Kaitlan Collins#The Source with Kaitlan Collins
{{Short description|American journalist (born 1992)}}
{{For|the Australian politician|Caitlin Collins}}
{{Use American English|date=November 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kaitlan Collins
| image = Kaitlan Collins 2022.png
| alt =
| caption = Collins in 2022
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1992|4|7}}
| birth_place = Prattville, Alabama, U.S.
| education = University of Alabama (BA)
| occupation = Journalist, TV anchor
| employer = {{ubl|The Daily Caller (2014–2017)|CNN (2017–present)}}
| known_for = The Source with Kaitlan Collins
}}
Kaitlan Collins (born April 7, 1992){{Cite news |date=2020-04-07 |title=Birthday of the Day: Kaitlan Collins, CNN White House correspondent |work=Politico |language=en-US |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/07/playbook-birthday-kaitlan-collins-171112 |access-date=2022-11-06 |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106104025/https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/07/playbook-birthday-kaitlan-collins-171112 |url-status=live }} is an American journalist who is a news anchor on CNN.{{Cite web |last=Valinsky |first=Lucy Bayly,Jordan |date=2023-05-17 |title=Kaitlan Collins to anchor new 9 pm show on CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/media/cnn-kaitlan-collins-new-show/index.html |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=CNN |language=en |archive-date=May 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517154319/https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/media/cnn-kaitlan-collins-new-show/index.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Steinberg |first=Brian |date=2023-07-05 |title=CNN Set to Launch 'The Source' With Kaitlan Collins |url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/kaitlan-collins-source-cnn-launch-1235661809/ |access-date=2023-07-05 |website=Variety |language=en-US |archive-date=July 5, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230705171304/https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/kaitlan-collins-source-cnn-launch-1235661809/ |url-status=live }} She is the former co-anchor of CNN This Morning. She has hosted The Source at 9 p.m. since July 2023. She also served as the network's chief White House correspondent from January 2021 until November 2022. Previously, she was the White House correspondent for the website The Daily Caller.{{cite web |last=Ariens |first=Chris |date=June 15, 2017 |title=Kaitlan Collins Joins CNN from The Daily Caller|url=http://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/kaitlan-collins-joins-cnn-from-the-daily-caller/332413 |url-access=registration |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215054952/https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/kaitlan-collins-joins-cnn-from-the-daily-caller/332413/ |archive-date=February 15, 2018 |website=Adweek |access-date=January 28, 2018}} She resumed her role as CNN's chief White House correspondent for the second Trump presidency.
Early life
Kaitlan Collins was born in Prattville, Alabama.{{Cite magazine |last=Stern |first=Claire |date=April 2, 2021 |title=How CNN's Kaitlan Collins Took an 'Apolitical Upbringing' All the Way to the White House |url=https://www.instyle.com/politics-social-issues/kaitlan-collins |access-date=November 6, 2022 |magazine=InStyle |language=en-US |issn=1076-0830 |archive-date=November 6, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106104026/https://www.instyle.com/politics-social-issues/kaitlan-collins |url-status=live }} She grew up with four siblings: Annalise, Kelsey, Brayden, and Cole.{{Cite web |last=Kaur |first=Wendy |date=2024-01-17 |title=Kaitlan Collins Is in Her Prime |url=https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a46409340/kaitlan-collins-cnn-interview-trump-politics/ |access-date=2024-02-28 |website=Elle |language=en-US |archive-date=February 22, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240222032803/https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/a46409340/kaitlan-collins-cnn-interview-trump-politics/ |url-status=live }} Her father, Jeff Collins Sr., is a mortgage banker.{{Cite web |last=O'Donoghue |first=Denise |date=February 3, 2021 |title=What we know about CNN's Kaitlan Collins, who has been welcomed into the global Irish family |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/people/arid-40219709.html |website=Irish Examiner |language=en |access-date=May 16, 2021 |archive-date=May 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516100658/https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/people/arid-40219709.html |url-status=live }} Her mother is Tina Collins. She says that her parents taught her that "the political system in the U.S. is a failed one" and that she does not recall them voting or expressing strong opinions about political candidates.
