The Mariane Pearl-Eason Jordan Link

Mariane Pearl,widow of a slain reporter. (AP via APTV)

Eason Jordan, a CNN news exec who was deeply involved in the network's coverage of the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Danny Pearl, is now romantically involved with Pearl's widow, Mariane, people familiar with the relationship told us yesterday.

As reports of the relationship swirled through CNN and other news circles, Jordan declined to comment and Pearl did not respond to our inquiries. Married for 16 years, with two children, the Atlanta-based Jordan, 43, got to know Pearl, 36, who now lives in New York, after Islamic terrorists killed her husband in Pakistan two years ago. Colleagues said they don't know how long Jordan and Pearl have been an item.

"I'm neither confirming it nor denying it," Matt Furman, a CNN spokesman, told us yesterday. "He's not going to speak. I can tell you we don't discuss the personal matters of any of our employees."

Said Jordan's wife, Susan, "I have absolutely no comment."

Some CNNers mulled the ethical implications of the relationship. Pearl, who earlier this month was turned down for compensation from the 9/11 victims' fund and is appealing, appeared on CNN yesterday with her attorney. "While she's a source, what kind of source is she?" one staffer wondered. "She's a source about her husband's death."

A 22-year veteran of CNN, Jordan made his name overseeing the network's war coverage and expanding its international bureaus. He serves as CNN's executive vice president and chief news executive and chairs its editorial board.

Pearl, who wrote a memoir about her ordeal, indicated in a New York Times article published yesterday that she faces an uncertain financial future and is seeking the compensation for her son, Adam, nearly 2.

When Jordan faced controversy last year after disclosing that he had not reported some things he had learned during 13 trips to Iraq for "fear of endangering our staff in Baghdad," Pearl publicly defended him.

"I have known Jordan for almost a year, since the death of my husband," she wrote in a letter published in The Washington Post on April 19. "From the start, I was surprised by how ethical Jordan is and how dedicated he is to issues of journalistic ethics -- more concerned than I would have expected from someone at a network like CNN, with its splashy logos and special theme music for the war. In every conversation that we've had, Jordan's concern for the safety of his journalists, journalists in general and the people helping them in the field has been clear."

The Black Johnny Depp?

• Upcoming African American actor Michael Ealy, a product of Silver Spring, plays a hitman in "Never Die Alone," the new crime flick starring rapper DMX, but says he doesn't want to be stuck in stereotypical roles. "It's definitely not a sign of what is to come," he says of his current screen incarnation.

Michael Ealy: Looking to avoid the pigeonhole. (Dale Robinette - Courtesy Fox Searchlight Picture)

Ealy, 30, who also appeared in both "Barbershop" movies, told us he hopes to work beyond category -- to be a black Johnny Depp. "I want my own career," he said from Los Angeles, citing Depp as an example of actors "who have chosen the harder path." Shunning predictable leading-man roles, Depp is a "good-looking guy who does what interests him. It may not interest the audience, but it interests him," Ealy notes. "It's up to you to craft a career that you want to have."

But Hollywood makes that difficult. "Representation of blacks in film is much better than it was, but it still has a long way to go. Still a lot of roles that come across my desk, nine out of 10, if it's a black character, he has a criminal record."

A grad of Springbrook High and the University of Maryland, Ealy grew up in a suburban community he and friends called "the gate" (for Stonegate). It's nothing like the thuggish world depicted in "Never Die Alone," and Ealy says that's why the role challenged him: "It's an underworld, and the reason why it's an underworld to me is because I didn't grow up this way."

His parents worked regular jobs; nobody OD'd in his family. So isn't he reinforcing stereotypes? "This movie is disturbing, and hopefully people will walk away from this movie realizing that way of life is not cool. We did not glamorize it. Everybody pays a price for the life they live in this movie."

One last question, for the ladies who prowl the Internet looking for Michael Ealy pix to swoon over: Still on the romance market? "I'm single," he says, laughing. "I'm available . . . for someone special."

Annals of Puffery

An Occasional Verbatim Press Release

"Corporate white-collar crook Jamie Olis [of Dynegy Corp.] is going to federal prison for 24 years! Very few people working in corporate America have had contact with someone who has gone to prison. . . . The ex-convict team of Walter " Walt" Pavlo and Karen Bond are available for guest appearances and to provide quotes for print coverage. Pavlo, who pled guilty to defrauding MCI of $6 million, holds an MBA from Stetson. Bond, who pled guilty to one count of Interstate Securities Fraud, graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Marietta College and holds a law degree from Ohio State University College of Law. . . . As a team, their lively, interactive style as trained media experts will have your audience wanting to hear more."

With Anne Schroeder