CNN Announces Series Of New Hires: Elizabeth Wagmeister Joins As Entertainment Correspondent, Elisa Raffa Returns To Network As Weather Anchor, Hanako Montgomery Tapped For Tokyo Post

Elizabeth Wagmeister is joining CNN as correspondent covering entertainment, based in Los Angeles.

Wagmeister had been chief correspondent for Variety, leading coverage of the Harvey Weinstein trial and the Britney Spears conservation case.

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Wagmeister also was senior entertainment editor at HollywoodLife.com, and from 2016 to 2019 was co-host of Page Six TV. She previously worked at TV Guide magazine.

CNN also announced a couple of more hires: Elisa Raffa is joining as weather anchor and correspondent, based in Atlanta, after serving as meteorologist and climate specialist for Queen City News in Charlotte, North Carolina. The network noted that she has drawn attention for “using everything from beer, chocolate, snow shovels, and vultures to help the audience relate to the climate crisis.” She previously was an intern with the network’s national and international weather teams.

Hanako Montgomery is joining the network as correspondent based in Tokyo. She previously was East Asia reporter for Vice News. In the United States, she reported and conducted interviews for NHK’s World Premium Service, TV Japan, based in New York.

Also announced: Julia Benbrook is joining CNN Newsource as a correspondent based in Washington, D.C. She had previously been an on-air correspondent for Spectrum News.

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