Collins graduated from Prattville High School and went on to attend the University of Alabama. She initially chose to major in chemistry, before majoring in journalism. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and journalism in May 2014. Collins was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority.{{cite news |last=Hrynkiw |first=Ivana |date=October 8, 2018 |title=CNN's Kaitlan Collins apologizes for tweets from her University of Alabama days |url=https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2018/10/cnn_reporter_alabama_native_ap.html |website=AL.com |language=en-US |access-date=November 15, 2023 |archive-date=January 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210107103819/https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2018/10/cnn_reporter_alabama_native_ap.html |url-status=live }}
Career
= ''The Daily Caller'' (2014–2017) =
After graduating from college, Collins moved to Washington, D.C., for an internship with the website The Daily Caller. In June 2014, she was hired by The Daily Caller as an entertainment reporter. After covering the 2016 presidential election, The Daily Caller named her its White House correspondent in January 2017, and she began covering the Trump administration.{{cite web |last=Shacknai |first=Gabby |date=February 1, 2021 |title=How CNN's Kaitlan Collins Built A Career Covering Trump And Became The Network's Youngest Chief White House Correspondent |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabbyshacknai/2021/02/01/how-cnns-kaitlan-collins-built-a-career-covering-trump-and-became-the-networks-youngest-chief-white-house-correspondent/ |website=Forbes |language=en-US |access-date=February 4, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202142934/https://www.forbes.com/sites/gabbyshacknai/2021/02/01/how-cnns-kaitlan-collins-built-a-career-covering-trump-and-became-the-networks-youngest-chief-white-house-correspondent/ |archive-date=February 2, 2021 |url-status=live}}
While she was still with The Daily Caller, Collins was invited to make several appearances on CNN. At a White House correspondent event in spring 2017, she met network president Jeff Zucker and thanked him for having her on despite the ideological nature of her employer at the time.
= CNN (2017–present) =
In July 2017, CNN hired Collins as part of its efforts in covering presidential news. As a member of the press corps, Collins reported on six or more of Trump's international presidential trips.{{cite web |title=Kaitlan Collins official Biography at the CNN site |url=https://edition.cnn.com/profiles/kaitlan-collins |work=CNN |language=en-US |access-date=July 27, 2018 |archive-date=March 23, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323005226/https://edition.cnn.com/profiles/kaitlan-collins |url-status=live }}
Collins was involved in an incident with the Trump administration on July 25, 2018, when she attended a photo op in the Oval Office as the day's pool reporter. As the event concluded, Collins asked Trump a series of questions about Vladimir Putin and about Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen. Trump ignored her questions.{{cite web |last=Romo |first=Vanessa |date=25 July 2018 |title=CNN Reporter: White House Called My Questions 'Inappropriate,' Banned Me From Event |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/07/25/632518447/white-house-reporter-says-she-was-banned-from-press-event-for-inappropriate-ques |website=NPR |language=en-US |access-date=4 February 2021 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210204140704/https://www.npr.org/2018/07/25/632518447/white-house-reporter-says-she-was-banned-from-press-event-for-inappropriate-ques |archive-date=February 4, 2021 |url-status=live}} Collins was subsequently barred from a Trump administration press conference in the White House Rose Garden that afternoon{{cite news |last=Richardson |first=Matt |date=July 25, 2018 |title=CNN correspondent blocked from White House press event |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cnn-correspondent-blocked-from-white-house-press-event |website=Fox News |language=en-US |access-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322011405/https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cnn-correspondent-blocked-from-white-house-press-event |url-status=live }} and was told by senior White House officials that such questions were "inappropriate for that venue".{{cite news |title=Kaitlan Collins: Row over CNN reporter's White House ban |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-44963659 |work=BBC News |language=en-US |date=July 26, 2018 |access-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-date=September 21, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921143702/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-44963659 |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine |last=Keegan |first=Rebecca |date=July 27, 2018 |title=Mission: Impossible—Fallout's Wolf Blitzer Cameo and the Possible Perils of Fake Fake News |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/07/mission-impossible-fallout-wolf-blitzer |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US |access-date=March 10, 2022 |archive-date=August 2, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802140340/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/07/mission-impossible-fallout-wolf-blitzer |url-status=live }} Trump's press secretary Sarah Sanders said that Collins had "shouted questions and refused to leave"; Trump's advisor Kellyanne Conway said that the action was about "being polite".{{cite web |last=Phelps |first=Jordyn |date=July 26, 2018 |title=White House disputes that CNN's Kaitlan Collins was 'banned' |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-disputes-cnns-kaitlan-collins-banned/story?id=56837450 |work=ABC News |language=en-US |access-date=June 18, 2021 |archive-date=March 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220322011405/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/white-house-disputes-cnns-kaitlan-collins-banned/story?id=56837450 |url-status=live }} Trump's deputy chief of staff for communications, Bill Shine, objected to the characterization of the White House's action as a "ban" but "declined to tell reporters what word he would use to characterize the White House’s decision to block her from attending the event". CNN stated that Collins' ban was "retaliatory" and "not indicative of an open and free press". The White House Correspondents Association called the ban "wholly inappropriate, wrong-headed, and weak." Jay Wallace, president of Fox News, issued a statement in support of Collins, saying that his organization "[stood] in strong solidarity with CNN for the right to full access for [its] journalists as part of a free and unfettered press."
