William Waldo Cameron Forum on Public Affairs - 4/30/2001
Sam Donaldson
Sam Donaldson, a 40-year ABC News veteran, served two appointments as Chief White House Correspondent for ABC News from January 1998 to August 1999 and from 1977-1989 covering Presidents Carter, Reagan and Clinton. He covered the White House for World News Tonight and other ABC News programs. He is also the co-anchor, with Cokie Roberts, of the ABC News Sunday morning broadcast, This Week With Sam Donaldson & Cokie Roberts.
Mr. Donaldson was co-anchor, with Diane Sawyer, of Primetime Live since the program premiered in August, 1989. Mr. Donaldson covered breaking news events, reported on a wide range of topics, and conducted scores of timely interviews with newsmakers for Primetime Live.
During the 1997-98 season, Mr. Donaldson co-anchored a special edition of Primetime Live with Judd Rose, in which the two men shared their personal experiences with cancer.
In 1998, Mr. Donaldson received the Broadcaster of the Year award from the National Press Foundation. The Washington Journalism Review named him the Best Television White House Correspondent in the Business in 1985, and the Best Television Correspondent in the Business in 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989. Mr. Donaldson has won many other awards, among them three Emmy Awards and a George Foster Peabody Award.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Mr. Donaldson received his Bachelor's degree from Texas Western College and did graduate work at the University of Southern California. His 1987 autobiography, Hold On, Mr. President, was an international best-seller.
Beginning his broadcast career at KRLD-TV in Dallas in 1959, he soon joined WTOP-TV in Washington, D.C., where he anchored the station's weekend news broadcasts, and produced and moderated a weekly interview program, before joining ABC News in 1967.