NewsNation is opening its borders.
The Nexstar-owned cable-news outlet has put the bulk of its resources into coverage of events taking place in the United States, but in 2026, it will commit to chronicling affairs around the globe by naming Robert Sherman its first international correspondent. The hope is that the 29-year-old Sherman will be stationed in Rome, where he can more easily access not only the Middle East, but western Europe, Geneva and other places around the world when news demands the network’s presence.
“This is recognizing there are a lot of stories that impact Americans directly” around the world, says the reporter, during a recent interview. “We want to be there, in all the hot spots.”
Sherman takes up a global beat he believes could take him to Ukraine, to chronicle its battle with the invading Russia, or the Middle East, to examine relations between Israel and the Arab world. “There is a big focus on America-centric interest stories, especially how they are going to impact everyday people,” says Sherman. “If you’re just watching the way the world is moving right now,” he adds, and ”there is still a very fluid, dynamic situation in Ukraine.” And U.S. relations with western Europe appear to be in flux. “None of that takes into account actual breaking news,” he says. He may well have his hands full.
Having a designated international correspondent can be a boon for any cable-news operation. At Fox News Channel, Trey Yingst has become an expected presence on screen when conflict breaks out around the world. Clarissa Ward and Nic Robertson often turn in harrowing on-the-ground reportage for CNN.
At 29, Sherman may be the youngest international correspondent in cable news. He says he came by the job thanks to two things — a healthy curiosity and a willingness to volunteer.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, Sherman was a recent arrival at NewsNation, and raised his hand to bear witness firsthand. “I volunteered to go. I’m not sure why. I thought it was important, and I thought we were at a moment in which the world was going to change forever,” he recalls.
He had largely stayed on home ground before that. Before joining NewsNation, he spent two years reporting on national affairs for Fox News Channel. He was also a reporter for WIAT in Birmingham, Alabama.
But he has already been traveling extensively for NewsNation. He spent nearly a month in Rome, Italy and Vatican City covering the death and funeral of Pope Francis and the papal conclave. Earlier this year, Sherman shook hands with Pope Leo XIV and went viral for asking him if he had a message for the United States.
Sherman’s world view has shifted as he has visited other parts of the globe. His new book, “Lessons From The Front,” is told from the perspective of a 25-year-old correspondent who felt he already had an understanding of how the world worked but quickly discovered how little he understood about cultures around the world. “I just had this assumption that almost everyone saw the world through the lends of an American, that we were all coming from the same place,” he says. His time overseas has adjusted this thinking.
The new role is “really a dramatic assignment,” Sherman says. “and an opportunity to really stoke my curiosity.”