Edward Lansing Gordon III (born August 17, 1960) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

television journalist known for his association with

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

over four different decades. A native of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, Ed Gordon is the son of an Olympic athlete also named Ed Gordon. The younger Gordon was BET's main news anchor from 1988 to 1996 and again from 2000 to 2001 before hosting the interview show ''BET Tonight'' from 2001 to 2002 and another interview show, ''Weekly with Ed Gordon'', from 2010 to 2011. In addition to his work with BET, Gordon also worked for

NBC News NBC News is the news division of the American broadcast television network NBC. The division operates under NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, a division of NBCUniversal, which is, in turn, a subsidiary of Comcast. The news division's var ...

from 1996 to 2000,

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs '' CBS News Sunday Morning'', '' 60 Minutes'', and '' 48 H ...

from 2004 to 2005, and

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

from 2005 to 2006. From 2006 to 2010, he hosted the syndicated talk show ''

Our World with Black Enterprise ''Our World with Black Enterprise'' is a weekly television show which has been hosted by Paul Brunson, Edward Lansing Gordon III, and, during its first season, Marc Lamont Hill, which is produced by Black Enterprise The show was created by Earl G. ...

''.

Personal background

Gordon was born in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. His father Ed Gordon Jr. (1908–1971) was a schoolteacher who won gold in the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

for competing in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, and his mother Jimmie (née Hunt) (1920–2015) was also a teacher. After graduating from

Cass Technical High School Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.

in Detroit, the younger Gordon graduated from

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. Bliss for the training of teachers ...

in 1982 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

and

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

Career

Early career in Detroit (1983–1988)

Although Gordon considered law school, Gordon aspired to be a television journalist and took an unpaid internship at

WTVS WTVS (channel 56) is a PBS member television station in Detroit, Michigan, United States, owned by the Detroit Educational Television Foundation. Its main studios are located at the Riley Broadcast Center and HD Studios in Wixom, with an addit ...

, the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

affiliate in Detroit. At WTVS, he worked as a production assistant from 1983 to 1985. In 1986, Gordon became host of a local weekly talk show, ''Detroit Black Journal'', which had a yearly salary of $11,000. On the side, Gordon worked as a freelance journalist at the then-fledgling cable network

Black Entertainment Television Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

(BET).

First stint with BET (1988–1996)

In 1988, Gordon joined BET full-time as anchor of the weekly program ''BET News'', which covered African-American social issues and popular culture. While Gordon worked at BET, its news staff had only around 20 people, and Gordon produced most of his interviews with only one or two assistants. Beginning in 1990, Gordon also hosted hour-long interviews on several occasions in the series ''Conversation with Ed Gordon''. His subjects have included President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

, actor/director, rapper

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the Li ...

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...

, and singer

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

. Following the

1992 Los Angeles riots The 1992 Los Angeles riots, sometimes called the 1992 Los Angeles uprising and the Los Angeles Race Riots, were a series of riots and civil disturbances that occurred in Los Angeles County, California, in April and May 1992. Unrest began in S ...

, Gordon hosted a BET special, ''L.A. Aftermath: Black Men Speak Out'' and conducted the first interview with U.S. President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

after the riots. On January 25, 1996, Gordon became the first journalist to interview former NFL star O. J. Simpson since Simpson was acquitted of murder the previous year.

Career with NBC (1996–2000)

In July 1996, Gordon left BET to join

, where he began as a daytime anchor and host of weekly talk and interview program ''Internight'' on NBC's cable network

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...

as well as a contributor to NBC's morning show ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

''. At MSNBC, Gordon covered major news events of the late 1990s such as the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and

Democratic National Conventions The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, the

impeachment of Bill Clinton Bill Clinton, the List of Presidents of the United States, 42nd president of the United States, was Federal impeachment in the United States, impeached by the United States House of Representatives of the 105th United States Congress on Decem ...

, the crash of Swissair Flight 111, and

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

's 1998 visit to Cuba. Beginning in March 1999, Gordon became a regular correspondent on ''

Dateline NBC ''Dateline NBC'' 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 true crime stories with only occasion ...

