John Roberts (television Reporter)
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John David Roberts (born November 15, 1956) is a Canadian-American television
journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
currently working for the
Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...
, as the co-anchor of '' America Reports''. Roberts joined Fox News in January 2011 as a national correspondent based in
Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...
. He was the Fox News Chief White House Correspondent from 2017 to 2021, covering the
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
presidency. Roberts started his career in southern Ontario, Canada in 1975, working at various radio stations in entertainment and news, before moving to television with CITY-TV and MuchMusic. Roberts first moved to the States in 1989 to join the Miami CBS affiliate. In 1990, he returned to Canada to host the CTV Canada AM national morning show. Roberts then returned to the States, joining
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
in 1992 and later moved to CNN in 2006. At CBS, Roberts was an anchor on various national news programs, an anchor at their New York affiliate
WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS New York, is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–lic ...
, and White House correspondent. At CNN, Roberts was an
anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek (). Anch ...
and Senior National Correspondent. In 2009, Roberts was inducted into the Canadian Broadcast Hall of Fame.


Early life

Roberts was born in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, and grew up in
Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...
, Ontario. He attended Erindale Secondary School and Lorne Park Secondary School and later the
University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...
's Mississauga campus.


Career

Roberts was born John Robertson but shortened his professional name so as not to be confused with his uncle John Robertson, who was then a Canadian sports reporter and columnist.


Local radio

He first started working in radio at the local college station, CFRE-FM in Mississauga. His first professional job was as reporter and news anchor with CFOS in Owen Sound, Ontario, in 1975. From there, Roberts went to CHYM in Kitchener, where he worked as a newsman and DJ, then worked on-air for radio station CJBK in
London, Ontario London is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River (Ontario), Thames River and N ...
, in 1977, before moving back to Toronto to join top 40 powerhouse CHUM later that year as a weekday evening disc jockey. 1050 CHUM and CITY-TV gave him the on-air name J. D. Roberts.


CITY-TV and MuchMusic

In 1979, he branched out from his radio work to co-host with Jeanne Beker the music newsmagazine '' The NewMusic'' on CITY-TV until 1985. ''The New Music'' was a pioneering program that pre-dated
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
. Roberts, Beker and the ''New Music'' team won many awards for their work. During that time, Roberts also served as Entertainment reporter for CITY-TV and on occasion filled in for John Majhor and later Brad Giffen on CITY-TV's local
music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...
show '' Toronto Rocks''. In 1984, Roberts was tapped to front Canada's music channel MuchMusic. He and Christopher Ward were the first on-air personalities appearing when the network launched in 1984. At MuchMusic he hosted many programs, including a one-hour heavy metal video show called ''The Power Hour''. In 1987, Roberts left MuchMusic to anchor CITY-TV's '' CityPulse'' and became anchor of the 10 pm ''CityPulse Tonight'' when Anne Mroczkowski moved from anchoring that newscast to join Gord Martineau on the 6 pm edition.


WCIX

Between 1989 and 1990 Roberts was an anchor and reporter for WCIX (now
WFOR-TV WFOR-TV (channel 4), branded CBS Miami, is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States. It is owned and operated by the CBS television network through its CBS News and Stations division alongside CW affiliate WBFS-TV (channel 33). ...
), the CBS-owned and operated television station in
Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
.


CTV

Roberts returned to Canada in September 1990 to co-host the national CTV morning show '' Canada AM'', initially with Deborah McGregor, and later with Pamela Wallin.


CBS

In 1992, Roberts moved to
CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
in New York. His initial assignment was anchoring the ''
CBS Morning News ''CBS News Mornings'' (formerly ''CBS Morning News'') is an American early-morning news broadcast presented weekdays on the CBS television network. The program features late-breaking news stories, national weather forecasts and sports highlight ...
'' with co-anchor
Meredith Vieira Meredith Louise Vieira (born December 30, 1953) is an American broadcast journalist and Celebrity, television personality. She is best known as the original moderator of the daytime talk show ''The View (talk show), The View'' (1997–2006), the ...
. Roberts was also the news reader and substitute anchor for Harry Smith on '' CBS This Morning'' and ''
The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999, to January 7, 2012, replacing the original incarnation of '' CBS This Morning'', and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the n ...
''. From 1994 to 1995 Roberts anchored the 5pm and 11pm newscasts at CBS's flagship station in New York,
WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS New York, is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–lic ...
. In March 1995, he moved back to the CBS Network as anchor of the ''CBS Sunday Evening News,'' remaining in that position for nearly 11 years. He also anchored the ''CBS Saturday Evening News'' from February 1999 until he became CBS chief
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
Correspondent in August 1999. Roberts served as chief
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
Correspondent at CBS from August 1999 to February 2006 and regularly anchored a Sunday-afternoon 3pm ET newscast for the CBS Radio Network. In March 2003, Roberts was embedded with the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion of the U.S. Marines during the initial invasion of
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
. On July 19, 2005, he introduced CBS's coverage on the announcement of the nomination of
John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American jurist serving since 2005 as the 17th chief justice of the United States. He has been described as having a Moderate conservatism, moderate conservative judicial philosophy, thoug ...
for the
Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
. He jokingly asked colleagues to refer to him as "Your Honor" because he and Justice Roberts bear the same name. He had been widely considered a potential replacement for ''
CBS Evening News The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening News broadcasting#Television, television news program of CBS News, the news division of the CBS television network in the United States. The ''CBS Evening News'' is a daily evening broadcast featu ...
'' anchor
Dan Rather Daniel Irvin Rather Jr. (; born October 31, 1931) is an American journalist, commentator, and former national evening news anchor. He began his career in Texas, becoming a national name after his reporting saved thousands of lives during Hurrica ...
after Rather stepped down from the anchor desk in March 2005, but Bob Schieffer was chosen on an interim basis to be the next ''CBS Evening News'' anchor, and in subsequent months, it became clear that Roberts was not under consideration for the job.. During his time at CBS, Roberts received three nationals
Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...
awards as well as a Gracie award for his coverage of a groundbreaking surgery to repair neural tube defects.


