Miles O'Brien (born June 9, 1959) is an independent American broadcast news journalist specializing in science, technology, and

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and ast ...

who has been serving as national science correspondent for ''

PBS NewsHour ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations. It airs seven nights a week, and is known for its in-depth coverage of issues and current events. Anchored by Judy Woodruff, the pro ...

'' since 2010.

Early life

Born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

and raised in

Grosse Pointe Farms, Michigan Grosse Pointe Farms is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,479 at the 2010 census. As part of the Grosse Pointe collection of cities, it is a northeastern city of Metro Detroit and shares a small wester ...

, O’Brien attended

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

. In 1982, he was offered and accepted his first broadcasting position with

WRC-TV WRC-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Washington, D.C., airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Class A Telemundo outlet WZDC-CD (channel 44 ...

in Washington, DC. He was later a reporter and anchor at TV stations in Boston, Massachusetts; Tampa, Florida; Albany, New York; and St. Joseph, Missouri. O’Brien joined CNN in 1992. He is a third-generation

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

pilot. His father, a private pilot, shared his love of flying with him at an early age. His first flights were in small

Cessna Cessna () is an American brand of general aviation aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of the Cessna Aircraft Company, an American general aviation aircraft manufacturing ...

s and Pipers rented by his father. O'Brien's paternal and maternal grandfathers were also both pilots.

CNN correspondent and anchor

While with CNN in Atlanta and New York, O’Brien served as CNN's science, space, aviation technology, and environment correspondent. He anchored programs including ''Science and Technology Week,'' ''

Headline News HLN is an American basic cable network. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, the network primarily carries true crime programming. The channel was originally launched on January 1, 1982 by Turner Broadcasting as CNN2 (later renamed Headline New ...

,'' ''Primetime,'' ''Live From…(CNN),'' and CNN ''

American Morning ''American Morning'' was an American three-hour morning television news program that aired on CNN from 2001 to 2011. ''American Morning'' debuted with anchors Paula Zahn and Anderson Cooper on the day after the September 11 attacks, five months ...

.'' O’Brien covered all aspects of the

United States space program The United States has developed many space programs since the beginning of the spaceflight era in the mid-20th century. The United States Government delivers space program solutions from three primary agencies: NASA for civil space; DoD for Mil ...

for CNN including reports on the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most vers ...

, the shuttle dockings at Mir, the first space station launch from

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

, landings on Mars, the winning of the Ansari X-Prize, and the

Space Shuttle Columbia disaster The Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster was a fatal accident in the United States space program that occurred on February 1, 2003. During the STS-107 mission, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disintegrated as it reentered the atmosphere over Te ...

and its crew, a story he told to the world in a 16-hour marathon of live coverage. After years of negotiations,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

had signed an agreement with CNN that, if not for the disaster, would have made O’Brien the first journalist to fly on a space shuttle. O’Brien followed the investigation and successful return to flight. In 2000, O’Brien produced, shot, and wrote a one-hour documentary on the process of readying a space shuttle for flight: "Terminal Count: What it Takes to Make the Space Shuttle Fly," which aired in May 2001. A private pilot since 1988, O’Brien also reported extensively on civil aviation issues and crash investigations. O'Brien reported the airliner crashes of US Airways Flight 427,

ValuJet 592 ValuJet Airlines Flight 592 was a regularly scheduled flight from Miami International Airport to Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. On May 11, 1996, the ValuJet Airlines McDonnell Douglas DC-9 operating the route crashed into t ...

, TWA 800,

EgyptAir 990 EgyptAir Flight 990 (MS990/MSR990) was a regularly scheduled flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Cairo International Airport, with a stop at John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York City. On October 31, 1999, the Boeing 767-3 ...

American Airlines 587 American Airlines Flight 587 was a regularly scheduled international passenger flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport to Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. On November 12, 200 ...

Comair 5191 Comair Flight 5191 (marketed as Delta Connection Flight 5191 under a codeshare agreement with Delta Air Lines) was a scheduled United States domestic passenger flight from Lexington, Kentucky, to Atlanta, Georgia. On the morning of August 27, 2006 ...

, John F. Kennedy Jr.,

Payne Stewart William Payne Stewart (January 30, 1957 – October 25, 1999) was an American professional golfer who won eleven PGA Tour events, including three major championships, the last of which came just a few months before his death in an airplane acci ...

Paul Wellstone Paul David Wellstone (July 21, 1944 – October 25, 2002) was an American academic, author, and politician who represented Minnesota in the United States Senate from 1991 until he was killed in a plane crash near Eveleth, Minnesota, in 2002. A ...

