Reena Ninan

Reena Ninan (born April 18, 1979) is an Indian American television journalist who has been an award-winning news anchor for the national mainstream media, including ABC News & CBS News. Ms. Ninan is also the founder of her own news media company Good Trouble Productions^[2] & a natural female bodybuilder.^[3]

Ms. Ninan was valedictorian at C. Leon King High School in Tampa, FL in 1997 in her class of 576 graduates.^[4]

Reena earned a bachelor’s degree in political communication with a minor in women’s studies from The George Washington University, School of Media and Public Affairs in 2001.^[5] Reena delivered a message to George Washington University graduates in 2020 via Facebook.^[6]

She earned a bachelor’s degree in human resource management from University of California in 2009.

From 1999-2005, Ms. Ninan was a producer at the Washington Post, a freelance journalist for ABC News & a freelance journalist at BET.

From 2005-2012, Ms. Ninan was The Middle East Correspondent at Fox News covering many countries & events, including The Peaceful Withdrawal of US troops from Iraq from 2007-2011.

From 2012-2015, Ms. Ninan worked at ABC News. Ninan began working at ABC News in 2012 in the Washington bureau, where she covered the White House and the State Department. She later moved to New York, reporting for Good Morning America and continuing to travel abroad as a foreign correspondent. In April 2015, Ninan was named co-anchor of ABC's early morning shows World News Now and America This Morning, alongside T. J. Holmes. Reena danced to the song Oops!... I Did It Again on World News Now.^[7]

From 2016-2020, Ms. Ninan worked at CBS News. She was a solo anchor of CBSN with a reported salary of $2 million per year. She was the Saturday night anchor of the CBS Weekend News. She also reported for CBS Evening News, CBS This Morning & other CBS broadcasts.^[8]

Since 2021, Ms. Ninan has been a foreign affairs & political contributor at CNN.

Reena is the founder & owner of her own news media company Good Trouble Productions.^[9]

She has managed, taught & mentored digital media content creation groups with 30-70 people to create a collaborative environment.

Ms. Ninan has hosted the Ask Lisa Podcast along with psychologist Dr. Lisa Damour to help with parenting tips since the summer of 2020.^[10][11][12] 800 people came to Darien High School Auditorium to see Reena & Lisa speak live & interact with them with questions in May of 2023.^[13] AdLarge signed an advertisement partnership deal with the podcast. Cathy Csukas, Co-CEO, and Co-Founder of AdLarge said, “Their professional and direct advice has drawn an extremely engaged and responsive audience that we’re excited to share with our advertisers.”^[14]

Since December 2020, Darien TV79 has been the first station to air episodes of The Rebound, stories of how people made it out of their darkest moments to find the light.^[15]

Since 2021, Ms. Ninan has hosted a podcast called HERO: The Hidden Economics of Remarkable Women. The podcast is partially funded by Foreign Policy and the Gates Foundation.^{[16][17][18][19]}

On August 26th 2024, Reena & Dr. Lisa Damour spoke for Aura's Digital Parenting Summit on parenting advice in front of a live audience at The Times Center in New York City. The forum was streamed live online.^[20][21]

Ms. Ninan has been an active volunteer & moderator for Children's Hope India. The organization currently has 20 projects helping 300,000+ children across India and the United States with schooling & health.^[22][23]

Ms. Ninan has appeared in two C-SPAN Video Library videos to host multiple topics of discussion, including foreign policy with Rep. Bill Keating.^[24]

Ms. Ninan is a former member of the Atlantic Council,^[25] Rockefeller Foundation^[26] & Council on Foreign Relations.^[27] She currently works as a presider of their public forums.^[28][29]

In October of 2023, Ms. Ninan hosted a conversation at Mather Homestead with Mattie Kahn on her book of the contribution teenage girls have made to our society in Darien, CT.^[30]

Ms. Ninan hosted the 2024 Sheroes in Media Awards by the Multicultural Media & Correspondents Association (MMCA) on March 27th, 2024.^[31]

In May of 2024, Ms. Ninan was the moderator of Toigo Foundation's Industry Insights forum. The nonprofit organization selects 50 minority group master of business administration students to benefit from their program.^[32]

Reena announced on Ask Lisa Vodcast she had used the summer of 2023 to increase her protein intake to 120 grams per day. Reena later announced she had been weightlifting.^[33] Ms. Briceno said "Ms. Ninan taking 120 grams of protein per day is giving her that full look." Ms. Reena Ninan was asked to be the celebrity ambassador of a bodybuilding show owned by IFBB Pro female bodybuilder Tivisay Briceno on Clearwater Beach, FL on November 23rd, 2024.^[34] Reena is currently working on being able to lift & carry a person. This is keeping with India traditions as women lift & carry people often.

Ms. Ninan has been nominated for 3 Emmy Awards. In 2013, Reena was nominated as a Reporter at the 35th Annual News & Documentary Emmy Awards for Outstanding Coverage of a Breaking News Story in a Regularly Scheduled Newscast on Good Morning America, World News with Diane Sawyer & Nightline for Direct Hit: Oklahoma Tornadoes. In 2014 & 2015, Ms. Ninan was nominated twice in a row as a Correspondent at the 42nd & 43rd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Morning Program on ABC's Good Morning America.^[35]

Reena Ninan was born & raised in Tampa, Florida. Her parents, Miriamma & Mathew, are from India. Reena has one brother named Tony who is married with children to an Indian woman named Seena. When Reena was a child, she developed a passion for bodybuilding. Reena Ninan was also encouraged by her parents to pursue a bodybuilding career. Reena is fluent in English, Malayalam, Hebrew & Arabic. 

Ninan is married to well-known author & former Newsweek reporter Kevin Peraino. They have three children, including Kate & Jack Peraino.^[36][37]

• Reena on LinkedIn
• Reena Ninan on Council on Foreign Relations Official Website
• Reena Ninan on Foreign Policy Official Website
• Good Trouble Productions on Facebook
• Reena Ninan on Facebook
• Reena Ninan on ABC News Official Website
• Reena Ninan on The George Washington University Official Website
• Reena Ninan Fans on Facebook Groups
• Reena Ninan on Atlantic Council Official Website
• Reena Ninan's The Recount Daily Pod on The Recount Official Website

• Lisa Damour
• Cecilia Vega
• Women in journalism

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Reena Ninan.