Paula Zahn
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Paula Ann Zahn (; born February 24, 1956) is an American
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
and
newscaster A news presenter – also known as a newsreader, newscaster (short for "news broadcaster"), anchorman or anchorwoman, news anchor or simply an anchor – is a person who presents news during a news broadcasting, news program on televisio ...
who has been an anchor at
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...
,
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
,
Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...
, and
CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...
. She currently produces and hosts the
true crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...
documentary series '' On the Case with Paula Zahn'' on the
Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries, similar to corporate sibling HLN. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery's netw ...
channel.


Early life and career

Zahn was born in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...
, to a schoolteacher/artist mother and an
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
sales executive father. She initially grew up in
Canton, Ohio Canton () is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, eighth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 70,872 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Canton–Massillo ...
, with her parents and three siblings. The family relocated to
Naperville, Illinois Naperville ( ) is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a southwestern suburb of Chicago located west of the city on the DuPage River. As of the 2020 United State ...
, as her father's job required them to move frequently. She once joked that "IBM" really stood for "I've been moved" . She attended Washington Junior High School in Naperville and later graduated from
Naperville Central High School Naperville Central High School (Naperville Central or NCHS) is a four-year state school, public high school located in Naperville, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago. The school, which enrolls students in grades nine through twelve, is a par ...
in 1974. Zahn also competed in several beauty pageants, making the semi-finals of the 1973
Miss Teenage America The Miss Teenage America Pageant was a United States beauty pageant started in 1961 as a pageant for high school girls. In the 1960s and 1970s, it was usually broadcast on the CBS network around November each year.Terrace, VincentTelevision Spe ...
Pageant. She continued her education at
Stephens College Stephens College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Timeline of women's colleges in the United States#First and oldest, the second-oldest women's educa ...
in
Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...
, on a cello scholarship, and received firsthand knowledge of the news business by working as an intern at WBBM-TV in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. She graduated in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in journalism. Zahn then spent the next 10 years working at local stations around the country, including WFAA-TV in
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
KFMB-TV KFMB-TV (channel 8) is a television station in San Diego, California, United States, affiliated with CBS, The CW, and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Tegna Inc., it has studios on Engineer Road in the Kearny Mesa section of San Diego, and its transmitter i ...
in
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, KPRC-TV in
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, WHDH-TV (then WNEV) in
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, and
KCBS-TV KCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS Los Angeles, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship station of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the n ...
in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.


National career


ABC

In 1987, Zahn accepted an offer to work at
ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...
, initially anchoring ''The Health Show'', a weekend program on health and medical issues. Within a few months she was co-anchoring '' World News This Morning'', the network's early morning newscast, and anchoring news segments on ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
'' as well as substituting for co-host Joan Lunden.


CBS

In 1990, Zahn was offered a job at
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
, which she took beginning on February 26, 1990, co-anchoring ''
CBS This Morning ''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987 to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012 to September 6, 2021. On November 1, 1999, the original incarnation was repla ...
'' with Harry Smith. During this time, she helped cover the
1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile '92''), were a winter multi-sport event held from 8 to 23 February 1992 in and aroun ...
in Albertville, France with Tim McCarver and the
1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, were an international winter multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Hav ...
in Lillehammer, Norway, as well as covering the
Waco siege The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the siege by US federal government and Texas state law enforcement officials of a compound belonging to the religious cult known as the Branch Davidians, between February 28 and April 19, 1993 ...
. Both she and Smith left after changes were made at the morning show in 1996 with their last day being on June 14, 1996. Zahn then went on to work as anchor of the Saturday edition of the ''
CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featu ...
'', as well as substituting for
Dan Rather Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. He began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurrica ...
during the week, and contributing reports to '' 48 Hours'', '' Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel'', and ''
CBS News Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (frequently shortened to ''Sunday Morning'') is an American television newsmagazine that has aired on CBS since January 28, 1979. Created by Robert Northshield and E.S. "Bud" Lamoreaux III, and originally hosted by ...
''.


Fox News Channel

In 1999, after nine years at CBS News, Zahn moved to the world of cable news, joining
Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...
(FNC), where she anchored '' Fox Report'', the network's nightly newscast. Months later, she helped launch her own prime time news program, ''The Edge with Paula Zahn''.