, the C-150 incursion into the Washington DC Air Defense Identification Zone, and the Cory Lidle crash in Manhattan. In the wake of the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, O'Brien provided viewers with radar tracks of the hijacked flights while the twin towers were still standing. During the

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

and

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

invasions, he, along with various retired generals, reported on military aviation techniques and strategy. His coverage of non-aerospace topics included anchoring '' The Situation Room,'' covering the terrorist attack in Mumbai on the

Oberoi Trident The Oberoi Group is an award-winning luxury hotel group with its head office in New Delhi, India. Founded in 1934, the company owns and operates 32 luxury hotels and two river cruise ships in 7 countries, primarily under its Oberoi Hotels & Res ...

and

Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, ...

hotels, as well as several other locations. He also covered

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

for several weeks, anchoring CNN's Peabody and

Dupont Award DuPont de Nemours, Inc., commonly shortened to DuPont, is an American multinational chemical company first formed in 1802 by French-American chemist and industrialist Éleuthère Irénée du Pont de Nemours. The company played a major role in ...

-winning coverage. O’Brien left CNN in December 2008. He was rehired by CNN as an aviation analyst in March, 2014.

Independent correspondent/journalist

After leaving CNN, O’Brien formed Miles O’Brien Productions, LLC in Washington, DC. Through this independent company, O’Brien creates stories for numerous outlets including PBS, Discovery Science (TV channel),

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

, Spaceflightnow.com, and corporate clients. One of his most notable series productions for PBS was "Blueprint America" that dealt with rebuilding American mass transit infrastructure. O’Brien joine
"True/Slant"
as a blogger in 2009. He co-founded the Spaceflight Now podcast, "This Week in Space" in 2009, and hosted shows until the retirement of the shuttle in 2011. Starting in 2009, O’Brien joined the

as a correspondent for the “Science Nation” series, and joined the PBS ''

Frontline Front line refers to the forward-most forces on a battlefield. Front line, front lines or variants may also refer to: Books and publications * ''Front Lines'' (novel), young adult historical novel by American author Michael Grant * ''Frontlines ...

'' produced by

WGBH-TV WGBH-TV (channel 2), branded on-air as GBH or GBH 2 since 2020, is the primary PBS member television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship property of the WGBH Educational Foundation, which also owns Boston's se ...

Boston, as a writer and correspondent. He worked on the ''Frontline'' documentary, "Flying Cheap" which aired on the one-year anniversary of the Colgan Air plane crash in Buffalo, NY. The highly acclaimed documentary featured former

Colgan Air Colgan Air was an American certificated regional airline subsidiary of Pinnacle Airlines Corp. The headquarters of Colgan Air were located in Memphis, Tennessee. Colgan Air operated for Continental Express/United Express, and US Airways Expres ...

pilots revealing shocking details about some attempts to keep underpaid pilots flying beyond legal limits. In 2010, O'Brien became a ''

'' science correspondent. In 2013, O’Brien produced and directed “Mind of a Rampage Killer” and “Manhunt: Boston Bombers” and “Megastorm Aftermath” for PBS' ''

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

.'' In 2014, he produced and narrated "Why Planes Vanish" for ''Nova'', adapted from "Where is Flight MH370?" from the BBC science program ''Horizon''. He also narrated a recent view after the Fukushima disaster on a new episode of ''Nova''.

Career timeline

*1981–82:

assignment editor/production assistant in Washington, DC *1983:

KQTV KQTV (channel 2) is a television station in St. Joseph, Missouri, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Heartland Media. The station's studios and transmitter are located on Faraon Street in eastern St. Joseph. Although KQTV ser ...

anchor/reporter/producer/photographer/editor in St. Joseph, MO *1983–84:

WNYT (TV) WNYT (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Albany, New York, United States, serving the Capital District as an affiliate of NBC. It is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting alongside Pittsfield, Massachusetts–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate ...

anchor/reporter/producer in Albany, NY *1984–86:

WTSP WTSP (channel 10) is a television station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area as an affiliate of CBS. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios on Gandy Boulevard on St. Petersburg' ...

-TV special segment reporter/producer in Tampa/St. Petersburg, FL *1986–91: WHDH (TV) general assignment reporter/anchor in Boston, MA *1991–92: ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles in electronic format as well as a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper ...

'' freelance producer/reporter/anchor in Boston, MA *1992–2008: CNN space/aviation correspondent; “Science and Technology Week” anchor; “Science and Technology” correspondent/anchor; “CNN Live From” anchor, “CNN Saturday/Sunday Morning” anchor; “CNN Headline News Prime” anchor; “CNN American Morning” anchor in Atlanta, GA and New York, NY *2008–present: owner Miles O’Brien Productions, LLC in Washington, DC serving as correspondent/writer for Discovery Science “Innovation Nation” series;

WNET WNET (channel 13), branded on-air as "Thirteen" (stylized as "THIRTEEN"), is a primary PBS member television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey, United States, serving the New York City area. Owned by The WNET Group (formerly known as the ...

“Blueprint America” series; and video productions/moderation of events for clients including

McAfee McAfee Corp. ( ), formerly known as McAfee Associates, Inc. from 1987 to 1997 and 2004 to 2014, Network Associates Inc. from 1997 to 2004, and Intel Security Group from 2014 to 2017, is an American global computer security software company head ...

, SAP, X-Prize Foundation, Medco, Astrogenetix, and the

Rocket Racing League The Rocket Racing League was a racing league that planned to use rocket-powered aircraft to race a closed-circuit air racetrack. Founded in 2005, the league made its first public flights in 2010 and was working to begin regular racing seasons. ...

