Just as President-elect Barack Obama is assembling his White House team, the news networks are deciding who will cover it.
ABC News shuffled the assignments of a few top correspondents, naming Jake Tapper, who covered the Barack Obama campaign for the network, as its senior White House correspondent.
The assignment shifts at ABC News raise the profile of Tapper, who was previously senior national and political correspondent.
Martha Raddatz, ABC's point person at the White House since late 2005, has been named senior foreign affairs correspondent. Jon Karl moves from the national security desk to become ABC's senior congressional correspondent...
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British singer Lily Allen — who it should be noted is not 16 but 22 — is expecting her first child with beau Ed Simons (of the Chemical Brothers). "As the pregnancy is at a very, very early stage, the couple asks that you respect their privacy," Allen's rep tells People. "[They] will be making no further comment but they are obviously both thrilled".... CNN anchor Campbell Brown birthed her and husband Dan Senor's first child, Eli James, on Tuesday.... On Dec. 10, Chris O'Donnell and his wife, Caroline, welcomed their fifth child, named Maeve Frances O'Donnell. Yes, the family is German.
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Campbell Brown has officially joined CNN, where she will have her own nightly show. But it’s going to be a few months before viewers can see her. NBC News, where Brown was coanchor of weekend Today and a substitute anchor for NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, has exercised a noncompete clause that will keep her off the air until November. Brown will have to take some time off shortly after her arrival because she's due to give birth to her first child in December. Brown said her goal was to get back to work before the presidential primary season kicks into high gear in February 2008. The cable news channel wasn’t ready to announce when Brown’s new show will air, but it’s widely expected that Paula Zahn’s prime-time show will be bumped. — Reporting by Stephen Battaglio
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While NBC trots out its stars for the Television Critics Association press tour, the network’s execs are trying to decide on the future of weekend Today co-anchor Campbell Brown. When Brown’s contract expires at the end of the month, she will have an offer from CNN waiting for her. The cable news channel is trying to lure Brown with a substantial raise and a nightly program.But NBC News has the right to match CNN’s salary package. Insiders believe Brown has already made up her mind to leave, but NBC News president Steve Capus is making a last-ditch effort to keep her. He has the backing of NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker. Brown, who is also a frequent substitute for NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams, has been with the network since 1998. — Reporting by Stephen Battaglio
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Weekend Today coanchor Campbell Brown announced Sunday that she’s pregnant. While Brown didn’t mention a due date, it’s widely believed inside NBC News that she’ll be at another network by the time the baby is born. Brown’s contract with NBC is up at the end of July. Word is she’s headed to CNN for more money and a nightly broadcast of her own. Brown, 39, is married to Dan Senor, a former advisor to the U.S. presidential envoy to Iraq and is now a Fox News Channel contributor. — Reporting by Stephen Battaglio
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