Journalist Bobbie Battista, former CNN anchor and moderator of that channel's long-running talk show “Talkback Live,” has entered into an exclusive contract with broadcast and digital media services company KEF Media, where she will now host co-op media tours.

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Titled “Bobbie Battista’s Consumer Corner,” each of the new KEF-produced segments will feature two brands and will reach a minimum audience of 12 million. Atlanta-based KEF will produce the co-op spots at locations that reflect the agency partners as well as the features' intended theme.

KEF president and CEO Kevin Foley told O’Dwyer’s that his company, which has not produced any co-op tours in two years, returned to the format due to renewed client demand, after studying competitors’ current offerings, in which they noticed flaws.

“We produced co-ops for a few years, but I felt the way they were being done did not always serve our agency clients' best interests. We developed alternative service offerings, which we still feature,” Foley said. “But many clients continued to ask for co-ops so we created ‘Bobbie Battista's Consumer Corner’ to answer that need. We think it's a lot smarter, credible and more professional.”

Foley said the company will produce one or two co-op media tours a month, depending on agency demand.

KEF Media Media Solutions Director Alex Hinojosa, who will serve as Bobbie Battista’s Consumer Corner executive producer, called Battista “an experienced news pro who can deliver client messages professionally and with enormous credibility.”