CNN's Abbi Tatton Chronicles
History Live, as it Unfolds

Abbi Tatton, SIS/MA '00, on CNN

CNN reporter Abbi Tatton brings history to millions of viewers around the world as it unfolds. Based in Washington, D.C., Tatton, SIS/MA '00, covers blogs, Web video, and other new media for The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer.

A native of Oxford, England, Tatton majored in history at the University of Leeds and spent her summers teaching English as a second language and traveling across Europe and South America.

She came to Washington in 1998 on a Rotary Ambassador Scholarship, which promotes cultural ties between nations, and honed her public speaking skills at high schools, conferences, and civic clubs around the mid-Atlantic. Tatton enrolled at AU to pursue a graduate degree in international politics and soon found herself assisting International Relations professor Christian Maisch with his research on the 1982 Falklands War.

"He had me going to London to the Public Records Office… I never got bored of poring over historical documents all day," she says.

Eventually, the research became her final thesis and led to her first job at CNN as a library research assistant – a natural fit for someone who loves making sense of facts.

After four years of production and research work for CNN, Tatton moved into the editorial realm, where her public speaking skills became an asset. She rose to become one of the first Internet reporters in television news when CNN realized "user-generated" sources – viewers' cell phone videos and photos – could be incorporated into its on-air reports to provide greater context for stories.

Tatton has explored Internet angles to stories including the war in Iraq, the London subway bombings, Hurricane Katrina, the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, and her greatest career highlight so far: the 2008 U.S. Presidential elections.

The Internet played a starring role in this election as candidates used technology to reach out to millions of voters, she says. "It generated so much interest all over the world."

"I am constantly surprised by how things evolve," says Tatton. What a treat to be privy to sharing it with millions on a regular basis.