Ohio State alum Phil Mattingly reflects on being named CNN’s chief domestic correspondent

Olivia Riley
Tue, 02 Apr 2024 01:44:38 +0000
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Ohio State alum Phil Mattingly was recently promoted to chief domestic correspondent for CNN, where he has worked since 2015. Credit: Courtesy of Phil Mattingly

In February 2007, during the first semester in his master’s program at Boston University, Phil Mattingly remembers applying to over 100 internships.

He only heard back from one.

Little did he know, landing that position with Lima News — a daily newspaper based in Lima, Ohio — in April 2007 would kickstart his acclaimed career as a journalist.

“I learned everything from the basic stuff to things that I still use in my career today,” Mattingly said. “It was a life-changing opportunity.”

Fast forward roughly 17 years and Mattingly, who graduated from Ohio State in 2006, was named the chief domestic correspondent and anchor at CNN in February. Mattingly said it’s a blend of passion and determination that has allowed him to make it to the top of his chosen field.

“The access you have on Capitol Hill as a reporter is great,” Mattingly said. “It’s the best beat in the world.”

Mattingly said he didn’t always know he wanted to be a journalist.

“I had always known that I loved writing,” Mattingly said. “I figured out early on that I wanted to make a career out of it.”

While at Ohio State, Mattingly was a varsity baseball player. Then, during his senior year, he found another extracurricular that would soon change his life: The Lantern Media Group.

Mattingly covered various sports and penned a number of columns for The Lantern and said the journalistic experience he gained during that time was something he’s never forgotten.

“My colleagues at The Lantern taught me more professionally than I could ever have imagined,” Mattingly said. “They had no reason to welcome me in, but they could not have been more helpful with thoughts and advice as a journalist.”

During his time at The Lantern, Mattingly crossed paths with Jeff Svoboda, a former Lantern sports editor who now reports on the Columbus Blue Jackets. Though their initial encounter transpired years ago, Svoboda said Mattingly easily stood out in a newsroom setting.

“As an editor, you can usually find out quickly which people had a future in the business,” Svoboda, who also graduated from Ohio State in 2006, said. “Phil was the guy that had a lot of potential.”

After graduating from Ohio State, Mattingly said he looked to further his education at Boston University, where he earned his master’s degree in journalism in 2008. Prior to graduation, he landed a position at publishing company Congressional Quarterly in December 2007, at which he covered banking committees.

A few months after he was hired, the 2008 financial crisis hit. Suddenly, Mattingly was thrown headfirst into the most prominent ongoing story he’d ever been a part of.

“Capitol Hill was kind of the center stage for everything,” Mattingly said. “It ended up being a fortuitous bounce to some degree because I ended up bringing a lot of news during that time, and that’s kind of how I got to my next job after that.”

Christine Brennan, an award-winning sports columnist for USA Today, has been a longtime adviser for Mattingly since he reached out to her for mentorship in 2005. She said she remembers reading Mattingly’s well-grounded reporting during that tumultuous time in Washington D.C.

Brennan said the successes Mattingly has achieved over the course of his career are more than well-deserved.

“Phil is the gold standard,” Brennan said. “He found something he loved, he went for it and the rest is history.”

Thanks to his thorough reporting during the financial crisis, Mattingly went on to work at Bloomberg Television in 2010, where he first served as a White House correspondent and later as a national political correspondent.

Then, in December 2015, Mattingly’s professional relationship with CNN began.

Throughout his first year at CNN, Mattingly spent his time on the presidential campaign trail, mostly covering the Republican primary field before moving to follow Donald Trump’s campaign throughout 2016, he said.

After the election, Mattingly was a congressional correspondent for CNN before transitioning over to the White House beat in 2021.

In 2023, Mattingly earned the White House Correspondents’ Association’s “Award for Excellence in Presidential Coverage Under Deadline Pressure – Broadcast” for his ahead-of-the-game coverage of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s planned trip to the White House in December 2022.

Soon after in late February, Mattingly was promoted to chief domestic correspondent for the network, directly following a brief stint anchoring the CNN Morning Show from August 2023 to February 2024.

Mattingly said he’s happy to be back doing what he does best: reporting. Notably, he said it’s been smooth picking up where he left off, not unlike riding a bike.

“It’s mostly just the process of reconnecting,” Mattingly said. “But, it feels so natural, and it’s really what I enjoy doing the most.”

For Svoboda, seeing his former colleague advance in the field has been nothing short of rewarding.

“There’s a lot of pride, I think, when you see the people that stick with it, it’s so cool to have been there in the beginning,” Svoboda said. “When I look up on my TV and see Phil, it’s nice to think I might have had a small hand in the process.”

Brennan said Mattingly was a natural from the start, and his future looks just as bright as his recent past.

“Phil was one of the ones I mentored who really didn’t need much mentoring,” Brennan said. “He was ready to launch himself into the career of his dreams.”

When looking back at the 20-something college student struggling to land just one internship, Mattingly said it’s imperative to keep doing what you love, however hard it may seem.

“Take any opportunity that comes your way,” Mattingly said. “Just don’t quit.”