Sam Feist

Feist received a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Vanderbilt University in 1991 and a juris doctorate from Georgetown University in 1999.^[1][2][3] At Vanderbilt, Feist was a reporter and editor for The Vanderbilt Hustler.^[3]

Feist began working for CNN in 1989 as an intern.^[4] In 1990, he became a freelance producer in London. He received a full-time position in 1991 and moved to Atlanta.^[1] He moved to the network's Washington, D.C. news bureau in 1992.^[5][1] He was the founding executive producer of The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer, which premiered in August 2005.^[5][6] Feist was the network's political director and senior executive producer for political coverage from 2006 to 2008, and named vice president of Washington-based programming in 2009.^[7][8] In 2011, CNN named Feist senior vice president and chief of its Washington, D.C., news bureau, where he oversaw newsgathering and production.^[5] Feist produced election night coverage and shows including Crossfire, Capital Gang, Evans & Novak, and Inside Politics.^[9][8] During election broadcasts, he was responsible for projecting the winners.^[9]

Feist was named chief executive officer of C-SPAN in May 2024, succeeding co-CEOs Susan Swain and Robert Kennedy.^[10][5] In 2025, he created Ceasefire, a panel discussion series bringing together Republicans and Democrats for civil discourse. The program was inspired by his work on Crossfire.^[11][12][13]