iReport for CNN

There is more than one CNN. James Earl Jones is always right when he says "This is CNN" but he says that in a lot of places. There's CNN Headline News where you watch "News To Me," along with "Morning Express with Robin Meade," "Nancy Grace," "Not Just Another Cable News Show," etc. There's also CNN en Espanol, CNN.com, CNN Airport Network, the original CNN where you can watch "The Situation Room" and "AC360," and finally there are a whole cluster of networks called CNN International.

CNN International, aka: CNNI or "Internat" as we sometimes call it, is probably the most watched of all the CNN Networks because it's seen in the most places! It's pretty hard to find in North America, (some cable and satellite providers do carry it, usually up in the higher digital tiers) but if you have traveled abroad at all you've probably come across it. I know when I was in Rome (where all I knew how to say in Italian was "thank you," and "excuse me") CNN International was an oasis of familiar faces and familiar language on my hotel TV.

The reason for all that exposition is to explain that "News To Me" has a sister show over on CNN International called "iReport for CNN" which is hosted by that tall guy in the pic above, Mr. Michael Holmes.

Michael and his crew came up to our workstations in the Headline News "loft" to shoot parts of "iReport for CNN" earlier this week. I'm sure it was a friendly gesture, but I couldn't help but notice that they came to us when it was time for them to shoot their show about WEIRD FOOD. Not their show about fine art or fun vacations... no, they came to us with a dare to taste two delicacies they learned about from an iReporter - Fried Coke and Hot Beef Sundae. Mmmmm.

More pictures of Eric and Michael being all "TV show hosty" and a picture of the Hot Beef Sundae:

There's Eric and Michael getting a good laugh at "News To Me" Producer Charles who's trying to choke down a taste of day-old fried coke.

Keep in mind that while he does have a great sense of humor, Michael Holmes is a proper newsman. He covered the war in Afghanistan, IN AFGHANISTAN, he has interviewed presidents and prime ministers, survived an ambush on his convoy in Iraq, covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and interviewed Tom Cruise. And now, he's hamming it up with fair foods. Who says TV News ain't glamorous?

And we finish with a cherry on top... a cherry tomato that is. On top of a heaping pile of mashed potatoes, covered in gravy and shredded cheese... I think there's some ground beef in there somewhere too. It actually doesn't sound too bad to be honest.

You can watch Eric's fair-food antics on "iReport for CNN" on CNN International (check your local listings) or on their showpage: cnn.com/ireportforcnn this weekend!