Benjamin Sampair Tracy (born July 16, 1976, in St. Paul, Minnesota) is an American journalist known for his work as a national correspondent for CBS News from January 2008 until September 2024.[1][2] He served as CBS's White House correspondent from 2019 to 2020,[3] and was the network's senior environmental correspondent, based in Los Angeles.[4][2]
Early life and education
editTracy was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated from St. Thomas Academy, and later from Marquette University with Bachelor's degrees in broadcast journalism and political science, and with a Master's degree in public service.
Career
editTracy was a reporter for WCCO-TV, the CBS-affiliate station in Minneapolis, where he was a member of the station's investigative team, covering many major stories, including the methamphetamine epidemic and the collapse of the 35W bridge.[citation needed]
During that time, he also was a contributor to the Saturday Early Show, to which he brought his signature "Good Question" segment, started at WCCO-TV, to a national audience. Tracy also reported for the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric on the collapse of the I-35W bridge and flooding in southern Minnesota.[citation needed]
Before joining WCCO-TV, Tracy worked as a reporter at WISN-TV Milwaukee and WBAY-TV Green Bay, Wisconsin. He is the recipient of five Emmy Awards and the Alfred DuPont-Columbia award for excellence in broadcast journalism.[citation needed]
Controversy
editOn October 5, 2020, Tracy criticized the lack of adherence he observed at the Trump White House to public health guidelines to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic "I felt safer reporting in North Korea than I currently do reporting at The White House. This is just crazy. For context folks, this is in reference to the COVID-19 outbreak at The White House."[5][non-primary source needed] The tweet garnered nearly 195,000 "Likes",[3] as well as swift criticism from Republicans.[3][6]
References
edit- ^ "Ben Tracy '98: CBS News, National Correspondent". Diedrich College of Communication. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- ^ a b Johnson, Ted (September 24, 2024). "CBS News' Jeff Glor Among Those Departing Amid Latest Round Of Paramount Global Layoffs". Deadline. Retrieved October 11, 2024.
- ^ a b c Justin, Neal (October 27, 2020). "Ex-WCCO reporter shares his often 'crazy' life as White House correspondent". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
- ^ CBS News Bio, "Ben Tracy"; January 5, 2023
- ^ Tracy, Ben (October 5, 2020). "Untitled". Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ Chasmer, Jessica (October 5, 2020). "CBS News' Ben Tracy: 'I felt safer reporting in North Korea' than in this White House". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on October 5, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
External links
edit
- "Ben Tracy". CBS News. January 11, 2008. Archived from the original on December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2020.