Charles Jaco (born August 21, 1950) is an American journalist and author, best known for his coverage of

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 ...

invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...

and the ensuing

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. Jaco was born August 21, 1950 in

Poplar Bluff, Missouri Poplar Bluff is a medium city in Butler County in Southeast Missouri, United States. It is the county seat of Butler County and is known as "The Gateway to the Ozarks" among other names. The population was 16,225 at the 2020 census. The Poplar B ...

. He graduated from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

in 1973 and earned a master's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1976. In 1976, he began his broadcast career with

WXRT WXRT (93.1 FM), also known as XRT and 93-XRT is an adult album alternative (AAA) radio station in Chicago, Illinois. For many years, their slogan has been "Chicago's Finest Rock". "Chicago's Home For Music Lovers" has been used as its slogan si ...

radio in Chicago, Illinois. He worked for

NBC Radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...

from 1979 until 1988. In 1987, he was badly beaten by the security forces of Panamanian dictator

Manuel Noriega Manuel Antonio Noriega Moreno (; February 11, 1934 – May 29, 2017) was a Panamanian dictator, politician and military officer who was the ''de facto'' List of heads of state of Panama, ruler of Panama from 1983 to 1989. An authoritaria ...

. In late 1988, he became a correspondent for

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

. In 1989, while covering allegations of electoral fraud by the Panamanian government, Jaco was visited by vigilantes of Noriega. He fled the country with the aid of the U.S. military. While covering the Gulf War for CNN in 1991, he proposed to fellow CNN correspondent Pat Neal. He left CNN in 1994 and joined

KMOX KMOX (1120 AM) is a commercial radio station in St. Louis, Missouri. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it is a 50,000 watt Class A clear-channel station with a non-directional signal. The KMOX studios and offices are on Olive Street at Tucker Bouleva ...

. He authored ''Dead Air'', a novel about the Gulf War, and ''Live Shot'', a novel set in Cuba. In 2002, he authored ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Gulf War'', and in 2003 co-authored ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Politics of Oil''. In 2003 he became a reporter and anchor for

KTVI KTVI (channel 2) is a television station in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside CW owned-and-operated station KPLR-TV (channel 11). Both stations share studios on B ...

television in St. Louis, Missouri, while hosting the station's ''The Jaco Report''. In 2009, he began work at the radio station KTRS 550, doing a daily morning talk show, also titled ''The Jaco Report''. In February 2010 Jaco allegedly bumped into conservative blogger Adam Sharp. Based on Sharp's video of the encounter, the city prosecutor declined to pursue charges against Jaco. In October 2010, Jaco was replaced by J.C. Corcoran at KTRS. In August 2012 Jaco interviewed then U.S. Representative and senatorial candidate

Todd Akin William Todd Akin (July 5, 1947 – October 3, 2021) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2013. He was a member of the Republican Party. Born in New York City, Akin grew up in the Greater St. Louis ...

on ''The Jaco Report'' in which Akin controversially claimed that women rarely become pregnant from "legitimate rape." Jaco left KTVI in 2014. Jaco writes regular columns for the ''

St. Louis American ''The St. Louis American'' is a weekly newspaper serving the African-American community of St. Louis, Missouri. The first issue appeared in March 1928. In 1930, the newspaper started a "Buy Where You Can Work" campaign. Donald Suggs along with two ...

''.Columnist Charles Jaco at the St. Louis American
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References

External links

Twitter account

Homepage at MetroSTL.com

KTVI's ''The Jaco Report''
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Jaco, Charles University of Chicago alumni Columbia University alumni American radio reporters and correspondents American television reporters and correspondents CNN people Writers from Missouri American political commentators American columnists 1950 births Living people Accuracy disputes from July 2010 War correspondents of the Gulf War