Meridith Edwards is an Emmy award-winning journalist who works as a senior producer for cross-platform planning and special projects at CNN. Over the past several years, Edwards has honed her skills producing stories, creating pilots and executing special event programming. She was intimately involved in many major breaking news stories, including the killing of Libyan Ambassador Christopher Stevens, where she was the direct contact to Stevens’ family, and the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado.
Edwards also coordinated and contributed to coverage of the 50th anniversary of the March on Selma, the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the shooting of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, and the Pope’s trip to the United States.
One of Edwards’ significant producing projects was The Voices Of Auschwitz, which was a true crossplatform effort. Edwards spent months traveling the globe to interview survivors of Auschwitz ahead of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp. The result was a powerful documentary focusing on the stories of five survivors. Wolf Blitzer hosted the documentary, which also featured an interview with Steven Spielberg. To bring the documentary to life online, Edwards produced five digital-only videos featuring the survivors, which were paired with in-depth interviews.
In 2002, Edwards was a principle in the launch of Tamarkin Productions, a company that produced documentary and non-fiction television programming. From research, booking talent and location scouting, to shooting and editing, Edwards was involved in every step of the process. Tamarkin Productions completed several documentaries, including three for ESPN: On The Basis of Sex: The Battle of Title IX; Winning At Any Cost: The Drug Culture in Sports; and Sports Illustrated A t 50. The company also produced a feature-length documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Prior to Tamarkin Productions, Edwards spent 10 years at CNN where she was a producer for “CNN NEWSSTAND,” a joint venture between CNN, Fortune Magazine and Entertainment Weekly. Edwards initiated, wrote and produced long-form investigative and feature stories as well as breaking news specials. Edwards helped spearhead Emmy Award-winning coverage of major news events including the Oklahoma City bombing, the crash of TWA Flight 800, and the Centennial Olympic Park bombing.
In addition to the two National News and Documentary Emmy Awards, Edwards is also a recipient of the National Women’s Political Caucus Exceptional Merit Media Award.