CNN has named Kyla Scanlon as a contributor and economic analyst, the Warner Bros. Discovery-backed network announced June 16. 

Scanlon, a financial content creator with more than one million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and Substack, will focus on CNN Business, producing multi-platform explainers to help audiences understand economic shifts. Her work at the network will cover topics including tariffs, artificial intelligence, the value of higher education, and Gen Z’s role in the economy.

Background and Credentials

Raised in Kentucky, Scanlon studied finance, economics, and data analytics at Western Kentucky University. Before establishing her career as a content creator, she worked at Capital Group in Los Angeles and later founded Bread, a financial education company. Her earlier career also included trading options and selling cars, where she first identified the opportunity to make finance accessible to general audiences.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Scanlon began explaining markets and economic trends through whiteboard videos and social media skits aimed at audiences not versed in financial markets. In 2025, for the second consecutive year, she was named to Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance. 

Her book, “In This Economy? How Money and Markets Really Work,” was a New York Times bestseller in 2024, and she is currently working on a second book.

CNN has been building CNN All Access, a subscription platform aimed at younger audiences who primarily consume content through mobile and social media.

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