Biography
Eva McKend is an American journalist and CNN Correspondent who focuses on national politics. As a National Politics Reporter, she began working for CNN in September 2021 in the Washington, D.C. bureau. In the past, McKend worked as an on-air congressional correspondent, covering national news stories from the nation’s capital for Spectrum’s 24-hour news stations.
Age
She was born in Harlem, a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan in New York City.
Education
Eva is a Swarthmore College alumna who used the Turner Diversity Fellowship to obtain her master’s degree in broadcast and digital journalism from Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Communications. Having joined the National Association of Black Journalists, she is a proud member.
Parents
Guyanese-American parents raised her in Harlem, New York, and she became a community and diversity activist. She was raised in Manhattan’s Upper West neighborhood. Her aunt and a single mother reared her. Her mother realized early on that the quality of education in the public schools in New York City was lacking.
Husband(Wedding and Marriage)
McKend married Dennis R. Bates Jr. in a small-scale ceremony on the east coast. The Washington Post correspondent and her spouse said “I do” on August 6 in front of 170 guests at a private, 300-acre estate in Frederick, Maryland, during their three-day celebration. McKend tells PEOPLE that her goal for the party was to unite her family and friends.
Prior to their July 2022 engagement, McKend initially connected with Bates—a CPA and real estate investor—on the dating app Bumble in 2019. They both claim that their personalities complement one another and that they have similar values. The couple “fell in love with the aesthetics” of the 300-acre estate right away while they were searching for a place for their wedding.
A welcome ceremony was held at a nearby Caribbean restaurant on the first day of the weekend’s events, when the group enjoyed the couple’s favorite dishes, jerk fish and fried plantains. We honored the bridal party and heard heartfelt remarks honoring the bride and groom throughout the afternoon.
The bride discovered her Wtoo by Watters Austin Corset Tulle wedding gown at Anthropologie while out shopping with her mother in New York City.
Salary and Net Worth
She has an estimated net worth of $1 million. Her annual salary is estimated to be around $400 thousand annualy.
McKend CNN (Career)
She gained notoriety in Washington for her incisive questions directed at those in positions of authority. She succeeded in getting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to publicly acknowledge that human activity is exacerbating climate change and that he would not serve as a “impartial juror” in the first trial of President Donald Trump’s impeachment. Her inquiry about reparations for slavery to McConnell resulted in his strongest denial of the idea to date and dominated the national news cycle for many days.
Eva won first place in enterprise and investigative broadcast reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists in Louisville for her series of broadcasts on Black hemp growers when the crop was legalized in the 2018 Farm Bill. For the work, she received an Ohio Valley Regional Emmy nomination as well. Eva frequently appears as a guest on the WAMU/NPR show 1A, which is aired on over 400 public radio stations nationwide. She’s also frequently invited to participate on PBS’ Washington Week panel.
She worked as an anchor for Vermont’s top CBS station, WCAX-TV, from 2015 to 2018, and she was well-known for conducting insightful interviews with public officials. In 2017, Vermont Business Magazine named her a Rising Star. Eva was a reporter for Spectrum News Hudson Valley from 2012 to 2014 prior to moving to Vermont. As the Sullivan County reporter, she covered a number of high-profile stories while in the area, including Paul Novak’s murder trial and the misconduct of a village mayor.
She was able to obtain surveillance footage from his high-profile arrest through a FOIA request, and the footage went viral. The New York State Associated Press honored her continued coverage of an illegal demolition in Monticello with its Best Continuing Coverage award. She received recognition from the AP for General Excellence in Individual Reporting as well. She worked for Springfield, Missouri’s CBS station KOLR/KOZL as a summer correspondent in Washington, D.C., prior to this employment.
