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LYNE PITTS IS NAMED SENIOR BROADCAST PRODUCER

June 30, 2003
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LYNE PITTS IS NAMED SENIOR BROADCAST PRODUCER FOR THE "CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER" ?
WAYNE NELSON JOINS "60 MINUTES II" AS A PRODUCER FOR CORRESPONDENT VICKI MABREY
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Lyne Pitts has been named Senior Broadcast Producer, CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER, it was announced today by Andrew Heyward, President, CBS News.

Wayne Nelson, who has served in that capacity for the CBS EVENING NEWS since December 1998, joins 60 MINUTES II as a producer for correspondent Vicki Mabrey. The changes are effective later in July.

"I'm very pleased that two of CBS News' brightest producers are moving into new and important roles," said Heyward. "Lyne's broad-based experience in daily news and in prime time, combined with her superb talents as a producer, make her a terrific addition to the CBS EVENING NEWS management team."

"Wayne has covered some of the biggest stories in the nation and the world over the past two decades," continued Heyward. "His natural news instincts combined with his?proven record as a storyteller make him a perfect fit for 60 MINUTES II."

Pitts had been executive producer of THE EARLY SHOW since December 1999, responsible for the content and production of the broadcast, including the recent Iraqi war coverage. With senior executive producer Michael Bass, Pitts was responsible for developing and launching a new version of THE EARLY SHOW, which since its debut in October 2002 has become the fastest-growing network morning program. Before that, she served as executive producer of the CBS EVENING NEWS weekend broadcasts (1997-99). Pitts also served as executive producer of "Before Your Eyes," a series of critically acclaimed CBS News primetime specials. She was a senior producer and a producer of 48 HOURS (1987-96) and a producer for CBS NEWS SUNDAY MORNING and the CBS News weekend broadcasts (1987). Pitts joined CBS News in 1984 as a broadcast producer for the CBS MORNING NEWS (1984-86). ?
Prior to that, Pitts worked at KNXT Los Angeles (now KCBS-TV, 1980-84) and at KTLA-TV Los Angeles (1978-80) as a writer and producer. She was a writer at ?
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KPIX-TV, the CBS Owned station in San Francisco (1977-78). Pitts also served as an editor of the Ravenswood Post in East Palo Alto, Calif. (1976-77). ?
Pitts has received eight national Emmy Awards and the Silver Gavel Award from the American Bar Association. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists. ?
Pitts was graduated from Stanford University in 1976 with a degree in communications. She is married to Byron Pitts, a CBS News correspondent, and lives in Montclair, N.J. Together, they have five children. ?
Prior to joining the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER, Nelson had been CBS News Dallas Bureau Chief since 1994, responsible for all newsgathering, reporting and personnel in the Midwest and Southwest of the country. He was responsible for coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995 as well as the Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols trials. Before that, he was a senior producer for the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH DAN RATHER in Washington, D.C., where he oversaw coverage of the nation's capital for the broadcast (1991-94). He served as the senior producer for Rather at the 1994 summit between Boris Yeltsin and President Clinton in Moscow. Nelson was in charge of CBS EVENING NEWS' on-site coverage of Hurricane Andrew, the Los Angeles earthquake, the Mississippi floods and the Branch Davidian siege near Waco, Texas. At the outbreak of the first Gulf War, he was one of Rather's producers in Baghdad for the interview with Saddam Hussein and produced reports from Amman, Damascus and Cairo. ?
He served as the bureau manager for CBS News in Atlanta (1991) and was a producer for CBS News in London (1989-91), where he covered the fall of the Iron Curtain and was the first television news producer on the scene in Bucharest, Romania, for the 1989 revolution. Before joining the London bureau, Nelson worked at the CBS News Dallas bureau as bureau manager (1987-89) and producer (1985-87). His broadcast journalism career began in Dallas as a producer and managing editor for WFAA-TV (1982-85) and a producer for KDFW-TV (1978-82). ?
Nelson was born December 20, 1955 in Austin, Texas. He was graduated from Texas A&M University. He is married to Alice Maggin, a producer for ABC News. ?
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Press Contact: Kelli Edwards 212/975-6795 kee@cbsnews.com ?

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