Analyst Greenfield set to leave CNN for CBS

By Paul J. Gough

NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - CNN's senior political analyst Jeff Greenfield is poised to move to CBS as early as this week.

CBS was set to make an announcement as early as Monday, though sources said the deal had not been finalized. The news broke Friday in Howard Kurtz's column in the Washington Post.

CBS, CNN and Greenfield's lawyer Robert Barnett declined comment Friday.

Greenfield's contract at CNN had been up, and though CNN execs wanted him to stay, Greenfield was intrigued by an opportunity offered at CBS. He will appear on "CBS Evening News With Katie Couric" as well as do work for "Sunday Morning" and other shows, not just on politics but also on popular culture. But Greenfield likely will have a big role in the network's coverage of the 2008 election.

Sources said the parting with CNN was amicable; Greenfield was on the network Friday. It wasn't immediately clear when he would leave CNN, but it is likely that he could begin work at CBS within a month.

Greenfield has been with CNN since 1998 and worked at ABC News for 14 years before that, including Emmy-winning work for "Nightline." The one-time speechwriter for Sen. Robert Kennedy and a Yale Law School grad worked for a time at CBS during the 1980 political cycle.

Greenfield has worked on several important stories while at CNN, including the impeachment of President Clinton and the presidential and midterm elections since 1998.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter