David Bohrman Dies: Innovative TV News Executive And Producer At CNN And Other Networks Was 69

Ted Johnson
·3-min read

David Bohrman, a longtime producer and news executive who was responsible for innovations in live and special events and breaking news, including at CNN and other networks, died Sunday from complications after hip surgery, according to his family. He was 69.

“He was the creator of more news programming than almost any other producer working in television news today,” CNN’s leadership team wrote in a memo to employees on Sunday evening.

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“Wherever he went, David was an innovator using the latest technology to enhance storytelling,” they wrote. “He was a mentor to many.”

During his years at CNN, Bohrman embraced new approaches to live events coverage, including the Magic Wall, now a standard on election night, while he was the driving force behind shows like The Situation Room and State of the Union. As senior vice president and Washington bureau chief at CNN, he also launched NewsNight with Aaron Brown and The Moneyline NewsHour.

He also produced more than a dozen presidential debates for the network. That included a memorable Republican presidential debate in 2008 when the candidates, gathering at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, were featured against the backdrop of Air Force One. Another debate included questions via YouTube videos, and another was held between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama at the Kodak Theatre.

That cycle, he introduced the first live hologram ever in news coverage, with Will.i.am appearing on election night. Bohrman also was executive producer of coverage out of CNN’s New York bureau on 9/11, and oversaw coverage of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. That included the first live coverage of the battle of Umm Qasr.

After CNN, Bohrman became president of Current TV, Al Gore and Joel Hyatt’s cable network, as it moved to a line up of progressive hosts.

Bohrman previously worked at ABC News, where he created World News Now, and was part of the original staff of Nightline, first as field producer and then senior producer. His Nightline experience included arranging for the first TV signal from Mount Everest. He also worked at NBC News in the 1990s and, in 2000, led Pseudo, an early interactive internet venture.

After Gore and Hyatt sold Current TV, Bohrman consulted for networks and other news ventures, particularly for election season coverage, including NBC News in 2016 and CBS News in 2020.

CBS News producer Susan Zirinsky, who was president of the network during the last presidential cycle, wrote on Twitter that Bohrman “brought our presidential election coverage to a place we’d never been. He challenged and inspired us. We were reborn.”

He started his career at KNXT-TV in Los Angeles. He won six Emmy awards, two Peabody Awards a George Polk award and for duPont awards.

Bohrman was born in Los Angeles to Delle Bohrman, a television writer, and Stan Bohrman, a TV newsman and anchor.

Bohrman is survived by his wife Catherine, children Amber and Harrison and granddaughters Sloan and Paige. Details on services are pending.

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