its eighth season in September. Bourdain will explore the purpose of the President's trip and his interest in the people, food and culture of Vietnam.
Culinary Journeys
Thursday 16 June at 0930 BST / 1030 CET
Friday 17 June at 0430 BST / 0530 CET
Saturday 18 June at 0530 BST / 0630 CET and 1630 BST / 1730 CET
CNN International's acclaimed cook-centric programme, ‘Culinary Journeys’ continues in June. The only chef in Scandinavia to be awarded three Michelin stars, Esben Holmboe Bang, takes CNN’s cameras on a voyage of discovery through the landscape and cuisine of Norway.
Scandinavia has become known the world over for leading a fine dining revolution, and Holmboe Bang is part of the culinary vanguard. Though born in Denmark, the chef has adopted Norway as his home, where he seeks to uncover and share flavours buried in the country’s forests and fjords.
Holmboe Bang’s restaurant in Oslo, Maaemo – meaning “Mother Earth” in old Norse – is a tribute to local organic produce where each plate is crafted to reflect the seasons.
As part of his culinary journey, Holmboe Bang travels from his kitchen in Oslo to Nordskot, a small fishing village 300 kilometres inside the Arctic Circle to explore Norway’s biggest treasure: the sea.
Under the midnight sun, he forages along the rugged coastline and dives for clams and urchins with fisherman Roderick Sloan, a key supplier to some of the world’s best restaurants. Holmboe Bang also learns more about the traditional preservation techniques which are essential to locals who endure the harsh winter months.
This journey culminates in a traditional meal with friends and family back in Oslo: a celebration of nature and the best of Norway’s culinary culture and hospitality.
Announced today at Google I/O, CNN virtual reality content will be featured on Daydream, Google’s new platform for high performance mobile VR debuting later this year.
Affirming CNN’s leadership in virtual reality journalism, CNN was selected as one of the first creators to make Daydream experiences. This creative vehicle enhances CNN’s ability to not only bring users the news, but bring them inside the news, immersing them in compelling stories wherever they are unfolding.
CNN will leverage its global reporting footprint to deliver VR experiences the moment news breaks, using Daydream as a portal to powerful moments across the planet. With Daydream, viewers will be able to surround themselves in all forms of CNN content, from 360 videos, fixed-frame videos, and social feeds.
For more information on Google Daydream visit google.com/daydream
Net also Picks Up New Seasons of Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, This is Life with Lisa Ling, The Hunt with John Walsh, Finding Jesus, Death Row Stories, and The Wonder List with Bill Weir
CNN, a division of Turner, announced today three new Original Series launching in 2017, adding to its successful portfolio of high-quality, non-scripted programming. Soundtracks: Songs That Made History (working title), The History of Comedy and The Nineties will join the previously announced new spiritual adventure series Believer with Reza Aslan, also launching next year.
Soundtracks: Songs That Made History (working title) is an eight-part series executive-produced by Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Hiram Garcia, and Brian Gewirtz that will explore the music tied to iconic moments in history. Every episode will cover a tragedy, triumph, or the start of a movement – and the music that came to define it. From the March on Washington to the riots at Stonewall, the moon landing to Hurricane Katrina – music has played an integral part in celebrating, criticizing, and amplifying these seismic events in our collective history. Soundtracks is produced by Show of Force and Seven Bucks Productions.
The History of Comedy is an eight-part series executive produced by Sean Hayes and Todd Milliner (Hazy Mills) and Emmy Award winners Mark Herzog and Christopher G. Cowen (Herzog & Company). Episodes will explore what makes people laugh – from the Ancient Greeks, to Shakespeare, Vaudeville, to the biggest contemporary comedians, movies and TV shows. The series will dig deep into topics like political humor and slapstick, featuring the voices that have made us laugh over the generations. Using archival footage, original comedic material, interviews with comedy legends and luminaries, the series will showcase how the art form has evolved over the years.
The Nineties follows in the footsteps of previous CNN decade series The Sixties, The Seventies, and The Eighties. Executive produced by Emmy Award-winning producers Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman in association with HBO and Emmy Award-winning producer Mark Herzog, the eight-part series will highlight cultural and political milestones from the birth of the Internet to President Bill Clinton’s impeachment that defined the decade.
The 2017 slate will also feature new seasons of returning CNN Original Series: Peabody and Emmy Award-winning Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (S9 and S10), This is Life With Lisa Ling (S4), The Hunt with John Walsh (S4), Death Row Stories (S3), The Wonder List with Bill Weir (S3), and Finding Jesus (S2). The current CNN Original Series lineup also includes United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell, Morgan Spurlock Inside Man, The Eighties and Declassified: Untold Stories of American Spies.
In four years, CNN has acquired or produced more than 300 hours of Original Series programming. The content has attracted new and younger audiences, received multiple awards including the Emmy and Peabody, and garnered massive critical acclaim.
About CNN Original Series
The CNN Original Series group develops non-scripted programming for television via commissioned projects, acquisitions and in-house production. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent and content development, oversees CNN Original Series and CNN Films for CNN Worldwide. Lizzie Fox, vice president of current programming, supervises production of all CNN Original Series.
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Press Contact: Heather Brown; 212-275-8428; [email protected]
CNN Press Room: http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com
CREDIT FOR REFERENCE AND USAGE: “CNN’s Jamie Gangel"
In an interview that aired on this morning’s New Day, CNN Special Correspondent Jamie Gangel sat down with former Vice President Dan Quayle to discuss the presidential race. When asked about Donald Trump being the presumptive GOP nominee, Quayle stated, “I totally misjudged his ability to win. But for somebody that has really no experience in politics to be able to start off and to win with a strong field and not even go to the convention, that he is the presumptive nominee a month before we have our final primaries is quite remarkable. It shows that he is a winner. He knows how to win.”
HIGHLIGHTS:
On Donald Trump being the presumptive GOP nominee:
“In the normal sorting out process, the cream usually goes to the top, right? And I didn't realize that Donald Trump was going to be the cream that got to the top. I totally misjudged his ability to win. But for somebody that has really no experience in politics to be able to start off and to win with a strong field and not even go to the convention, that he is the presumptive nominee a month before we have our final primaries is quite remarkable. It shows that he is a winner. He knows how to win.”
On whether he thinks Trump could win the general election:
“I do think he can win. I think he can win because this is clearly the year of the anti-establishment, if you will. So if you want more of the same, Republicans or Democrats, more of the political mess in Washington, I mean you've got the quintessential establishment candidate in Hillary Clinton.”
On whether he thinks Speaker Paul Ryan will end up supporting Trump:
“Paul Ryan, in my view, will end up - will support our nominee. There's very little doubt in my mind, for a couple of reasons. One, you know, he's a team player. He's got a big team in the House of Representatives. The second reason is, is that most of this caucus, I'd say probably 85, 90 percent of his caucus is going to support Donald Trump.”
Full transcript:

