Joseph Benti is an American former television news correspondent for

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 ...

who also served as

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 ...

of the CBS Morning News from 1966 until 1970. Based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

for most of his career, Benti later worked as a local anchor for

KABC-TV KABC-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station mai ...

and KNXT before retiring from journalism. Benti, alongside

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

Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' from 1962 to 1981. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trust ...

and fellow CBS correspondent

Mike Wallace Myron Leon Wallace (May 9, 1918 – April 7, 2012) was an American journalist, game show host, actor, and media personality. Known for his investigative journalism, he interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers during his seven-decade car ...

, anchored the network's overnight coverage of the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. He also interviewed Presidents

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

and

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

Early life and education

Born in 1932, Benti studied at

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

. He received a Master's degree in journalism from the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in 1962.

Career

Early career

Benti's early career included serving as a newsman and

straight man The straight man (or straight woman in the case of female characters), also known as a "comedic foil", is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically ...

for WTHI-TV-10's "The

Jerry Van Dyke Jerry McCord Van Dyke (July 27, 1931 – January 5, 2018) was an American actor and comedian. He was the younger brother of Dick Van Dyke. Van Dyke had a long and successful career mostly as a character actor in supporting and guest roles on pop ...

Show" in

Terre Haute, Indiana Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and Terre Haute metropolitan area, its metropolitan area had a populati ...

, alongside the actor. Benti also worked in Denmark for a while. Benti then moved to Los Angeles in 1963, where he worked initially for

KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship station of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is ...

. He was then hired as a correspondent by

, eventually being chosen to replace Mike Wallace as CBS Morning News anchor in 1966. By 1969, the newscast had expanded to become television's first regularly scheduled hour-long broadcast.

National broadcasting

Benti co-hosted the CBS interview show ''

Face the Nation ''Face the Nation'' is a weekly news and Sunday morning talk show, morning public affairs program airing Sundays on the CBS radio and Television broadcasting, television network. Created by Frank Stanton (executive), Frank Stanton in 1954, ''Fa ...

'' with Martin Agronsky on December 15, 1966, when they interviewed Eugene Carson Blake, General Secretary of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

, and a close associate of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...

When Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot in Los Angeles shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, Benti was at a nearby bar before preparing for his duties as CBS Morning News anchor. Benti was the first to announce the shooting on CBS and was the lead anchor in the early hours of the networks coverage of the assassination. Benti interviewed President

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

on September 5, 1975, only hours after

Manson family The Manson Family (known among its members as the Family) was a Intentional community, commune, gang, and cult led by criminal Charles Manson that was active in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The group at its peak consisted of a ...

member Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme attempted to assassinate him. Ford discussed his stamina and his ability to deal with mental pressure. On May 17, 1977, Benti and

Connie Chung Constance Yu-Hwa Chung Povich (née Chung; born August 20, 1946) is an American journalist who has been a news anchor and reporter for the U.S. television news networks American Broadcasting Company, ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC. Some of her m ...

interviewed

, four months after he became president.

Career changes

Benti eventually left CBS, and worked for a time as a local news anchor for

in Los Angeles and KNXT (now

KCBS-TV KCBS-TV (channel 2), branded CBS Los Angeles, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship station of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the n ...

) in Los Angeles before leaving the latter station in April 1979. One of Benti's co-anchors on KABC-TV included John Schubeck and his co-anchors on KNXT included Sandy Hill and

. He became disillusioned with local television news in the Los Angeles market, commenting "I lost my interest and love for TV news in 1979," adding "it's all jockstraps and G-strings". Benti later would provide commentary in newspapers and on radio, which included a stint at KJOI-FM 98.7 (now

KYSR KYSR (98.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, and owned by iHeartMedia. KYSR broadcasts an alternative rock format and is the flagship station of ''The Woody Show''. KYSR's studios are located in Burbank, whi ...

), then hosting a special series for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

member station

KCET KCET (channel 28) is a secondary PBS member television station in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is owned by the Public Media Group of Southern California alongside the market's primary PBS member, Huntington Beach–licensed KOC ...

called "''By the Year''" in 1991.

Other works

Benti was a close friend of science fiction author

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

, and produced a documentary about him, ''Ray Bradbury: Writer, Storyteller, Dreamer''. He also wrote a TV column for the ''

Los Angeles Herald Examiner The ''Los Angeles Herald Examiner'' was a major Los Angeles daily newspaper, published in the afternoon from Monday to Friday and in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays. It was part of the Hearst Corporation, Hearst syndicate. It was formed w ...

''. Benti also dabbled in acting, usually playing newscasters in films such as '' Perfect Gentlemen,'' '' St. Helens'' and '' Winchell.''

Personal life

Benti was a long time resident of the

Studio City Studio City is a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, in the southeast San Fernando Valley, just west of the Cahuenga Pass. It is named after the studio lot that was established in the area by film producer Mack Sennett in 19 ...

neighborhood of Los Angeles. He later moved to

Camarillo, California Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan and ...

. He married his first wife, Rosalie Ammerman of

Dana, Indiana Dana is a town in Helt Township, Vermillion County, Indiana, United States. The population was 555 at the 2020 census. It is primarily a farming community. History Dana was platted in 1874 when the railroad was extended to that point. The town ...

, in 1955. They had three children and divorced in 1974. Benti lived with TV anchor Christine Lund for several years in the late 1970s. He married fellow reporter Patty Ecker in 1980, and the couple had twins in 1982.

Honors

In 1968, Benti was named to the

's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences School of Journalism and Mass Communications Hall of Fame. At KNXT, Benti also won two

Emmy Awards 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 categor ...

for a series he wrote and reported on pertaining to the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benti, Joseph Living people CBS News people American television news anchors Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy Journalists from Iowa Indiana State University alumni University of Iowa alumni Emmy Award winners Year of birth missing (living people)