*2009–11: co-founder/host Spaceflight Now shuttle webcasts from Florida *2009–11: chairman Education and Public Outreach Committee of

Advisory Council in Washington, DC *2009–present: PBS ''

'' writer/correspondent for “Flying Cheap,” “Flying Cheaper,” “Nuclear Aftershocks,” and “Dollars and Dentists” in Boston, MA *2009–present:

correspondent for “Science Nation” series in Washington, DC *2010–present: ''

'' science correspondent/producer in Washington, DC *2013–present: PBS ''

'' producer/director “Mind of a Rampage Killer,” “Manhunt: Boston Bombers,” and “Megastorm Aftermath” in Boston, MA *2014–present: CNN ''aviation analyst

Personal life

O'Brien resides in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the name of both a town and an unincorporated census-designated place (Chevy Chase (CDP), Maryland) that straddle the northwest border of Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. Several settlements in t ...

. He has a son, Miles, and a daughter, Connery. An instrument-rated pilot with about 2,000 hours pilot-in-command time, O'Brien owns a

Cirrus SR22 The Cirrus SR22 is a single-engine four- or five-seat composite aircraft built from 2001 by Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth, Minnesota. It is a development of the Cirrus SR20, with a larger wing, higher fuel capacity, and a more powerful, 310-horsepo ...

, which he often flies on assignments. His other interests include running,

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

and

road biking Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes recreational, racing, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, road cyclists are generally expected to obey the same laws as ...

, swimming, waterskiing,

scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

, sailing, and

carpentry Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters t ...

. In February, 2014, O'Brien was injured when a Pelican case filled with television equipment fell on his left forearm, causing acute

compartment syndrome Compartment syndrome is a condition in which increased pressure within one of the body's anatomical compartments results in insufficient blood supply to tissue within that space. There are two main types: acute and chronic. Compartments of the ...

and resulting in the amputation of his left arm above the elbow.

Affiliations

O'Brien is on the boards of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, LessCancer.org, and the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation. From 2009 to 2011, O'Brien served as chairman of the NASA Advisory Council (NAC)'s Education and Outreach Committee and advised the NASA Administrator on mass communication strategies. He rejoined the NAC in April 2014 to advise NASA's senior leadership on challenges and solutions facing the agency as it unfolds a new era of exploration. He is a member of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (since 1988), the

American Federation of Television and Radio Artists The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) was a performers' union that represented a wide variety of talent, including actors in radio and television, radio and television announcers and newspersons, singers and recording a ...

(since 1982), the Experimental Aircraft Association (since 2007), and the Writers’ Guild of America (since 2011). In 2014, O'Brien joined the Board of the Amputee Coalition.

Awards

*1986 – Florida Emmy Award Outstanding Coverage of a Single Breaking News Story (Reporter)- St. Petersburg Chlorine Leak *1989 – Boston/New England Emmy Award Outstanding News Series (Producer/Reporter)- "Boundaries of Fear" *1990 – CINE “Golden Eagle” (Producer/Reporter)- "Boundaries of Fear" *1993 – Columbus Film Festival Bronze Plaque – “Swords to Plowshares: The Price of Peace” *1993 – Computer Press Awards Best Television Program (Anchor/Correspondent/Writer)- "CNN Science and Technology Week" *1993 – National Association of Science Writers Science in Society Award (Anchor/Correspondent/Writer)- "Sweet Fruit – Bitter Harvest" *1993 – Overseas Press Club Award – “Swords to Plowshares: The Price of Peace” *1996 – National News and Documentary Emmy Award Outstanding Coverage of a Single Breaking News Story (Anchor)- coverage of the Olympic Park Bombing *2002 – Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Space Communicator Award *2002 – National Headliner Award for investigative coverage – "Sept. 11 attacks" *2006 – Society of Environmental Journalists Award for Reporting on the Environment (Anchor/Correspondent/Writer)- "CNN Presents: Melting Point" *2006 – National Press Club Robert L Kozik Award for Environmental Reporting – First Place (Anchor/Correspondent/Writer)- "CNN Presents: Melting Point" *2006 – Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Max Karant Award for Excellence in Aviation Journalism (Correspondent)- "Small Planes" *2006 – George Foster Peabody Award – coverage of Hurricane Katrina *2006 – Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award (Anchor/Correspondent)- CNN Coverage of Hurricane Katrina *2014 - PBS 10th annual "Be More Award" -A veteran journalist with more than thirty-two years in the industry, O’Brien has focused on making science and technology accessible, understandable and interesting for everyone. *2014 - National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Emmy Award for Outstanding Science and Technology Programming for PBS NOVA "Manhunt - Boston Bombers" *2015 - Honorary Member,

Sigma Xi Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...

References

External links

*
Miles O'Brien returns to broadcast journalism Anchoring Blueprint America documentary
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Miles 1959 births Living people American amputees American aviators American broadcast news analysts Television anchors from Boston Georgetown University alumni Television personalities from Detroit People from Grosse Pointe, Michigan American investigative journalists Journalists from Michigan CNN people Aviation analysts PBS people