CNN Gives New Roles to Clarissa Ward, Brianna Keilar, Julia Chatterley

By Brian Steinberg

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Clarissa Ward, Julia Chatterley and Brianna Keilar were elevated to new roles at Wednesday, as the -owned cable-news outlet unveiled a short series of important talent changes.

Ward, a veteran of CBS News and ABC News, was named CNN’s chief international correspondent, succeeding Christiane Amanpour in the role. Amanpour in recent months has devoted more time to a flagship interview program on CNN International and was recently named to anchor a program on PBS that took the place of Charlie Rose’s long-running show. Ward joined CNN in 2015.

Keilar, a senior political correspondent and anchor based in Washington, D.C., will take over as anchor of CNN’s 1 p.m. hour starting in the fall. Wolf Blitzer, who has been anchored the hour, currently called “Wolf,” will continue to anchor CNN’s early-evening broadcast “The Situation Room,” between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Keilar has served as a White House and congressional reporter for CNN, which she joined in 2006 after working for CBS News. CNN said the name of her new program and other details will be released at some point in the future.

Chatterley who joins CNN from Bloomberg TV, will host a new hour on CNN International starting in the fall. She hosted the daily “Bloomberg Markets” and “What’d You Miss?” programs. CNN said details about her new program would also be released later in the year.