Our New TV Show

By Walter Isaacson, Managing Editor

Sixteen months ago, TIME and CNN launched a journalistic experiment. We pooled our resources (and mixed our media) to create a weekly television newsmagazine--Impact: CNN and TIME on Special Assignment. Though our modes of expression may be different, we found that we have quite a lot in common, sharing a deep devotion to in-depth reporting and analysis.

This week we launch an updated version of the show as part of a new CNN programming lineup. The new name--NewsStand: CNN & TIME--captures what we hope will be the spirit of our show: fresh, smart and loaded with information on everything from world events to entertainment. The program, which will air Sundays and Mondays at 10 p.m. E.T., is part of a family of new CNN NewsStand shows that have their roots in Time Inc. magazines. The other two marriages combine CNN & FORTUNE (Wednesdays at 10 p.m. E.T.) and CNN & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY (Thursdays at 10 p.m. E.T.).

While the show will reflect TIME's values, it won't be a carbon copy of the magazine. Pamela Hill, the CNN senior vice president in charge of creating it, explains that "both organizations will be developing and completing their own story ideas." And the results won't appear only on your tube: this week's TIME includes an exclusive account of America's secret use of poison gas during the Vietnam War. The reporters? CNN senior producer Jack Smith, producer April Oliver and correspondent Peter Arnett.

Bernard Shaw and Jeff Greenfield will be hosts of the show. Shaw, CNN's principal Washington anchor, has been with the network since its inception and worked with TIME on our earlier joint venture. Greenfield joined CNN as a senior analyst in January from ABC News, where he had been a political and media commentator for 14 years. It's a natural fit for Greenfield, who has been writing essays for TIME since 1996. TIME reporters and editors will also appear regularly.

In the fine tradition of both TIME and CNN, the show won't be shot in some air-conditioned studio, but out on the streets of America and the world, where the news is happening. To keep it as fresh as possible, Shaw and Greenfield will not begin taping until late Friday evening and will update throughout the weekend or break in live, as news dictates. The in-depth stories will be accompanied by adaptations of popular TIME sections such as Notebook, People, Milestones and Personal Time. Explains Greenfield: "We're really trying to reflect the sensibility of the magazine. We'll be knitting together the various pieces with a voice and creating a continuing conversation with our audience."

Ultimately, journalism is about telling stories. Stories with resonance. Stories with relevance. Stories with impact. Our partnership with CNN now allows us to reach beyond the page and engage you on the screen. This great adventure has only just begun, and with terrific pride, we welcome you to what we hope will be a smart marriage of print and television journalism.

Walter Isaacson