CNN Promotes David Chalian to D.C. Bureau Chief

In one of its first post-election personnel moves, CNN has promoted David Chalian to svp and Washington, D.C. bureau chief, a key role as the next Trump administration looks to staff up amid the presidential transition frame.

In the role, the cable news network says Chalian will now oversee all political coverage for CNN as well as polling, decision desk coverage and political programming. He’ll also continue to appear on-air to break down key political moves.

In March, CNN’s Washington bureau chief Sam Feist, who had held the job since 2011, departed the network to take a job at C-SPAN, the cable-funded non-profit.

Chalian joined the network in 2013 from Politico, where he oversaw video efforts. He previously held roles at Yahoo! News, PBS NewsHour, and ABC News.

The promotion arrives shortly after the announcement that Chris Wallace, who hosts a show on weekend mornings and appears on-air as a political analyst, is set to depart when his three-year contract ends.

CNN, like all cable and broadcast news networks, is reckoning with the migration of viewers from linear TV to digital. On Election Night, CNN trailed Fox News, MSNBC, ABC and NBC in linear TV ratings during primetime.

In total, about 42 million viewers watched coverage of across 18 TV networks on Nov. 5, per Nielsen estimates. Meanwhile, YouTube disclosed that 45 million people in the U.S. watched election-related programming on its platform across news sources.