Daniel B. Harris (born July 26, 1971) is a retired American journalist for

ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...

. He was an anchor for ''

Nightline ''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News' late-night television news program broadcast on ABC in the United States with a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. Created by Roone Arledge, the progra ...

'' and co-anchor of the weekend edition of ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. Th ...

''.

Early life and education

Harris is the son of Nancy Lee Harris and Jay R. Harris. His father is the chair of the radiation oncology residency program at Harvard University and his mother is a pathologist at

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the third oldest general hospital in the United Stat ...

in Boston and an expert on

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

s. His younger brother, Matthew Carmichael Harris, is a

venture capitalist Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which hav ...

. Harris graduated in 1993 from

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanthr ...

Waterville, Maine Waterville is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, Kennebec County, Maine, United States, on the west bank of the Kennebec River. The city is home to Colby College and Thomas College. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census the populatio ...

Career

Journalism

Harris began his career as an anchor for

WLBZ WLBZ (channel 2) is a television station in Bangor, Maine, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Mount Hope Avenue in Bangor, and its transmitter is located on Rider Bluff in Holden. Alt ...

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

. He then worked for two years at

WCSH WCSH (channel 6) is a television station in Portland, Maine, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Congress Square in Downtown Portland, and its transmitter is located on Winn Mountain in ...

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...

, as an anchor and political reporter. From 1997 to 2000 he was an anchor at

New England Cable News New England Cable News (NECN) is a regional 24-hour cable news television network owned and operated by NBCUniversal (as part of the NBCUniversal Owned Television Stations division, both ultimately owned by Comcast) serving the New England regi ...

. He joined ABC News in 2000. He anchored ''

World News Sunday ''ABC World News Tonight'' (titled ''ABC World News Tonight with David Muir'' for its weeknight broadcasts since September 2014) is the flagship daily evening television news program of ABC News, the news division of the American Broadcasting ...

'' from 2006 to 2011 and frequently anchored ''

World News World news or international news or even foreign coverage is the news media jargon for news from abroad, about a country or a global subject. For journalism, it is a branch that deals with news either sent by foreign correspondents or news agencie ...

'', ''

ABC World News Tonight ''ABC World News Tonight'' (titled ''ABC World News Tonight with David Muir'' for its weeknight broadcasts since September 2014) is the flagship daily evening news broadcasting#television, television news program of ABC News, the news division ...

'' weekend editions and ''

''. He is also a frequent contributor to ''

''. He also anchored ABC's coverage of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

in September 2005. In October 2010, he was named the new co-anchor for the weekend edition of ''Good Morning America''. In October 2013, he was named a co-anchor for ''

'', succeeding

Bill Weir William Francis Weir (born December 19, 1967) is an American television journalist based in Manhattan. Weir is a correspondent and anchor for CNN, and the creator and host of the global documentary serie"The Wonder List with Bill Weir."He is the ...

. In August 2021, Harris announced that he would be leaving ABC News to focus on his meditation company. He retired from ABC News on September 26, 2021. In addition to reporting on a range of natural disasters and several mass shootings, and from multiple combat zones, Harris led the network's reporting on religion, especially evangelicalism, and once spent 48 hours in

solitary confinement Solitary confinement is a form of imprisonment in which the inmate lives in a single cell with little or no meaningful contact with other people. A prison may enforce stricter measures to control contraband on a solitary prisoner and use additi ...

for a story on criminal justice.　 On March 1, 2016, it was announced that Harris would become the host of the game show ''

500 Questions ''500 Questions'' was an American game show broadcast on ABC. The show premiered on Wednesday, May 20, 2015, at 8:00 pm EDT, and ran for seven straight weeknights, with a weekend break. The show features contestants who try to answer 500 questio ...

'', replacing

Richard Quest Richard Austin Quest (born 9 March 1962) is a British journalist and non-practising barrister working as a news anchor for CNN International. He is also an editor-at-large of CNN Business. He anchors ''Quest Means Business'', the five-times-we ...

Meditation and authorship

Harris encourages the use of

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

, and himself uses a method of watching the breath. His "10% Happier" podcasts are interviews with other meditators. Harris' book, ''10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Really Works – a True Story'', was published in March 2014. Harris has said that his self-examination, abandonment of drugs, and adoption of meditation were prompted by an on-air

panic attack Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...

in 2004. In the book, Harris recounts how he resolved the apparent conflict between meditation-induced

equanimity Equanimity (Latin: ''æquanimitas'', having an even mind; ''aequus'' even; ''animus'' mind/soul) is a state of inner peace, psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenom ...

and the aggressive competitiveness required for success as a TV-news journalist. A meditation smartphone application was launched in 2015 and rebranded as ''10% Happier'', based on Harris' book.

Personal life

Harris is married to Dr. Bianca Harris; they have a son. Although he refers to himself as "half-Jewish“ and culturally Jewish", he identifies as a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

. In high school Harris played the drums in a band with the bassist for the rock band

The Unband The Unband is an American hard rock band composed of drummer Eugene Ferrari, lead singer and guitarist Matthew Pierce, and bass guitarist Michael Ruffino. Formation and personnel Pierce and Ruffino began playing together under various names in ...

Awards

Harris received an Edward R. Murrow Award for his reporting on a young Iraqi man who received the help he needed in order to move to America, and in 2009 won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for his ''Nightline'' report, "How to Buy a Child in Ten Hours". He has been awarded honorary doctorates by his alma mater Colby College and by the

Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) formerly known as North Adams State College (NASC) is a public liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is part of the state university system of Massachusetts. It is a member of the ...

Bibliography

* ''10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works – A True Story'' (2014) * ''Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-to Book'' (2017), co-authored with Jeff Warren and Carlye Adler

References

External links

ABC News Bio

July 1, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Dan 1971 births ABC News personalities American Buddhists American game show hosts Jewish American journalists American television reporters and correspondents Colby College alumni Converts to Buddhism Living people News & Documentary Emmy Award winners People from Newton, Massachusetts 21st-century American Jews