Bill Whitaker, a veteran CBS News reporter, has been named a 60 Minutes correspondent, becoming only the second African-American correspondent in the show’s history, after Ed Bradley, who died in 2006.
In a statement, Jeff Fager, 60 Minutes executive producer and chairman of CBS News said, “Bill Whitaker is one of the great veterans of CBS News. He has had a distinguished career covering just about every kind of story all over the world. Bill is a natural fit at ’60 Minutes’ and it’s exciting that he has agreed to join us.”
A Philadelphia native, Whitaker joined CBS in 1984, later reporting from Atlanta, and then in the network’s Tokyo bureau where he covered the uprising at Tiananmen Square. He was later lead reporter on George Bush’s 2000 campaign, and Mitt Romney’s 2008 run. Based in Los Angeles since 1992, he has also been a frequent contributor to Sunday Morning.
Bradley, another Philadelphia native, and a 26-year veteran of 60, was among television news’ respected and honored correspondents over his long run at CBS.
(By the way, this question may come up so just to answer: Byron Pitts, who has appeared on 60 Minutes numerous times, was not officially a “correspondent” for the show, but a contributor – the difference is considerable. There have been many “contributors” to 60 over the years, but very very few 60 Minutes correspondents.)
article by Verne Gay via newsday.com
November 5, 2024