John Frederick Dickerson (born July 6, 1968) is an American journalist and a reporter for
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 ...
. His current assignment is anchoring “CBS News Prime Time with John Dickerson” on the news division’s streaming network. His previous roles include ''
60 Minutes
''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...
'' and CBS News' Election specials. Most recently, he was co-host of ''
CBS This Morning
''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987, to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012, to September 6, 2021. The program was aired from Monday through Saturday. ...
'' along with
Norah O'Donnell
Norah Morahan O'Donnell (born January 23, 1974) is an American television journalist who is currently anchor of the ''CBS Evening News'' and a correspondent for ''60 Minutes''. She has worked with several mainstream media outlets throughout her ...
and
Gayle King
Gayle King (born December 28, 1954) is an American television personality, author and broadcast journalist for CBS News, co-hosting its flagship morning program, '' CBS Mornings'', and before that its predecessor ''CBS This Morning''. She is ...
. He served as an interim anchor of the ''
CBS Evening News
The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening 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 featuring news reports, feature s ...
'' until Norah O'Donnell took over in the summer of 2019. Previously he was the host of ''
Face the Nation
''Face the Nation'' is a weekly news and morning public affairs program airing Sundays on the CBS radio and television network. Created by Frank Stanton in 1954, ''Face the Nation'' is one of the longest-running news programs in the history o ...
'' on
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 ...
, the political director of CBS News, chief Washington correspondent for CBS News, and a political columnist for ''
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' magazine.
Before hosting ''Face the Nation,'' he was the longtime chief political correspondent at ''Slate''. Before joining ''Slate,'' Dickerson covered politics at ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine for 12 years, serving the last four years as its
White House correspondent
The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...
.
Early life
A native of Washington, D.C., Dickerson is the son of Claude Wyatt Dickerson
[ and journalist ]Nancy Dickerson
Nancy Dickerson (January 19, 1927 – October 18, 1997) was an American radio and television journalist and researcher for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. As famous as a celebrity and socialite as she was for her journalism, she later ...
(''née'' Hanschman; later Whitehead). He has three sisters and one brother. He grew up in McLean, Virginia
McLean ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. McLean is home to many diplomats, military, members of Congress, and high-ranking government officials partially due to its proxim ...
, at Merrywood, a Georgian-style
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1714 and 1830. It is named after the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I, George II, Geor ...
mansion high on a leafy bluff overlooking the Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
.
Dickerson graduated from Sidwell Friends School
Sidwell Friends School is a Quaker school located in Bethesda, Maryland and Washington, D.C., offering pre-kindergarten through high school classes. Founded in 1883 by Thomas W. Sidwell, its motto is ' ( en, Let the light shine out from all), al ...
in 1987. During high school he had an internship in the office of John Warner, then a U.S. Senator from Virginia. He holds a degree in English with distinction from the University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
.
Career
''On Her Trail'', Dickerson's book about his relationship with his late mother Nancy Dickerson Whitehead, a pioneering television newswoman, was published by Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publ ...
in 2006. In a ''Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' review, staff writer Elsa Walsh
Elsa Walsh is an American journalist and author. In 1989 she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, and she released her book ''Divided Lives: The Public and Private Struggles of 3 Accomplished Women'' in 1995. Walsh has worked for both ''The Was ...
called the book "riveting".
Before joining ''Slate,'' Dickerson covered politics at ''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine for 12 years, serving the last four years as its White House correspondent
The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...
.
Dickerson hosted ''Face the Nation
''Face the Nation'' is a weekly news and morning public affairs program airing Sundays on the CBS radio and television network. Created by Frank Stanton in 1954, ''Face the Nation'' is one of the longest-running news programs in the history o ...
'' three times in 2009 and was appointed Political Director of 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 ...
in November 2011. He appeared each Wednesday on ''The Al Franken Show
''The Al Franken Show'' was the flagship talk show of the former talk radio network, Air America Radio. Hosted by Al Franken, it featured commentary and interviews arguing for liberal positions on the issues of the day, and comically poking fun ...
'' on Air America Radio
Air America (formerly Air America Radio and Air America Media) was an radio in the United States, American radio network specializing in progressive talk radio. It was on the air from March 2004 to January 2010.
The network was founded as a left ...
, until the show ended in 2007, and was also a frequent guest on 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 ...
's ''Day to Day
''Day to Day'' (''D2D'') was a one-hour weekday American radio newsmagazine distributed by National Public Radio (NPR), and produced by NPR in collaboration with ''Slate''. Madeleine Brand, Alex Chadwick, and Alex Cohen served as hosts. Topics ...
''. He appears on 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 ...