CNN

Zahn began her work at CNN on September 11, 2001, joining anchor Aaron Brown in the coverage of that day's terrorist attacks as her reaction to the events she witnessed. Although not scheduled to appear on a CNN program, which was still in development, she began a regular morning news shift the next day. By January, she launched her CNN morning news program, '' American Morning with Paula Zahn''. In 2003, during the
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
, Zahn moved back to prime time, hosting a two-hour program labeled '' Live from the Headlines'' which offered continuing coverage of the war and other events.
Anderson Cooper Anderson Hays Cooper (born June 3, 1967) is an American broadcast journalist and political commentator who anchors the CNN news broadcast show ''Anderson Cooper 360°''. In addition to his duties at CNN, Cooper serves as a correspondent for ''6 ...
took over the first of the two hours by early summer, and by September, her show, ''Paula Zahn Now'', premiered. On July 24, 2007, she announced her resignation from CNN. The final broadcast of ''Paula Zahn Now'' aired August 2, 2007. The announcement came less than a day after CNN hired Campbell Brown, the former co-host of '' Weekend Today''. Initially, guest hosts essentially continued Zahn's program under the title ''Out in the Open''. This was later replaced by election campaign coverage and ultimately Brown's program, '' Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull''. According to Zahn's goodbye letter penned to CNN staff, she stated "I plan to take a break between jobs and catch my breath before I take on my next role." In a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' interview, which was conducted right after the announcement of her resignation broke, Zahn told Jacques Steinberg that "she had no idea what she would be doing next".


WNET

On November 9, 2008, Zahn became the new co-host of ''SundayArts'' on New York City PBS stations WNET and WLIW. The program, which covers the fine arts scene in New York City, is now called ''NYC-ARTS'' and airs Thursday evenings.


Investigation Discovery

On January 9, 2009,
Discovery Communications Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1982, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Cha ...
announced that Zahn, along with producing partners Scott Weinberger and Scott Sternberg, had entered into a development deal for a
true crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...
documentary series. '' On the Case with Paula Zahn'' premiered October 18, 2009 on the
Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries, similar to corporate sibling HLN. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery's netw ...
cable channel.


PBS

On
New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...
2011, Zahn hosted the annual " From Vienna: The New Year's Celebration" episode of the anthology series ''
Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member statio ...
'' on PBS.


Personal life

Zahn has three children, Austin, Jared, and Haley, with Richard Cohen, a New York City real estate developer. Cohen is
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and they raised the children in his faith. The couple was in the news in 2004 when the nest of the well-publicized
red-tailed hawk The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members of ...
Pale Male was removed from their Manhattan co-op building. Cohen, president of the co-op board, supported the removal; in 2001 Zahn had spoken approvingly of the hawk and its habit of feeding on rats and pigeons. In April 2007, Zahn announced she was divorcing Cohen after 20 years of marriage. That same year, Zahn filed a lawsuit against Cohen alleging he had mismanaged 20 years' worth of her career earnings. The lawsuit was dismissed by the New York state court, ruling it "is not a commercial case, rather, it is a matrimonial dispute masquerading as a commercial dispute." Zahn played cello at
Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...
in May 1992 with the New York Pops orchestra. She is also an honorary board member of the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, and has been an active advocate for issues of cancer awareness in general, and breast cancer in particular. In May 2003, Zahn received an honorary degree from
Dowling College Dowling College was a private college on Long Island, New York. It was established in 1968 and had its main campus located in Oakdale, New York on the site of William K. Vanderbilt's mansion Idle Hour. Dowling also included a campus in Shirle ...
of
Oakdale, New York Oakdale is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet (and census-designated place) in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States, situated on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island. The hamlet's popula ...
.


References


External links

* *
CNN interview December 23, 2005 with Shane SellersVideo of Zahn as co-host of public media's NYC-ARTS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahn, Paula 1956 births Living people American broadcast news analysts 20th-century American women journalists 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American journalists 20th-century American women American cellists American women television journalists CBS News people CNN people Journalists from Ohio People associated with true crime People from Canton, Ohio People from Naperville, Illinois Mass media people from Omaha, Nebraska Stephens College alumni Television anchors from Boston Television anchors from Houston Television anchors from Los Angeles Television anchors from San Diego