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Lou Waters    

Aging Expert, Journalist & Former CNN Media Personality; Anchor of "Coming of Age"

Lou Waters is an American retired television journalist. He was one of the original anchors of CNN, an American cable news channel when it first aired in the summer of 1980 and remained one of the network's primary anchors until September 2001, adding to a journalism career spanning nearly 40 years.

For much of his tenure with the network, Waters anchored CNN Today with Natalie Allen. Additionally, he co-anchored Early Prime and hosted special editions, including Coming of Age, a series on aging in American society. Waters spoke to expert scientists and people of all ages about their views on aging for this series.

Speech Topics

Chart Your Own Course

Lou Waters and his Charted Waters presentations are designed to be customized for each audience he addresses. He can involve the audience in dynamic role-playing or question and answer sessions. Always fun, surprising and on the mark, Lou Waters makes an outstanding keynote or dinner speaker for your event.

Golf as Life

Lou is a lifelong golfer who spends many weekends on the Celebrity Golf Circuit. Along with developing his swing, Waters has developed some unique perspectives on the connections between golf, business and life. Waters shares his ideas on negotiating life's challenging fairways, staying out of the “rough” and playing to win. Waters is also available to participate in golf tournaments with meeting attendees and company executives.

CNN - Bloopers and Blunders

“You’re on the air.” Live. Live television means that anything that happens is seen by the viewing audience. Lou Waters punctuates his presentation with personal reminiscences from two decades of anchoring with CNN. He shares his "blooper reel," featuring video clips of many embarrassing and hysterical moments with some very recognizable CNN talent…moments that are inevitable on a 24-hour television network. There was the time his co-anchor's pants caught on fire, to the phoned-in breaking news interview with a person who spoke no English, to the time the meteorologist got stuck in the weather board--all on live TV. Waters can also share his perspectives on CNN, past, present and future and on the future of television news coverage. Interestingly, about 61% of CNN's viewing audience is 55-plus.

Did You Know That

In 1897, the average life expectancy was 47 years; while today it is 77 years and rising. "Silver Surfers," ages 55 to 64 using the web are the fastest growing age group using the Internet. Baby Boomers over 50 represent the most potentially lucrative market for advertisers who traditionally target 18-49 year olds. 50-plus Americans control half of this country’s discretionary income and 77% of its assets. Waters uses warmth and humor to deliver a fascinating and insightful look at what these societal and market realities mean for business and for individuals. His presentation can be tailored to diverse audiences and to various industries and organizations.

The Black and White on the Graying of America

Now Lou Waters brings his unique perspective as both a journalistic observer of the 50-plus age group and a member of that demographic to speak to groups of all ages and interests. Aging is a topic that resonates with those already immersed in the challenges and opportunities of growing older and even the young, who hope to someday reach old age. Waters talks about how older Americans are living longer and living better. He debunks many of the myths and stereotypes about this group, who are known as everything from "Golden Agers" to "Senior Citizens." As Thomas Cole writes in The Journey of Life: "Old age still symbolizes the spiritual integrity and wisdom that have attracted me since childhood. " Lou Waters shows audiences how to harness that spiritual integrity and wisdom in their own lives as they approach and participate in that intriguing part of the human experience--growing older.

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