Seen and Heard

CNN’s Ellana Lee tells us about her mission to diversify newsrooms and news coverage

- Kate Appleton

Ellana Lee was in London for meetings in early 2020 when Covid-19 hit. Walking down Oxford Street, she was startled to find the crowds parting before her. “It was like the Red Sea; people wouldn’t even come near me,” says Lee. “That was my first experience in understanding that this [the pandemic] was going to be bigger than a virus story; this was going to trickle down to racism and how people are perceived.”

It was a pivotal moment for the Korean American that reinforced her conviction that a diverse newsroom is important—employing people who can bring their varied life experiences to bear, contextualise news and identify underreported angles.

As a founding member of CNN’s International Diversity Council, Lee has been making a concerted effort to reassess hiring, diversify storytelling and address any internal grievances. “I feel a lot more comfortable today when I look around the editorial table than I was maybe ten years ago,” says Lee, referring to the representation at her daily 8.45am meetings. “We are trying to consistently make sure that our [programmes] represent the world we represent, but you can’t just put anyone on air; people need to come with really formidable talent.”

Lee, a CNN veteran of 25 years, knows first-hand how much the media industry has already progressed. After an internship, she started as an associate producer in 1997—on the same day she graduated with a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from New York University. In 2001, she took a sabbatical to visit her parents in South Korea and, to be closer to them, her boss recommended Lee join the newly created Hong Kong bureau.