Biography of cbs correspondent bill whitaker

He has also chronicled the epic battle to capture and hold Mexico’s infamous drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, gaining rare access to investigations on both sides of the border.

Prior to joining the 60 minutes team, he has covered virtually all the major news stories in the West since he was posted to Los Angeles in 1992.

Together, the duo are proud parents to their two children a son named William and a daughter named Lesley. Whitaker has chronicled the epic battle to capture and hold Mexico’s infamous drug lord Joaquin “el Chapo” Guzman, gaining rare access to investigations on both sides of the border.

Before joining 60 MINUTES, Whitaker covered virtually all of the major news stories in the West since he was posted to Los Angeles in 1992, reporting regularly for the CBS EVENING NEWS and other CBS News broadcasts.

Whitaker sat down with former senior technical adviser Denver Riggleman who was inside the January 6th committee. He graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges with a B.A. degree in American History and from Boston University with a master's degree in African American Studies. Asides from this, he also reported on the race for a vaccine and drugs to combat the coronavirus and the use of artificial intelligence to track the contagion.

The year 2019 saw him get the first television interview with sex assault victim Chanel Miller and earlier that year was the first report on the evidence states were using to sue makers of generic drugs.

Prior to this, he was based in Atlanta between 1985 and 1988 where he was privileged to receive an Emmy for his reports on the collapse of Jim and Tammy Bakker’s television ministry. Whitaker first arrived at CBS News as a reporter in 1984.

Whitaker has been honored with multiple journalism awards, including two Alfred I.

duPont-Columbia University Awards (2023, 2017), a Peabody Award (2018), the RTDNA's highest honor, the Paul White Award for career achievement (2018) and numerous Emmy Awards.

Most recently at 60 Minutes, Whitaker interviewed French President Emmanuel Macron on the war in Ukraine and France's relationship with the U.S.

He reported from Uganda on virus hunters searching for new pathogens to help prevent another pandemic. The first report in the two-part series revealed how the DEA's efforts to curb the epidemic were hampered by a law pushed by drug industry lobbyists. Asides from this, he was in Baghdad for the build-up to Desert Storm. He was CBS News’ lead reporter on the 2000 presidential campaign of George W.

Bush.

Prior to his assignment to Los Angeles, Whitaker served as CBS News' Tokyo correspondent (1989-‘92). He led a timely investigation of the vetting process Syrian refugees undergo before coming to the U.S. and interviewed the highest-ranking North Korean official to defect in decades. Whitaker has also worked for Sunday Morning turning out feature stories and thoughtful profiles.

He reported from Kabul during the early stages of the war in Afghanistan. He covered stories throughout Asia, including the pro-democracy uprising in Tiananmen Square, military coup attempts in the Philippines and the enthronement of Japan's Emperor Akihito. there, he was reporting regularly for the CBS Evening News another CBS News broadcast. He was raised alongside his sister named Gail Whitaker.

He also contributed to CBS Sunday Morning, turning out feature stories and thoughtful profiles on Barbra Streisand, Norman Lear and Gladys Knight and more. Whitaker has also sat down with former First Lady Michelle Obama and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

In 2008, Whitaker covered Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 1997.