CNN hires Freedman as senior reporter

Andrew Freedman has been hired by CNN Climate & Weather as a senior reporter.

Previously, Freedman served as a senior climate reporter with Axios and was an author of the daily “Axios Generate” newsletter. He covered climate science and policy, extreme weather, and the energy transition. Freedman broke multiple key stories on the Trump Administration’s plans for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service.

Before Axios, Freedman was previously with The Washington Post, where he served as an editor for the Capital Weather Gang. Freedman covered science research and policy, with a focus on climate change, extreme weather, and the environment. He was among the first reporters to popularize the term “polar vortex” during the infamous East Coast winter of 2013 to 2014. Freedman has also reported for Mashable, Climate Central, and other publications in the past.

Freedman has won several awards throughout his extensive career, including an award for Professional Excellence in Climate Reporting from the Association of Foreign Correspondents in the United States in 2024, the National Press Foundation’s Innovative Storytelling Award in 2022, and the Society of Environmental Journalists Award for Outstanding Explanatory Storytelling in 2018.

Freedman holds a master’s in Climate and Society from Columbia University and a master’s in law and diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts.

Freedman will be based out of CNN’s Washington, D.C., bureau.