CNN

In February 2006, Roberts left CBS and joined CNN. In July 2006 and August 2006, Roberts reported from the front lines in the Israel/Hezbollah war and at one point, embedded with an Israeli infantry unit, marching 10 miles into
Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
. Roberts was recognized with a Headline Award for that embed. CNN's coverage of the war was recognized with an Edward R. Murrow Award. In October 2006, he returned to Iraq as the first anchor of '' This Week at War'' and served as the Senior National Correspondent based in Washington. He has also substituted for Anderson Cooper on '' Anderson Cooper 360°''. Roberts was co-anchor of CNN's morning program '' American Morning'' from 2007 to 2010. He anchored from New York. In 2010, ''American Morning'' was nominated for "best morning program" at the
Daytime Emmy Awards The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...
, losing to ''
Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
''. The
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
reported that Roberts' departure from ''American Morning'' was at his request so he could move closer to fiancée and CNN anchor Kyra Phillips.


Fox News

Executives at CNN confirmed on January 3, 2011, that Roberts would be leaving CNN to join Fox News as a national correspondent, based in Atlanta. Roberts reported on numerous breaking news events including the murder trial of real estate heir Robert Durst, the U.S. Ebola outbreak, the 2013 EF5 tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, and the aftermath of
Hurricane Irene Hurricane Irene was a large and destructive tropical cyclone which affected much of the Caribbean and East Coast of the United States during late August 2011. The ninth tropical cyclone naming, named storm, first hurricane, and first major ...
in 2011 as well continuing his coverage of American politics. In an August 2016 sexual harassment lawsuit against Fox News, Andrea Tantaros claimed that Roberts, Scott Brown, and Bill O'Reilly sexually harassed her. The case was dismissed. In January 2017, Roberts became chief White House correspondent for Fox News, covering the activities of US President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
. Roberts garnered significant attention in 2020 for criticizing the Trump presidency's hostility with the media and its failure to properly inform the media. Following the first presidential debate in the 2020 elections, Roberts got into a heated exchange with press secretary Kayleigh McEnany over the president's failure to explicitly denounce
white supremacy White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...
. During the press briefing, Roberts frustratedly told McEnany to "stop deflecting, stop blaming the media", to which he received much backlash, prompting controversy over the subject in the media and among politicians. In October 2020, Fox News announced that Roberts had signed a multi-year contract extension and that he would remain with Fox News for the coming years. On January 14, 2021, Fox News announced that Roberts was being promoted to an anchor position, with a 1-3 pm show entitled ''America Reports''. Peter Doocy took Roberts' former position as the White House correspondent during the
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
administration. On October 18, 2021, Roberts tweeted that the death of
Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; – ) was an Americans, American diplomat, and army officer who was the 65th United States secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American to hold the office. He was the 15th National Security ...
, who died at the age of 84 as a result of complications due to
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
despite being fully vaccinated, raised "new concerns" about the long-term efficacy of vaccines. His tweet was criticized for not taking into account Powell's age and health history, which reportedly included a diagnosis of
multiple myeloma Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma and simply myeloma, is a cancer of plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that normally produces antibody, antibodies. Often, no symptoms are noticed initially. As it progresses, bone ...
, a type of blood cancer that weakens the body's ability to protect against infections. Roberts eventually deleted the tweet, and subsequently saying he did so because the tweet was interpreted as " anti-vax", when "it was not".


Personal life

Divorced in 2008 from his high school sweetheart with whom he shares two children, John Roberts announced his engagement to Kyra Phillips on April 25, 2010. They have twin children named Sage Ann and Kellan Clay. As of 2018, the couple are married. Roberts is a dual Canadian and American citizen.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, John 1956 births Living people American television reporters and correspondents Canadian expatriate journalists in the United States Canadian television news anchors Canadian television reporters and correspondents Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian male journalists Canadian radio personalities Journalists from Toronto Much (TV channel) personalities University of Toronto alumni CNN people Fox News people CTV Television Network people Canadian video jockeys Citytv people