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Daryn A. Kagan | |
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| Born | (1963-01-26)January 26, 1963 (age 62) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Broadcast journalist |
Daryn A. Kagan (born January 26, 1963) is an Americanbroadcast journalist, formerly anews anchor forCNN.
From 1994 to 2006, Kagan served as an anchor andcorrespondent forCNN, in CNN's corporate headquarters ofAtlanta, Georgia. She anchoredCNN Live Today shown from 10am-12pmEastern Time for eight years. She also served as host of the CNN/People news entertainment program,People in the News,[1] and earlier served as a CNN sports reporter and anchor.
Kagan grew up in a secularJewish family[2] inBeverly Hills, California. She is a 1981 graduate ofBeverly Hills High School where she ran cross-country, and a 1985 graduate ofStanford University.[3]
After graduating from Stanford, Kagan sent out hundreds of demo tapes. She was hired for an on-air job at aSanta Barbara television station,KEYT-TV. From there, she moved to a general assignment reporting position atKTVK, which is based inPhoenix, where she went on to take the additional role of weekend sports anchor in addition to her weekday reporting duties.[4]
After KTVK did not renew Kagan's contract,[5]Jim Walton, the head ofCNN/SI, hired Kagan as sports anchor and correspondent. She went on to cover major sporting events including theSuper Bowl, theNBA Playoffs, andinternational figure skating championships fromRussia. Kagan later moved to CNN's news division and became a main CNN news anchor and correspondent.
In this role, Kagan reported on presidential and mid-term elections. She reported on-site from theMiddle East during the secondGulf War and theWashington, D.C. sniper attack investigation. Kagan traveled toAfrica with musicianBono where she reported onAIDS andfamine for all of the CNN networks. While in Africa, Kagan maintained a dailyblog on CNN.com of her reports and experiences. Additionally, she reported severalAcademy Awards ceremonies and theMonterey Jazz Festival.
Kagan is one of a handful of national news anchors who was on the air live during theterrorist attacks on the morning of September 11, 2001. She reported throughout the day and, in later days, covered the unfolding story fromCNN headquarters inAtlanta and from the network'sWashington, D.C. bureau.
After CNN declined to renew her employment contract,[6] Kagan leftCNN on September 1, 2006, to launch a personal news website, DarynKagan.com, on November 13, 2006.The Boston Globe described Kagan's site as having "buck[ed] the media tide with an emphasis on stories that illustrate the triumph of the human spirit."[7] In an interview with theLos Angeles Times, Kagan discussed her career, and said "I think it's really important to be informed. I just also think it's important to be inspired."[8]
Kagan went on to extend her DarynKagan.com brand of content to television news documentaries, radio, and books.[9] Her first TV film,Breaking the Curse, aired onPBS and won the 2008Gracie Award for Outstanding Documentary.[10] Kagan produced and narrated the film, which told the story of an American woman fighting for those living withleprosy inIndia. Kagan's first book,What's Possible!, was released in 2008 by Meredith Books, and was described by theAssociated Press as "stories about people who overcame obstacles to achieve dreams."[11][12][13] Her next documentary,Solartown USA, was about a Wisconsin town that made a commitment tosolar power in the 1970s.[11]Oprah Radio began to run DarynKagan.com content each day beginning in March 2009 on SIRIUS XM radio.[14]
Kagan sees her story as one of "reinvention,"[15] and speaks around the country on that topic.[16] She isJewish,[5] and her great-grandfather was aRussian immigrant named Eiser Cohen who came to the United States throughEllis Island[17] and settled inMilwaukee,Wisconsin. Her grandfather, Jack Kagan, later moved to theLos Angeles area.[18] Her mother, Phyllis Kagan, is abreast cancer survivor who has appeared on CNN discussing the disease.[19] Kagan has a younger sister named Kallan, an executive atArc Productions, and an older brother named Mark.
In September 2004, Kagan became romantically involved with radio talk show hostRush Limbaugh, but they broke up in February 2006.[20] Kagan is married to Trent Swanson and is stepmother to his two daughters. The marriage took place sometime before 2015.[21]
Kagan has adopted a three-leggedcat, Tripod,[22] and adog, Darla Louise, from rescue shelters.[23]
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