Kaitlan Collins

Kaitlan L Collins (born April 7, 1992)[1] is an American journalist. She is a White House correspondent for CNN. Previously, Collins served as the White House Correspondent for the website The Daily Caller.[2]

Kaitlan L Collins
Born (1992-04-07) April 7, 1992
Alabama
Alma materUniversity of Alabama (BA)
OccupationJournalist
Years active2014–present

Early life

Collins graduated from Prattville High School in Prattville, Alabama and went on to attend the University of Alabama, where she was a member of Alpha Phi sorority.[3] After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism and political science in May 2014, Collins moved to Washington, D.C..[4]

Career

In June 2014, Collins was hired by The Daily Caller as an entertainment reporter; she became the website's White House correspondent in January 2017.[4] In 2017, Collins joined CNN as a White House correspondent.[2] She has traveled with President Trump to at least half a dozen countries.[5]

In July 2018, Collins was barred from a Trump administration press conference in the White House Rose Garden.[6] Collins said that she was barred from the event after asking Trump questions about Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen in the Oval Office. Collins said she was told by senior White House officials that such questions were "inappropriate for that venue."[7] Trump's press secretary Sarah Sanders asserted that Collins "shouted questions and refused to leave,"[7] while Trump's advisor Kellyanne Conway said that the action was about "being polite."[8] 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."[8] CNN stated that the ban on Collins 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."[7][8] 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 our journalists as part of a free and unfettered press."[7]

In April 2020, she questioned the President about his claim of total authority to manage social distancing restrictions related to the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19.[9][10][11] At a White House press briefing later in April 2020, Collins refused to comply with an order by a White House official to exchange a seat closer to the front of the assigned press corp seating with another reporter representing a different news outlet seated in the rear (the other reporter likewise refusing to comply with the order for the seat swap.) Collins' assigned seat was on the front row, where correspondents representing major networks like CNN, NBC, and others had been assigned seating in the briefing room under social distancing protocol, under a plan managed by the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) and agreed to by White House officials the previous month. Collins' refusal to comply with the order issued by the White House official prompted that official to suggest that Secret Service may be summoned, a development that ultimately did not unfold.[12]

Controversy

In October 2018, old tweets from Collins surfaced where in which she was accused of using homophobic language. In one tweet, she wrote, "Prologue to Canterbury Tales, you fag." In another, she writes that she doesn't know if she wants to "room with a lesbian." [13] She later issued an apology.

Recognition

In 2018, Collins was Mediaite's number 50 Most Influential person in News Media amongst news figures such as Jake Tapper, Trevor Noah, and Rachel Maddow.[14] Collins was named to Crain's NewsPro's 12 to Watch in TV News in January 2019.[15] She was also named one of Forbes magazine's 30 under 30: Media in 2019.[16]

References
  1. "@kaitlancollins". Instagram. Retrieved January 17, 2020. Last ride on Air Force One as a 26-year-old. 😎
  2. "Kaitlan Collins Joins CNN from The Daily Caller". www.adweek.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  3. Ivana Hrynkiw, CNN's Kaitlan Collins apologizes for tweets from her University of Alabama days, AL.com (October 8, 2018).
  4. "Kaitlan Collins Joins CNN from The Daily Caller". www.adweek.com. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  5. "Kaitlan Collins official Biography at the CNN site". www.cnn.com. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  6. Matt Richardson (July 25, 2018). "CNN correspondent blocked from White House press event". Fox News.
  7. "Kaitlan Collins: Row over CNN reporter's White House ban". BBC News. July 26, 2018.
  8. Jordyn Phelps (July 26, 2018). "White House disputes that CNN's Kaitlan Collins was 'banned'". ABC News.
  9. Walsh, Martin (April 24, 2020). "Trump Slams CNN Reporter: 'CNN Is Fake News, Don't Talk To Me'". Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  10. "Paula Reid and Kaitlan Collins pop the toddler king's balloon — and he melts down". Salon. April 14, 2020. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  11. Tucker, Emma (April 13, 2020). "Defiant Trump Claims 'Authority of the President Is Total' in Reopening Economy". The Daily Beast. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  12. Farhi, Paul (April 25, 2020). "The White House tried to move a reporter to the back of the press room, but she refused. Then Trump walked out". The Washington Post.
  13. Wemple, Erik (October 8, 2018). "CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins under fire for seven-year-old homophobic tweets". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  14. "Mediaite's Most Influential in News Media 2018 - Part 3". Mediaite.com. December 6, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  15. Crain News Pro. January 2019. p. 11.
  16. "30 Under 30 2019: Media". Forbes.com. November 13, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
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