Michelle Jaconi

Prior to joining the world of #Yolo, Vines and GIFs, Michelle spent six years at CNN, where she founded CNN’s Cross Platform Programming unit, leading political coverage across CNN’s television networks, digital properties and mobile apps. In that role, Jaconi led editorial partnerships with companies such as Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter. Also in her six years at CNN, Michelle launched and led programs in every television day-part, including State of the Union and Inside Politics. She also worked extensively with CNN.com, launching next generation programming, video franchises and co-writing a daily newsletter during the 2012 presidential campaign. Prior to joining CNN, Michelle spent 12 years at NBC’s Meet the Press with Tim Russert, the longest-running television program in the world. She still considers herself a Russert girl and smiles at every opportunity to reminisce about the beloved newsman from Buffalo. Throughout her career, Michelle has earned multiple awards, including the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Media for producing the Meet the Press senate debate series, a Peabody for her help in producing CNN’s coverage of the Arab Spring, and back-to-back Emmy Awards for presidential election nights, at two different networks, CNN and NBC. Michelle has been described in the press as being "ecstatic" about campaign season and that somehow is an understatement. If you ever are in a room with Michelle, there is a good chance she'll ask you to weigh in on the political debate of the day, which is why she finds herself at home at IJ. Michelle loves learning from everyday Americans and finds great joy in driving her pick up truck, simply because people tend to smile at a girl in a truck. Click here to view my Vine list on Why I Joined IJReview.