# Sam Feist

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**Sam Feist** is an American media executive and journalist. He is the [chief executive officer](/source/Chief_executive_officer) of [C-SPAN](/source/C-SPAN) and former chief of [CNN](/source/CNN)'s Washington, D.C. [news bureau](/source/News_bureau).

## Early life and education

Feist received a [bachelor of arts](/source/Bachelor_of_arts) degree in [political science](/source/Political_science) from [Vanderbilt University](/source/Vanderbilt_University) in 1991 and a [juris doctorate](/source/Juris_doctorate) from [Georgetown University](/source/Georgetown_University) in 1999.[1][2][3] At Vanderbilt, Feist was a reporter and editor for *[The Vanderbilt Hustler](/source/The_Vanderbilt_Hustler)*.[3]

## Career

Feist began working for [CNN](/source/CNN) in 1989 as an intern.[4] In 1990, he became a freelance producer in [London](/source/London). He received a full-time position in 1991 and moved to [Atlanta](/source/Atlanta).[1] He moved to the network's [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington,_D.C.) [news bureau](/source/News_bureau) in 1992.[5][1] He was the founding [executive producer](/source/Executive_producer) of *[The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer](/source/The_Situation_Room_with_Wolf_Blitzer_and_Pamela_Brown)*, which premiered in August 2005.[5][6] Feist was the network's political director and senior executive producer for political coverage from 2006 to 2008, and named vice president of Washington-based programming in 2009.[7][8] In 2011, CNN named Feist senior vice president and chief of its Washington, D.C., news bureau, where he oversaw newsgathering and production.[5] Feist produced election night coverage and shows including *[Crossfire](/source/Crossfire_(American_TV_program))*, *[Capital Gang](/source/Capital_Gang)*, *[Evans & Novak](/source/Evans,_Novak,_Hunt_%26_Shields)*, and *[Inside Politics](/source/Inside_Politics)*.[9][8] During election broadcasts, he was responsible for projecting the winners.[9]

Feist was named [chief executive officer](/source/Chief_executive_officer) of [C-SPAN](/source/C-SPAN) in May 2024, succeeding co-CEOs [Susan Swain](/source/Susan_Swain) and Robert Kennedy.[10][5] In 2025, he created *[Ceasefire](/source/Ceasefire_(television_show))*, a [panel discussion](/source/Panel_discussion) series bringing together [Republicans](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) and [Democrats](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) for civil discourse. The program was inspired by his work on *Crossfire*.[11][12][13]

## Awards

Awards Year Recognized work Role Award/Honor Awarding organization Ref. 2007 Election Night Executive producer News and Documentary Emmy Award Academy of Television Arts and Sciences [14] 2008 Coverage of 2008 Presidential Primary Campaigns and Debates Executive producer George Foster Peabody Award National Association of Broadcasters [15] 2012 Revolution in Egypt: President Mubarak Steps Down Vice President of Washington Programming News and Documentary Emmy Award Academy of Television Arts and Sciences [16] 2013 Election Night in America Executive Producer News and Documentary Emmy Award Academy of Television Arts and Sciences [17] 2023 Live from the Capitol: January 6th, One Year Later Executive producer News and Documentary Emmy Award Academy of Television Arts and Sciences [18] 2024 A CNN Town Hall: Toxic Train Disaster, Ohio Residents Speak Out Executive producer News and Documentary Emmy Award Academy of Television Arts and Sciences [19]

## References

1. ["Sam Feist"](https://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/feist.sam.html). *CNN*. Retrieved July 22, 2025.

1. ["Sam Feist (L'99)"](https://politics.georgetown.edu/profile/sam-feist/). *Georgetown University*. Retrieved July 22, 2025.

1. Spencer, George (October 22, 2020). ["Washington Insiders: Vanderbilt alumni in CNN's Washington Bureau are playing key roles in the network's around-the-clock political coverage"](https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2020/10/22/washington-insiders-vanderbilt-alumni-in-cnns-washington-bureau-are-playing-key-roles-in-the-networks-around-the-clock-political-coverage/). *MyVU News*. Vanderbilt University. Retrieved July 22, 2025.