Collins was the CNN White House correspondent for a large part of the written and televised live coverage of the 2020 election, and was subsequently promoted to chief White House correspondent for the incoming Biden administration on January 11, 2021.{{Cite web |title=November 4 US election news |url=https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/election-results-and-news-11-04-20/index.html |website=CNN |language=en-US |date=November 4, 2020 |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123000812/https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/election-results-and-news-11-04-20/index.html |url-status=live }} At a briefing that took place a few weeks after the election, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany refused to take a question from Collins and called her an "activist".{{cite news |last1=Barr |first1=Jeremy |date=November 1, 2022 |title=The meteoric rise of CNN's Kaitlan Collins |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/11/01/kaitlan-collins-cnn-morning-show/ |access-date=April 4, 2023 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |archive-date=December 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222001732/https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/11/01/kaitlan-collins-cnn-morning-show/ |url-status=live }} At 28, she was the youngest chief White House correspondent in CNN's history, and one of the youngest chief correspondents for a major media network.{{cite news |last=DePaolo |first=Joe |date=January 11, 2021 |title=CNN Shakes Up Afternoon and Evening Lineup |url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/just-in-cnn-shakes-up-afternoon-and-weekend-lineup/ |website=Mediaite |language=en-US |access-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-date=January 11, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111144717/https://www.mediaite.com/tv/just-in-cnn-shakes-up-afternoon-and-weekend-lineup/ |url-status=live }}
File:David Herszenhorn and Kaitlan Collins at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 2024.jpg
On September 15, 2022, CNN announced that Collins would move to co-anchoring a revamped CNN morning show with Don Lemon and Poppy Harlow, ending her tenure as chief White House correspondent.{{Cite web |last=Darcy |first=Oliver |date=September 15, 2022 |title=CNN announces it will debut new morning show with Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow, and Kaitlan Collins |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/15/media/cnn-morning-show/index.html |website=CNN |language=en-US |access-date=September 15, 2022 |archive-date=September 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220915212131/https://www.cnn.com/2022/09/15/media/cnn-morning-show/index.html |url-status=live }}
Before landing the morning show job Collins was elected to serve as President of the White House Correspondents Association for the 2024-2025 term, a position she relinquished when moving to New York.{{Cite web |last=Korach |first=Natalie |date=April 11, 2025 |title=Kaitlan Collins Is CNN’s “Joyful Warrior” Covering Trump 2.0 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/kaitlan-collins-cnn-donald-trump? |website=Vanity Fair |language=en-US |access-date=May 2, 2025 |url-status=live }} On October 12, 2022, CNN announced that the morning show would be named CNN This Morning.{{Cite news |last=Bauder |first=David |date=October 12, 2022 |title=CNN reveals name, start date for new morning show |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/ap-cnn-reveals-name-start-date-for-new-morning-show/ |work=The Hill |language=en-US |access-date=October 20, 2022 |archive-date=October 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221018210106/https://thehill.com/homenews/media/ap-cnn-reveals-name-start-date-for-new-morning-show/ |url-status=live }}
Collins moderated a town-hall–style event with Donald Trump on May 10, 2023. The event included questions from Republican primary voters in New Hampshire.{{Cite news |last1=Goldmacher |first1=Shane |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie |date=2023-05-11 |title=Five Takeaways From Trump's Unruly CNN Town Hall |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/11/us/politics/trump-cnn-town-hall-takeaways.html |url-access=registration |access-date=2023-05-11 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=May 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511090641/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/11/us/politics/trump-cnn-town-hall-takeaways.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |title=CNN leadership under fire after 'disastrous' Trump town hall |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/05/11/trump-cnn-town-hall-chris-licht-kaitlan-collins/ |access-date=2023-05-13 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=May 12, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512190942/https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2023/05/11/trump-cnn-town-hall-chris-licht-kaitlan-collins/ |url-status=live }} During that event, while Collins pointed out that Joe Biden—whose home was also searched when classified documents were discovered at the Penn Biden Center—did not defy a subpoena, Trump asked Collins whether she would let him answer the question. Collins said, “Yes, that’s why I asked it”, prompting Trump to call her a "nasty person".{{Cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-cnn-town-hall/h_b9b3605de6126fe52514f471fdc61653 |title=Trump has a history of insulting women by calling them 'nasty' |date=May 10, 2023 |last=Wolf |first=Zachary |publisher=CNN |archive-date=May 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511025940/https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-cnn-town-hall/h_b9b3605de6126fe52514f471fdc61653 |url-status=live }}
