NYPC Speakers Series:
Susan Zirinsky – December 8 at 7pm
Susan Zirinsky will join the New York Press Club on December 8 at 7 p.m. The conversation will be moderated by Melody Hahm. Click Here to Register for this Free Event
Photo: John Paul Filo/CBS ©2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Susan Zirinsky is President and Senior Executive Producer of CBS News, a position she began on March 1, 2019. Within her first nine months, Zirinsky oversaw an overhaul of the news division, including launching the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH NORAH O’DONNELL and moving the broadcast to Washington, D.C., where it is the only broadcast network nightly newscast to be based in the nation’s capital. She has re-imagined the CBS THIS MORNING anchor team with co-hosts Gayle King, Anthony Mason and Tony Dokoupil and has further integrated the linear and digital newsrooms to continue to grow CBS News’ multi-platform presence. She also named new executive leadership and several new executive producers of several flagship programs including 60 MINUTES, CBS THIS MORNING, CBS EVENING NEWS, 48 HOURS, and a newly created CBS NEWS SPECIAL EVENTS unit.
Zirinsky, an acclaimed journalist and highly respected senior executive producer at CBS News, began her career in the CBS News Washington bureau two weeks after the Watergate break-in. Over the next four decades she produced a wide variety of award-winning documentaries and programs, and she covered a range of historic stories, from the Gulf War to the student uprising in Tiananmen Square, from the White House for 10 years to the 9/11 attacks, and from the Paris terrorist attacks to the mass shooting at a Parkland, Fla. School.
Prior to taking on her new role, Zirinsky was the senior executive producer of the award-winning 48 HOURS and was responsible for numerous CBS News breaking news specials. She was also the senior executive producer of 48 HOURS: NCIS and the senior executive producer of the CBS primetime series WHISTLEBLOWER.
A prolific producer on a variety of issues and subjects, her work has been lauded by critics and honored by her peers with journalism’s top honors, including Emmys, the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award and the George Foster Peabody Award.
Zirinsky brings to the position extensive experience leading teams of investigative journalists, building and developing new non-fiction programs; creating innovative ways to report news; and mentoring and guiding the careers of some of the industry’s brightest journalists.
In 1984, while covering the Democratic National Convention, Academy Award-winning producer James L. Brooks interviewed her about her job. As a result, while still working at CBS News, Zirinsky became the technical advisor/associate producer for Brooks’ film “Broadcast News,” starring Holly Hunter as a Washington network news producer.
Melody Hahm is the West Coast correspondent for Yahoo Finance based in Los Angeles. She covers the startup industry, entrepreneurship, venture capital, technology and culture on-air and in written reporting. Melody was previously a New York-based senior writer and host for the outlet’s morning show, “YFi AM.” She has interviewed leaders across business, tech, politics and entertainment, ranging from 2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang, billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar, actor and producer Will Smith, Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry, among others. Prior to joining Yahoo Finance, Melody was a producer and social media editor at CNBC’s flagship show “Squawk Box.” She is fluent in Korean and Spanish.
