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Reena Ninan (born April 18, 1979) is an Indian American television journalist who has been an award-winning news anchor for the national mainstream media, including ABC News and CBS News. She is also the founder of the news media company Good Trouble Productions,[2] as well as a female bodybuilder.[3]
Reena Ninan | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 18, 1979 Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | George Washington University (B.A., Political Communication, 2001[1]) |
| Occupation(s) | Entrepreneur, bodybuilder |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Spouse | Kevin Peraino |
| Children | 3 |
Ninan was valedictorian at C. Leon King High School in Tampa, Florida in 1997 in her class of 576 graduates.[4]
She earned a bachelor's degree in political communication with a minor in women's studies from The George Washington University, School of Media and Public Affairs in 2001.[5] She delivered a message to George Washington University graduates in 2020 via Facebook.[6]
Ninan earned a bachelor's degree in human resource management from University of California in 2009.
News presenter (1999–present)
From 1999 to 2005, Ninan was a producer at the Washington Post, a freelance journalist for ABC News, and a freelance journalist at BET.
From 2005 to 2012, she was the Middle East correspondent at Fox News, covering many countries and events, including the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq from 2007 to 2011.
From 2012 to 2015, Ninan worked at ABC News. She began working there in the Washington bureau, where she covered the White House and the State Department. She later moved to New York, reporting for Good Morning America and continuing to travel abroad as a foreign correspondent. In April 2015, Ninan was named co-anchor of ABC's early morning shows World News Now and America This Morning, alongside T. J. Holmes.
From 2016 to 2020, Ninan worked at CBS News. She was the solo anchor of CBSN, with a reported salary of $2 million per year. She was the Saturday night anchor of the CBS Weekend News. She also reported for CBS Evening News, CBS This Morning, and other CBS broadcasts.[3]
Since 2021, Ninan has been a foreign affairs and political contributor at CNN.
Good Trouble Productions (2020–present)
Ninan is the founder and owner of her own news media company, Good Trouble Productions.[2]
She has managed, taught, and mentored digital media content creation groups with 30-70 people to create a collaborative environment.
Ninan has hosted the Ask Lisa Podcast along with psychologist Dr. Lisa Damour to help with parenting tips since the summer of 2020.[2][7][8] 800 people came to Darien High School Auditorium to see Ninan and Damour speak in May of 2023.[9] AdLarge signed an advertisement partnership deal with the podcast. Cathy Csukas, co-CEO and co-founder of AdLarge said, "Their professional and direct advice has drawn an extremely engaged and responsive audience that we're excited to share with our advertisers."[10]
Since December 2020, Darien TV79 has been the first station to air episodes of Ninan's show The Rebound, stories of how people made it out of their darkest moments to find the light.[11]
Since 2021, Ninan has hosted a podcast called HERO: The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women. It is partially funded by Foreign Policy and the Gates Foundation.[12][13][14][15]
On August 26, 2024, Ninan and Dr. Lisa Damour spoke for Aura's Digital Parenting Summit on parenting advice in front of a live audience at the Times Center in New York City. The forum was streamed live online.[16][17]
Public speaking (2020–present)
Ninan has been an active volunteer and moderator for Children's Hope India. The organization currently has 20 projects helping 300,000+ children across India and the United States with schooling and health.[18][19]
Ninan has appeared in two C-SPAN Video Library videos to host topics of discussion including foreign policy with Rep. Bill Keating.[20]
Ninan is a former member of the Atlantic Council,[21] the Rockefeller Foundation,[22] and the Council on Foreign Relations.[23] She currently works as a presider of their public forums.[24][25]
In October of 2023, Ninan hosted a conversation at Mather Homestead in Darien, Connecticut with Mattie Kahn about her book of the contribution teenage girls have made to society.[26]
Ninan hosted the 2024 Sheroes in Media Awards by the Multicultural Media & Correspondents Association (MMCA) on March 27, 2024.[27]
In May of 2024, Ninan was the moderator of Toigo Foundation's Industry Insights forum. The nonprofit organization selects 50 minority group master of business administration students to benefit from their program.[28]
Bodybuilding (2023–present)
Ninan announced on the Ask Lisa Vodcast that she had used the summer of 2023 to increase her protein intake to 120 grams per day. She later announced that she had been weightlifting.[29] Ninan was asked to be the celebrity ambassador of a bodybuilding show owned by IFBB Pro female bodybuilder Tivisay Briceno on Clearwater Beach, Forida on November 23, 2024.[3]
Ninan is currently working on being able to lift and carry a person. This is in keeping with Indian traditions, as women lift and carry people often.
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Ninan has been nominated for three Emmy Awards. In 2013, she was nominated as a reporter at the 35th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards for Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast on Good Morning America, World News with Diane Sawyer, and Nightline, for "Direct Hit: Oklahoma Tornadoes". In 2014 and 2015, Ninan was nominated twice in a row as a correspondent at the 42nd and 43rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Morning Program on ABC's Good Morning America.[3]
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Reena Ninan was born and raised in Tampa, Florida. Her parents, Miriamma and Mathew, are from India. She has one brother, named Tony.
When Ninan was a child, she developed a passion for bodybuilding. She was encouraged by her parents to pursue a bodybuilding career.
She is fluent in English, Malayalam, Hebrew, and Arabic.
Ninan is married to author and former Newsweek reporter Kevin Peraino. They have three children, including Kate and Jack Peraino.[30][31]
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