An award-winning journalist, Mark Preston has crisscrossed the nation for 27 years chronicling the dramatic changes in U.S. politics and reporting on the most important stories of the day, from the historic Bush v. Gore presidential election to Barack Obama’s groundbreaking presidency and the rise, fall, and rise again of President-elect Donald Trump. His on-the-ground reporting from the U.S. Capitol during critical moments – such as the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the anthrax incident later that year, and the January 6, 2021 insurrection – has made him a prominent voice in understanding the nation’s evolving political landscape. He appears as a non-partisan political analyst across all CNN platforms.Preston is also charged with negotiating terms for CNN’s primetime political specials, successfully bringing to air more than 30 presidential debates bookended by the groundbreaking “CNN YouTube Presidential Primary Debates” in 2007 and the historic “CNN General Election Debate” in 2024.In 2016, responding to voter’s desire for more access to the presidential candidates, Preston played a central role in developing the CNN Town Hall. He has since negotiated terms and produced more than 180 town halls that have featured U.S. presidents, House speakers, members of Congress, cabinet secretaries, business leaders and political candidates.While focused primarily on politics, Preston has also helped to diversify CNN’s live programming by working with a small team to create culturally relevant and timely primetime specials such as “The Fourth in America,”; CNN’s back-to-back high school graduation specials during the first two years of the covid pandemic; “Stand Up: The Students of Stoneman Douglas Demand Action,”; and “Live from the Capitol: January 6th, One Year Later.”Preston also worked closely with Clive and Doug Davis on the “We Love NYC Homecoming Concert” in 2021; with Live Nation Urban to produce “Juneteenth: A Global Celebration of Freedom,” a live special that aired from the Hollywood Bowl in 2022 and the Greek Theatre in 2023; with The Kennedy Center to air “The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor” honoring Adam Sandler in 2023; and with 9/11 Day to produce “Shine A Light: the 20-year Remembrance of 9/11.”A Peabody Award winner, Preston is also a four-time Emmy Award winner (eight Emmy nominations); a Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in TV Political Journalism winner; an i-3 Mirror Award winner; a National Headliner Award winner; and the recipient of multiple Webby Awards and Georgia Freedom of Information reporting awards.