Michael G. Taibbi (born ) is an American retired

television journalist Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are broadcast by electronic methods instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. It works on radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, ...

best known for his work at

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 ...

. He retired in 2014, having covered, among other events, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. During his career, Taibbi also worked at CBS News. He is the recipient of an

Emmy Award 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 ...

and a four-time recipient of the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award.

Early life and education

Taibbi was born Loren Ames Denny to a Filipino- Hawaiian mother, Camila Salinas, in Hawaii, about 1949. At the age of seven or eight he was adopted by Salvatore and Gaetana Taibbi (whose surname is of Sicilian and Lebanese origin). Thereafter, he took the name Mike Taibbi, and was raised in

Malverne, New York Malverne is a village in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 8,560 at the time of the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a ...

, a

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

suburb 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 ...

. After high school, Taibbi attended

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. He graduated in 1971 with degrees in journalism and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. Taibbi attended the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It employs more than 180 full-time and part-time facul ...

Career

Taibbi worked for the ''

Central New Jersey Home News The ''Central New Jersey Home News Tribune'' is a daily newspaper serving Middlesex County, New Jersey. The paper has an average daily weekday circulation of about 49,000. The newspaper is the result of the 1995 merger of ''The Home News'' of Ea ...

'' while going to Rutgers University. In 1971, Taibbi got the opportunity to be a guest panelist on '' Firing Line'' where he,

William F. Buckley Jr. William Frank Buckley Jr. (born William Francis Buckley; November 24, 1925 – February 27, 2008) was an American conservative writer, public intellectual, political commentator and novelist. Born in New York City, Buckley spoke Spanish as his ...

and two others interviewed

William Kunstler William Moses Kunstler (July 7, 1919 – September 4, 1995) was an American attorney and civil rights activist, known for defending the Chicago Seven. Kunstler was an active member of the National Lawyers Guild, a board member of the American Ci ...

. This landed him a job as investigative reporter at the

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

station

WCVB-TV WCVB-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on TV Place (off Gould Street near the I-95/ MA 128/Highland Avenue in ...

. In 1977 he was London correspondent for

ABC News ABC News most commonly refers to: * ABC News (Australia), a national news service of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation * ABC News (United States), a news-gathering and broadcasting division of the American Broadcasting Company ABC News may a ...

for six months, before returning to Boston, now working for rival station

WNAC-TV WNAC-TV (channel 64), branded Fox Providence, is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox and The CW. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting, which maintains a local marketing ...

as reporter and co-anchor. Taibbi worked for

WNEV-TV WHDH (channel 7) is an independent television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by Sunbeam Television alongside Cambridge-licensed CW affiliate WLVI (channel 56). WHDH and WLVI share studios at Bulfinch Place (near ...

until 1983 when he left to study law at the

. In 1984, Taibbi was hired by

WNBC-TV WNBC (channel 4) is a television station in New York City that serves as the flagship of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Linden, New Jersey–licensed Telemundo s ...

. He moved on to

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 the autumn on 1987. While at WCBS-TV, Taibbi investigated the later discredited

Tawana Brawley Tawana may refer to: *Tswana, an ethnic group in Botswana *List of rulers of Tawana People *Tawana Brawley rape hoax *Tawana Kupe Tawana Kupe is a Zimbabwean academic. He was the vice-chancellor of the University of Pretoria in South Africa. ...

rape allegations. In 1989, with Anna Sims-Phillips, Taibbi co-wrote ''Unholy Alliances: Working the Tawana Brawley Story,'' which explored the Brawley story. In 1997, Taibbi joined

to work on ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' (also known simply as ''Dateline'') is a weekly American television news magazine reality legal show that is broadcast on NBC. It was previously the network's flagship general interest news magazine, but now focuses mainly on ...

''. In the early 2000s, Taibbi reported on the

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 ...

and

Afghanistan Wars War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire *Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in t ...

for NBC News. Taibbi announced his retirement from NBC in 2014.

Personal life

Taibbi’s son,

Matt Taibbi Matthew Colin Taibbi (; born March 2, 1970) is an American author, journalist and podcaster. A former contributing editor for ''Rolling Stone'', he is the author of several books and publisher of ''Racket News'' (formerly ''TK News''). He has re ...

, is a well-known independent journalist, media critic, and former contributing editor at ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taibbi, Mike Living people People from Malverne, New York

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documen ...

Journalists from Hawaii Journalists from New York (state) Writers from Hawaii Journalists from New York City American television reporters and correspondents American non-fiction crime writers American war correspondents American people of Filipino descent American people of Native Hawaiian descent New York (state) television reporters CBS News people NBC News people News & Documentary Emmy Award winners Rutgers University alumni 20th-century American writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people)