1. Barr, Jeremy (May 14, 2024). ["Sam Feist, longtime CNN executive, will become CEO of C-SPAN"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/05/14/sam-feist-cspan-ceo-cnn/). *The Washington Post*. Retrieved July 22, 2025.

1. Johnson, Ted (May 14, 2024). ["CNN's Sam Feist Named New CEO Of C-SPAN"](https://deadline.com/2024/05/sam-feist-c-span-cnn-1235915408/). *Deadline Hollywood*. Retrieved July 22, 2025.

1. Allen, Mike (August 8, 2020). ["Wolf Blitzer marks 15 years in "The Situation Room""](https://www.axios.com/2020/08/08/15-years-situation-room-wolf-blitzer-cnn). *Axios*. Retrieved July 22, 2025.

1. ["CNN names Sam Feist DC bureau chief"](https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/17/cnn-names-sam-feist-washington-bureau-chief/). CNN. May 17, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2025.

1. ["CNN ups Sam Feist"](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/cnn-ups-sam-feist-77384/). *The Hollywood Reporter*. Associated Press. January 8, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2025.

1. Calderone, Michael (May 17, 2011). ["CNN Names Sam Feist New Washington Bureau Chief"](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cnn-names-sam-feist-new-washington-chief_n_863020). *The Huffington Post*. Retrieved July 22, 2025.

1. Korach, Natalie (May 14, 2024). ["Sam Feist Named C-SPAN CEO, Will Depart CNN After 34 Years"](https://www.thewrap.com/sam-feist-departs-cnn-for-c-span-ceo/). *The Wrap*. Retrieved July 22, 2025.

1. Ted, Johnson (October 10, 2025). ["C-SPAN's 'Ceasefire' Tries To Show Cooler Heads Can Prevail At A Time Of Hyper-Polarization"](https://deadline.com/2025/10/c-span-ceasefire-debut-mike-pence-rahm-emanuel-1236577144/). *Deadline Hollywood*. Retrieved October 15, 2025.

1. Bauder, David (July 30, 2025). ["From 'Crossfire' to 'CeaseFire': C-SPAN executive launches program that promotes common ground"](https://apnews.com/article/political-divisiveness-cspan-washington-show-743ca9824ef9d3b601837c010b512042). *Associated Press*. Retrieved October 15, 2025.

1. Steinberg, Brian (October 6, 2025). ["C-SPAN Chief Jumps to 'Ceasefire' After 'Crossfire' in Bid to Create News Programs That Unify, Not Divide"](https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/cspan-sam-feist-ceasefire-crossfire-tv-news-1236540678/). *Variety*. Retrieved October 15, 2025.

1. ["28th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards Announces Winners at New York City Gala"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160304083041/http://www.emmyonline.org/mediacenter/_pdf/news_28th_winners_rev_ii.pdf). Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. September 24, 2007. Archived from [the original](http://www.emmyonline.org/mediacenter/_pdf/news_28th_winners_rev_ii.pdf) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2025.

1. ["Coverage of 2008 Presidential Primary Campaigns and Debates"](https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/coverage-of-2008-presidential-primary-campaigns-and-debates/). *Peabody Awards*. Retrieved September 3, 2025.

1. ["National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Announces Winners at the 33rd Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards"](https://web.archive.org/web/20151013064147/http://www.emmyonline.org/mediacenter/news_33rd_winners.html). Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. October 1, 2012. Archived from [the original](http://www.emmyonline.org/mediacenter/news_33rd_winners.html) on October 13, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2025.

1. ["Winners Announced for the 34th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150331051214/http://emmyonline.com/news_34th_winners). Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. October 1, 2013. Archived from [the original](http://emmyonline.com/news_34th_winners) on March 31, 2015. Retrieved September 3, 2025.

1. ["Winners for the News Categories of the 44th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards Announced"](https://theemmys.tv/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/news-44th-winners-news-night-v03.pdf). Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. September 27, 2023. Retrieved September 3, 2025.

1. ["Winners for the News Categories of the 45th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards Announced"](https://theemmys.tv/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/news-45th-winners-news-night.pdf). Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. September 25, 2024. Retrieved September 3, 2025.

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