CNN International EVP and managing director Tony Maddox will make a rare appearance in Washington to join Mira Sorvino, Rep. Chris Smith, Ambassador Luis Cdebaca and others for a public forum on human trafficking tomorrow evening.  As part of the CNN Freedom Project, Maddox will speak about modern-day slavery on a panel moderated by CNN anchor Jim Clancy.  The event will be held at GW’s Jack Morton Auditorium at 6 pm, preceded by cocktails at 5pm.  RSVP is required for attendance.

Read why Maddox engaged CNN in the fight against human trafficking here.

Wolfy is smirking for good reason. David Zurawik, TV critic for the Baltimore Sun has some very kind words for CNN about their coverage of the situation in Libya and the Japanese earthquake, and for anchor Wolf Blitzer in particular.

Zurawik doesn’t credit CNN’s spike in ratings with the fact that there’s a lot in the news to cover. And primetime hosts Piers Morgan and Eliot Spitzer certainly aren’t doing the network any favors with their dismal numbers. Instead, Zurawik says CNN International’s managing director Tony Maddox is the one who’s made the difference with an increased use of simulcasts.

The difference, Zurawik writes, is exemplified by the pairing of Blitzer and Isha Sesay, the CNN International anchor based in Atlanta. The pair “provides a near perfect context of seriousness and energy/urgency,” Zurawik writes. “The set crackles with intensity when Blitzer is on with Sesay.”

He continues: “I have long been a fan of Blitzer. I think he is as good as TV journalism gets…when you match [Sesay] with someone like Blitzer and the sense of seriousness he brings to the presentation, it’s a perfect fit.”

Wolf is great, but it isn’t just him. Zurawik says he’s “written many times about CNN’s superior international news-gathering infrastructure” and thinks Sanjay Gupta‘s reporting from Japan was “terrific.”

That’s fairly high praise for a network that hasn’t gotten much positive feedback lately. Read the whole column here.

CNN staffers received an internal memo from Ken Jautz this afternoon. In it, Jautz announced that CNN will be combining its internation and domestic news desks. Tony Maddox, Executive V.P. and Managing Director of CNN International, will oversee the operation. A new managing editor will come on board in 2011.

See the memo after the jump…

Read more

At a star-studded ceremony Thursday night, CNN won a Golden Nymph award for its Haiti Earthquake coverage at the Monte Carlo TV Festival. The award was for coverage in the 24-hour news program category. The network beat out BBC, Sky News, France 24 and Russia Today.

CNN reports that within 24 hours after the earthquake struck, the network had eight reporting teams (34 people) on the ground.

CNN International executive vice president and managing director Tony Maddox offers a garden variety quote for a press release, but it is written in international verbiage (z’s are s’s and honor is “honour”) so that makes it thankfully not the norm: “This award comes as CNN marks 30 years of journalistic enterprise. Our coverage of Haiti stands out in CNN’s history of covering the stories that help shape our world. It is an honour to be recognised by our industry peers at this prestigious Festival.”