David Marc Chalian (born July 20, 1973)[1] is an American journalist and political analyst who serves as political director for the American cable news channel CNN.[2]
Chalian was born on July 20, 1973, to Carol (née Steloff) and Robert P. Chalian.[3] His father worked as a salesman before his death in 1984, and is of Armenian Jewish heritage.[4][non-primary source needed][3][5]
After graduating from Northwestern, Chalian joined NY1, a 24-hour cable news television channel based in New York City, and produced the nightly news program, Inside City Hall.[7] He then worked as political director for ABC News and appeared as a political analyst on ABC World News Tonight, Nightline, and Good Morning America.[7] At ABC, he created and co-anchored the daily political webcast, "Top Line". In January 2009, he won an Emmy Award as part of the team that produced ABC News's presidential inauguration coverage.[7] He next worked as the political editor and an on-air political analyst for the PBS NewsHour and then as Vice President for Video Programming at Politico.[7]
Chalian served as Yahoo! News' Washington bureau chief, but was fired from his position after he was overheard on a live microphone during an online broadcast from the 2012 Republican National Convention saying that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife Ann Romney were "not concerned at all" and "happy to have a party with black people drowning" during Hurricane Isaac.[8][9] Chalian later apologized for his remarks, saying, "I am profoundly sorry for making an inappropriate and thoughtless joke. I was commenting on the challenge of staging a convention during a hurricane and about campaign optics. I have apologized to the Romney campaign, and I want to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to Gov. and Mrs. Romney."[9][8]
Chalian lives in Washington, D.C.[7] He has been married to Justin Tyler Bernstine since 2017. [11] Dr. Bernstine serves as Interim Dean of Students at American University.
^ ab"Robert P. Chalian". Asbury Park Press. November 14, 1984. Robert P. Chalian, 43, of the Morganville section of Marlboro Township, died yesterday at Old Bridge Regional Hospital, Old Bridge Township. He was born in Brooklyn, where he lived most of his life, before moving to Marlboro Township 16 years ago. Mr. Chalian was a salesman for Robert Jerome Sales, Manhattan. He was a member of Temple Shaari Emeth, Manalapan Township, and B'nai B'rith, Brooklyn. He was an Army veteran from 1960 to 1962, stationed at Governors Island, N.Y. Surviving are his wife, the former Carol Steloff; a son, David M., at home; a daughter, Jill M., at home; and two brothers, Michael R., of New York, and George R., of Matawan
^"ANCA". facebook.com/ancagrassroots. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
^Coyne, Bob. "The world's his stage", Asbury Park Press, March 9, 1991. Accessed May 24, 2023, via Newspapers.com. "At an age when most kids are still dreaming of becoming firemen, cops or astronauts when they grow up, David Chalian was already on the road to discovering what he wanted to do as his life's work. 'In elementary school, in the second grade, I got this part,' the 17-year-old Marlboro High School senior explained."
