Eric Sherling is the Executive Vice President of Programming for CNN Worldwide, leading the network’s programming, operations, and design strategy. He oversees the editorial direction and technical execution of CNN’s live content across television and digital streaming platforms, managing core production centers in New York, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. In 2023, he served as Interim Co-Head of CNN Worldwide, providing enterprise-wide leadership and organizational stability during a pivotal leadership transition.

As the primary architect of CNN’s current programming schedule, Sherling launched the network’s successful primetime lineup, establishing the nightly block of The Source with Kaitlan Collins, NewsNight with Abby Phillip, and Laura Coates Live. His creative leadership also encompasses the development of the multi-city broadcast engine CNN News Central—a visual-first format praised for its dynamic storytelling and immersive newsgathering—and the strategic oversight of the network’s political programming. He launched The Lead with Jake Tapper, helped create The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, and oversaw the re-imagining of Sunday public affairs pillars State of the Union and Inside Politics.

A key leader in the network’s digital evolution, Sherling led the programming and operational efforts for CNN’s premium and FAST streaming platforms. He programmed the live streaming schedule for the launch of CNN All Access and led the comprehensive programming revamp of CNN Headlines. By operationalizing dynamic formats along with showcasing CNN’s core U.S. lineup, Sherling established a scalable programming model that extended the reach of CNN’s journalism across the expanding FAST and digital landscape.

As executive-in-charge of special events, Sherling has led the production of the most-watched broadcasts in the network’s 45-year history. In June 2024, he produced the CNN Presidential Debate in Atlanta, reaching over 51 million television viewers in the U.S. and receiving 30 million digital starts worldwide. Academic scholars identified the broadcast as the most consequential debate in modern history. He also led programming for the January 6th Capitol attack, CNN’s highest-rated day on record, and oversaw the 2020 Presidential Election Week, the highest rated week in the network’s history. Internationally, Sherling created election programming strategies and operational frameworks for CNN’s top global affiliates in India, Brazil, Chile, Portugal, the Czech Republic, resulting in massive audience gains.

Sherling’s executive producing credits include the 2018 CNN Parkland Town Hall, titled “Stand Up: The Students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas Demand Action,” which earned a Walter Cronkite Award for providing an unflinching forum for public discourse during a moment of national crisis. His oversight of large-scale cultural programming encompasses We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert in Central Park, CNN’s Fourth in America, and the Mark Twain Prize at the Kennedy Center.

Prior to CNN, Sherling was the Executive Broadcast Producer of ABC’s Good Morning America, where he programmed the first hour and oversaw the morning show’s biggest stories, including the 2010 Midterm Elections and the mission that killed Osama bin Laden. He began his career in local news at WTVQ-TV in Lexington and WFLA-TV in Tampa, where he produced the most-watched newscast in the state of Florida.

Sherling has been honored with multiple Emmy, Peabody, Edward R. Murrow, and Walter Cronkite Awards. He is an alumnus of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was elected by his peers as the class graduation speaker for the Stanford Executive Program (SEP). He earned his Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center, where he received CALI Excellence for the Future Awards in Contracts and Civil Procedure. A magna cum laude graduate of Ithaca College, he was selected by the faculty as the Television-Radio Senior of the Year and received a National Student Electronic Media Award from the National Broadcasting Society.