On May 17, 2023, Collins was named CNN's new 9 p.m. ET host, and her program was scheduled to begin in June. She left CNN This Morning on May 25, 2023;{{Cite web |date=2023-05-25 |title=Kaitlan Collins Says Goodbye to CNN This Morning, Heads to Primetime |url=https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/kaitlan-collins-says-goodbye-to-cnn-this-morning-heads-to-primetime/531382/ |access-date=2023-05-26 |website=www.adweek.com |language=en-US |archive-date=May 26, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230526021348/https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/kaitlan-collins-says-goodbye-to-cnn-this-morning-heads-to-primetime/531382/ |url-status=live }} her place there was taken by a rotation of CNN anchors.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-17 |title=Kaitlan Collins to anchor new 9 pm show on CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/media/cnn-kaitlan-collins-new-show/index.html |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=CNN |archive-date=May 17, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517154319/https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/17/media/cnn-kaitlan-collins-new-show/index.html |url-status=live }}
On November 26, 2024, CNN announced that Collins would return as the network's chief White House correspondent for the second Trump presidency while keeping her primetime post.{{Cite news |last=Barr |first=Jeremy |date=26 November 2024 |title=CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins adding role as chief White House correspondent |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/11/26/kaitlan-collins-cnn-white-house-correspondent/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241126141743/https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/11/26/kaitlan-collins-cnn-white-house-correspondent/ |archive-date=26 November 2024 |access-date=26 November 2024 |work=The Washington Post}}{{Cite news |last=Whittock |first=Jesse |date=2024-11-26 |title=CNN Anchor Kaitlan Collins Named Chief White House Correspondent, Will Keep Primetime Role |url=https://deadline.com/2024/11/kaitlan-collins-named-cnn-white-house-correspondent-1236187705/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241126153227/https://deadline.com/2024/11/kaitlan-collins-named-cnn-white-house-correspondent-1236187705/ |archive-date=26 November 2024 |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}
== ''The Source with Kaitlan Collins'' ==
On July 5, 2023, it was announced that Collins' new 9 p.m. program would be titled The Source with Kaitlan Collins. The show premiered on July 10.{{Cite web |last=Seitz |first=Loree |date=2023-07-11 |title='The Source With Kaitlan Collins' Debuts as CNN's 2nd Most-Watched Monday Primetime Show |url=https://ca.news.yahoo.com/source-kaitlan-collins-debuts-cnn-225725962.html |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=Yahoo! News |archive-date=July 13, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230713074135/https://ca.news.yahoo.com/source-kaitlan-collins-debuts-cnn-225725962.html |url-status=live }} She has been hosting this prime time hourly show on weekdays between Anderson Cooper 360° and CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip.
Personal life
Collins is a registered independent.
In October 2022, she moved to New York City to host CNN This Morning.
Awards
Collins was included on Forbes
In late 2024, Collins was named one of America's 10 best TV news journalists by GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics. The organization, purveyors of the Dorian Awards to mainstream and LGBTQ-themed content, praised Collins for "fact-checking leaders when they spewed misinformation,” and for how she "calmly holds the powerful accountable” on her CNN program The Source. Adweek, October 25, 2024, by Mark Mwachiro [https://www.adweek.com/tvnewser/washington-post-los-angeles-times-not-endorse-candidate/ "Ticker: The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times Will Not Endorse a Presidential Candidate"] Los Angeles Blade November 7, 2024, [https://www.losangelesblade.com/2024/11/07/galeca-kicks-off-awards-season-with-a-spotlight-on-top-tv-news-journalists/]
References
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External links
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Category:21st-century American women journalists
Category:21st-century American journalists
Category:21st-century American women writers
Category:American television reporters and correspondents
Category:American women television journalists
Category:Journalists from Alabama