's ''Washington Week
''Washington Week''—previously ''Washington Week in Review''—is an American public affairs television program, which has aired on PBS and its predecessor, National Educational Television, since 1967. Unlike other panel discussion shows which ...
'' and the ''Slate Political Gabfest
The ''Slate Political Gabfest'' is an American political podcast by '' Slate'' magazine that covers topics on current politics and issues featuring David Plotz, Emily Bazelon and John Dickerson.
Podcast
The show is usually hosted by former ...
'', a weekly podcast with David Plotz
David A. Plotz (born 31 January 1970) is an American journalist and former CEO of ''Atlas Obscura'', an online magazine devoted to discovery and exploration. A writer with '' Slate'' since its inception in 1996, Plotz was the online magazine's edi ...
and Emily Bazelon
Emily Bazelon (born March 4, 1971) is an American journalist. She is a staff writer for ''The New York Times Magazine,'' a senior research fellow at Yale Law School, and co-host of the ''Slate'' podcast ''Political Gabfest''. She is a former sen ...
. Dickerson is also the host of ''Whistlestop'', a ''Slate'' podcast about presidential history.
Dickerson took over as host of ''Face the Nation'' on June 7, 2015. He served as host for 2 1/2 years until signing off on January 21, 2018. Shortly after this, Dickerson was named the new co-anchor of ''CBS This Morning
''CBS This Morning'' (''CTM'') is an American morning television program that aired on CBS from November 30, 1987, to October 29, 1999, and again from January 9, 2012, to September 6, 2021. The program was aired from Monday through Saturday. ...
''.
He is the author of, most recently, ''The Hardest Job in the World: The American Presidency.'' ''Publishers Weekly
''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...
'' described it as an “evenhanded and insightful look at the evolution of the American presidency.” He is also the author of ''Whistlestop: My Favorite Stories from Presidential Campaign History'', published by Twelve, an imprint of Hachette Book Group
Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a publishing company owned by Hachette Livre, the largest publishing company in France, and the third largest trade and educational publisher in the world. Hachette Livre is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lagardère Grou ...
, on August 2, 2016.
In November 2018, John Dickerson contributed a few educational videos to the Khan Academy
Khan Academy is an American non-profit educational organization created in 2008 by Sal Khan. Its goal is creating a set of online tools that help educate students. The organization produces short lessons in the form of videos. Its website also in ...
during the 2018 midterm elections
The 2018 United States elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. These midterm elections occurred during Republican Donald Trump's term. Democrats made a net gain of 41 seats in the United States House of Representatives, gaining a majo ...
.
On May 10, 2019, CBS News President Susan Zirinsky
Susan Zirinsky (born March 3, 1952) is an American journalist and television news producer. She served as the President of CBS News from January 2019 until April 2021, when she was succeeded by Neeraj Khemlani and Wendy McMahon. She previously s ...
said that Dickerson would fill in for a week (week of May 13, 2019) on the CBS Evening News
The ''CBS Evening News'' is the flagship evening 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 featuring news reports, feature s ...
after then-anchor Jeff Glor
Jeffrey Todd Glor (born July 12, 1975) is an American journalist, co-host of ''CBS Saturday Morning '' and a CBS News special correspondent. He had previously anchored the ''CBS Evening News'' from 2017 to 2019.
Early life and education
Glor wa ...
stepped down. Glor was replaced by Norah O'Donnell
Norah Morahan O'Donnell (born January 23, 1974) is an American television journalist who is currently anchor of the ''CBS Evening News'' and a correspondent for ''60 Minutes''. She has worked with several mainstream media outlets throughout her ...
on July 15, 2019. CBS News would use a rotating series of anchors to staff the broadcast until O'Donnell took over, Zirinsky said. On September 6, 2020, Dickerson substituted for Margaret Brennan
Margaret Brennan (born March 26, 1980) is an American journalist based in Washington, D.C. The current moderator of '' Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan'' on CBS News, she is also a fill-in and substitute anchor for ''CBS Evening News'', and ...
on CBS' ''Face the Nation''.
CIA leak case
Dickerson co-wrote a July 17, 2003, ''Time'' article, "A War on Wilson?", which attributed the leak of Valerie Plame
Valerie Elise Plame (born August 13, 1963) is an American writer, spy novelist, and former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer. As the subject of the 2003 Plame affair, also known as the CIA leak scandal, Plame's identity as a CIA officer ...
's CIA identity to senior Bush administration officials. Writing for ''Slate'' in February 2006 ("Where's ''My'' Subpoena?"), Dickerson speculated about why Patrick Fitzgerald
Patrick J. Fitzgerald (born December 22, 1960) is an American lawyer and partner at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom since October 2012.
