As Editor-in-Chief, Mullen will manage CNA’s reporting for its news syndication service, and its extensive social media news audience. Mullen will also seek to foster greater collaboration between CNA’s news coverage, and the reporting of the National Catholic Register, EWTN News Nightly, In Depth, and other major news outlets within EWTN.
Alejandro Bermúdez, Executive Director of CNA and ACI Prensa, said: “Shannon is a well-formed, devout Catholic, father of four children and interested in several Church apostolates. With his many years of successful journalism, he brings that rare combination of affability, leadership and experience that will take CNA to a new level.”
Mullen said: “I’m honored by the faith that Michael, Alejandro and EWTN have placed in me to lead such a talented team of dedicated journalists. The focused, faithful coverage CNA provides every day is vital to Catholics around the world, especially now when the Church is facing such extraordinary challenges, most especially rising threats to religious freedom in so many places today.”
As Enterprise Editor and Premium Content Coach at the Gannett-owned Asbury Park Press, Mullen collaborated with reporters, photographers, videographers, and designers to develop compelling multimedia stories and premium content for the newspaper’s subscribers. He also coached reporters on writing long-form features and investigative projects. As an investigative reporter, Mullen penned more than 1,000 articles and hundreds of front-page stories, ranging from breaking news and human interest features to multi-part investigative series on a wide range of public policy issues.
“As a young newspaper reporter, I drew great inspiration from Pope John Paul II’s annual remarks on World Communications Day,” he said. “He emphasized that even those in the secular media could serve as apostles in the cause of human dignity, justice and the pursuit of truth. Looking back over my career, I recognize this theme running through my work which includes investigations into deplorable living conditions in federally subsidized rental housing, the exploitation of the elderly by legal guardians, and a heartbreaking teenage suicide cluster that terrorized a small community at the Jersey Shore.”
In addition to being a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Mullen’s numerous national journalism honors include a First Place Award from the National Press Club; Finalist for the Goldsmith Investigative Reporting Award; and a First Place Award from the Deadline Club for New York Metro Media.