ABC News Hires Dr. Richard Besser as Medical Reporter

ABC News has hired Dr. Richard Besser, the CDC director who led the government's communications efforts during the H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak.

Besser joins ABC's' Dr. Timothy Johnson to report on medical issues for the news division.

Johnson, who has been at ABC News since 1975, has been named chief medical editor, while Besser will join the network in September as senior health and medical editor.

Besser did a stint as a television health reporter for a San Diego station early in his career. He currently heads the CDC's Coordinating Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response, where he is responsible for the CDC's public health emergency preparedness and emergency response activities. He will step down from the CDC in mid-August.