For more than a decade, until June 30, 2012, Fitzgerald was the United States Attorney f ...
never called him as a grand jury witness for his "bit role" in the drama.
On January 29, 2007, during the trial of Scooter Libby
Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby (born August 22, 1950) is an American lawyer and former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney known for his high-profile indictment.
From 2001 to 2005, Libby held the offices of Assistant to the Vice President ...
, former White House spokesman Ari Fleischer
Lawrence Ari Fleischer (born October 13, 1960) is an American media consultant and political aide who served as the 23rd White House Press Secretary, for President George W. Bush, from January 2001 to July 2003.
As press secretary in the Bush a ...
, testifying under an immunity agreement, named Dickerson as one of two reporters (the other was David Gregory of NBC) to whom he revealed that Wilson's wife worked at the CIA on July 11, 2003, during a Presidential visit to Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languages[Robert Novak
Robert David Sanders Novak (February 26, 1931 – August 18, 2009) was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving in the ...](_blank)
. Another reporter, Tamara Lipper of ''Newsweek
''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...
'', reportedly walked away before he spoke of Plame. Dickerson has disputed Fleischer's account, claiming that Fleischer urged him to look into who sent Wilson but that he did not mention Plame's name or CIA identity. In a second trial dispatch on the matter, Dickerson revealed a previously undisclosed excerpt from his email that July afternoon which he said corroborated his account: "On background WH officials were dissing Wilson. They suggested he was sent on his mission by a low-level person at the agency." Neither Lipper nor Gregory has commented publicly about what Fleischer told them.
On January 31, 2007, former ''Time'' reporter Matthew Cooper testified that Dickerson's Africa sources contributed information to the article "A War on Wilson?" In addition to Ari Fleischer, Dickerson also spoke to White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett
Daniel Joseph Bartlett (born June 1, 1971) is an American political advisor who served as counselor to the president in the administration of George W. Bush. On June 1, 2007, Bartlett announced that he would be leaving the White House and was repl ...
while in Africa.
Style
''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' once wrote about his style of asking questions: "The master of the game is John Dickerson of ''Time'' magazine, who has knocked Bush
Bush commonly refers to:
* Shrub, a small or medium woody plant
Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to:
People
* Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name
**Bush family, a prominent American family that includes:
*** ...
off script so many times that his colleagues have coined a term for cleverly worded, seemingly harmless, but incisive questions: 'Dickersonian.
Dickerson (during April 13, 2004 press conference): "In the last campaign, you were asked a question about the biggest mistake you'd made in your life, and you used to like to joke that it was trading Sammy Sosa
Samuel Peralta Sosa (born November 12, 1968) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Chicago Cubs. After playing for the Texas Rangers and C ...
. You've looked back before 9/11
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
for what mistakes might have been made. After 9/11, what would your biggest mistake be, would you say, and what lessons have you learned from it?"
President Bush: "I wish you would have given me this written question ahead of time, so I could plan for it."
On February 29, 2008, Senator Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
released a "red phone" television ad suggesting that her opponent, Senator Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
, was unprepared to be President. On a conference call with Clinton staff, Dickerson asked, "What foreign policy moment would you point to in Hillary's career where she's been tested by crisis?" The question prompted—according to ''The Hotline
''The Hotline'' is a daily political briefing published by Atlantic Media from its headquarters at The Watergate complex in Washington, D.C.. Founded in 1987, It is currently edited by Kyle Trygstad. and published independently until its acquisi ...
''—a "pregnant pause" so long "you could've knit a sweater in the time it took the usually verbose team of Mark Penn
Mark J. Penn (born January 15, 1954) is an American businessman, pollster, political strategist, and author.
Penn is chairman and chief executive officer of Stagwell, a marketing group created upon the merger of Stagwell Marketing Group—a priv ...
, Howard Wolfson
Howard Wolfson (born 1967) is an American Democratic political strategist. He served as a counselor to the former mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg, replacing Kevin Sheekey as Deputy Mayor of New York City for governmental affairs.
Early ...
and Lee Feinstein, Clinton's national security director, to find a cogent answer."
See also
* New Yorkers in journalism
New York City has been called the media capital of the world. Many journalists work in Manhattan, reporting about international, American, business, entertainment, and New York metropolitan area-related matters.
New Yorkers in journalism
A
* ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickerson, John
1968 births
20th-century American journalists
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century American journalists
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
American columnists
American male journalists
American television news anchors
American television reporters and correspondents
Dickerson, John
Journalists from Washington, D.C.
Living people
Sidwell Friends School alumni
Slate (magazine) people
Time (magazine) people
University of Virginia alumni