CNN Anchor Tony Harris Bounces Out of the Network
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action
Another one bites the dust. Tony Harris, arguably the most talented black correspondent with CNN, has left for Al Jazeera English. The Al Jazeera network reports on news in the Middle East and serves a large audience, mostly in that region of the world. Harris spent six years with CNN before announcing his departure.
Harris is an Emmy Award-winning journalist, with experience on HBO and Entertainment Tonight. Right before starting his first day at the new job, Harris said this:
“I’m really pleased to have joined. Having an interest in news from around the world, I was attracted by AJE’s global focus and look forward to being involved in stories from all points of the globe. It’s a very exciting time to be coming on board.”
My quick thoughts:
He must have read the writing on the wall. What other news group is more global than CNN? If it wasn’t for Arab situations all over the world, we wouldn’t even hear about Al Jazeera. I have often sent emails to CNN about Tony Harris regarding his negative comments about Blacks in the past, so his leaving is a positive rather than a negative in my view. I do wish him well and hope he doesn’t slam Blacks on that network as he has on CNN.