''.

Second stint with BET (2000–2004)

Gordon returned to BET in 2000 to host ''BET News'', this time on a nightly basis. In 2001, Gordon replaced

Tavis Smiley Tavis Smiley (; born September 13, 1964) is an American talk show host and author. Smiley was born in Gulfport, Mississippi, and grew up in Bunker Hill, Indiana. After attending Indiana University, he worked during the late 1980s as an aide to ...

as host of interview program ''BET Tonight''. Two interviews Gordon conducted for ''BET Tonight'' in 2002 attracted outside attention. The May 8 edition broadcast an interview by Gordon with popular R&B singer

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwi ...

, who was facing charges for child pornography. In the interview, Kelly denied the accusations of child abuse. Kelly told Gordon: "I've done a lot of wrong things in my life, but I'm not a criminal." Then on December 16, the program showed his interview with outgoing

Senate Minority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding ...

Trent Lott Chester Trent Lott Sr. (born October 9, 1941) is an American lawyer, author, and politician. A former United States Senator from Mississippi, Lott served in numerous leadership positions in both the United States House of Representatives and the ...

(

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

) following Lott's controversial remarks at the 100th birthday party for fellow Senator

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Prior to his 48 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Caro ...

that the nation would have been better off had Thurmond, a

segregationist Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Interna ...

, been elected for president in 1948. Howard Rosenberg of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' described Gordon as "polite but firm" in the interview: "Without being a bully, he held Lott's tongue to the fire...not allowing the senator to dodge, finesse or answer questions that weren't asked." As part of a reorganization focusing on entertainment productions, BET cut its news staff and canceled ''BET Tonight'' in December 2002 along with other public affairs shows hosted by Gordon, ''Lead Story'' and ''Teen Summit''. Gordon continued to be a contributor to BET through 2004, when he interviewed Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. senator

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

for a ''Speak Now'' special broadcast October 8.

CBS and NPR (2004–2006)

Gordon became a correspondent for the

program '' 60 Minutes II'' in November 2004; the show ran until 2005. After Tavis Smiley left

National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...

(NPR), Gordon began hosting a show on NPR titled ''

News & Notes ''News & Notes'' was a National Public Radio program focusing on issues affecting African-Americans and African diaspora communities. The listenership was multiracial and international. The program aired for one hour each weekday and was hosted b ...

'', a show with a similar focus on African-American issues that he hosted from 2005 to 2006.

Recent work (2006–present)

From 2006 to 2010, Gordon hosted the syndicated talk show ''

''. BET announced in March 2010 that Gordon would return to the network to host "a variety of news programs and specials." Gordon's latest series ''Weekly with Ed Gordon'' premiered on October 3, 2010 with a one-on-one interview with Representative

Charles B. Rangel Charles Bernard Rangel (, ; born June 11, 1930) is an American politician who was a U.S. representative for districts in New York from 1971 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the ...

, who was undergoing an ethics issues at the time. In the program, Gordon also discusses news and culture with a four-member panel. The show ran until March 2011. In the fall of 2016, Gordon hosted a weekly primetime newsmagazine on

Bounce TV Bounce TV is an American digital multicast television network owned by Katz Broadcasting, a subsidiary of E. W. Scripps Company. Promoted as "the first 24/7 digital multicast broadcast network created to target African Americans", the channel fe ...

, ''Ed Gordon''. In 2020, Gordon released a book, ''Conversations in Black: On Power, Politics, and Leadership''.

Awards

* Emmy Award * NAACP Image Award * National Association of Black Journalists Journalist of the Year award * Communication Excellence to Black Audiences Award for Merit * Named in People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" list

Personal life

Gordon has a daughter, Taylor (born 1993), from his previous marriage to Karen Haney. During his career with

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

-based BET, he lived in nearby

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

. Now married to Leslie Howard, Gordon is the stepfather of two children.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Ed (journalist) 1960 births Living people African-American journalists African-American television personalities American television news anchors American television talk show hosts Cass Technical High School alumni Television personalities from Detroit Western Michigan University alumni People from Alexandria, Virginia 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people