Jim Cummins (March 11, 1945 – October 26, 2007) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

reporter for the

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Media Group, a division of NBCUniversal, which is itself a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's various operations r ...

network. He became a recognizable member of the network, having worked there for nearly thirty years.

Education

Cummins was born in

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 137,710 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, second-most populous city in Iowa. The city lies o ...

. He was a basketball player and member of the Regis Catholic High School 1962 state champion squad. From 1963 to 1967, Cummins attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism (branded as Northwestern Medill; formally the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications) is the journalism school of Northwestern University. It offers both undergraduate and graduat ...

and earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees. He was also a forward at for the Wildcats basketball team at NU.

Career

Cummins began his professional career at KGLO-TV in Mason City, Iowa, in 1969. From there, his career took him to WOTV (

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

WTMJ-TV WTMJ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company alongside Kenosha-licensed Ion Television station WPXE-TV (channel 55). WTMJ-TV's studios are ...

(

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

), and WMAQ (

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

). He joined

in 1978 working out of their

bureau. In 1989, Cummins reopened NBC's Southwest bureau in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, becoming its correspondent. Over the years, he reported on various stories including U.S. political coverage, plane crashes, the

Iran hostage crisis The Iran hostage crisis () began on November 4, 1979, when 66 Americans, including diplomats and other civilian personnel, were taken hostage at the Embassy of the United States in Tehran, with 52 of them being held until January 20, 1981. Th ...

, the

Salvadoran Civil War The Salvadoran Civil War () was a twelve-year civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador, backed by the United States, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), a coalition of left-wing guer ...

, the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, United States, on April 19, 1995. The bombing remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Perpetr ...

, many hurricanes, floods, and tornadoes, and live coverage of the

Waco Siege The Waco siege, also known as the Waco massacre, was the siege by US federal government and Texas state law enforcement officials of a compound belonging to the religious cult known as the Branch Davidians, between February 28 and April 19, 1993 ...

. Cummins' work manifested itself when he won an

Award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

for his coverage of the Midwest floods in 1993. He also earned two National Emmy nominations for his coverage of

Hurricane Hugo Hurricane Hugo was a powerful tropical cyclone that inflicted widespread destruction across the northeastern Caribbean and the Southeastern United States in September 1989. The eleventh tropical cyclone, eighth Tropical cyclone naming, named st ...

and the Salvadoran Civil War. Cummins retired from his NBC position in 2007, but shortly after was diagnosed with cancer. He died at the Presbyterian Hospital of Plano on October 26 at age 62, and was buried at

Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery is a multi-faith cemetery located at 7405 West Northwest Highway in North Dallas, Texas, United States. It is owned by Service Corporation International. Among the notable persons interred here are: * Mar ...

in Dallas. Cummins was survived by his widow and six children.

Personal life

Jim Cummins had an extensive family consisting of his wife, Connie of Dallas; three daughters, Chrissy Cummins and Molly Cummins, both of Dallas, and Kim of Lafayette; three sons, John Cummins of Dallas, Billy Cummins, a student of

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

, and Doug Cummins of

Waco Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 population of 146,608, making i ...

; two brothers, Richard Cummins of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and Bob Cummins of

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers and Punta Gorda. Its official limits include Sarasota Ba ...

; and two grandchildren. He also coached youth baseball and basketball teams for his six children.NBC News Veteran Cummins Dies – TVWeek – News
/ref>

Molestation lawsuits

In 1962, Cummins, then a 17-year-old

altar boy An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helping bring up the gifts, and bringing up ...

, alleged that he was sexually molested by his parish priest, Reverend William Roach. In 2002, his repressed history was reflected through Cummins's interview with a family dealing with a similar, situation. Cummins filed the first of fifteen lawsuits against the

Archdiocese of Dubuque The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dubuque () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in the northeastern quarter of the state of Iowa in the United States. The Diocese of Dubuque was erected in 1837 and ...

and priests accused of child molestation.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cummins, Jim 1945 births 2007 deaths NBC News people American war correspondents American male journalists Medill School of Journalism alumni People from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Deaths from cancer in Texas Burials at Sparkman-Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery