Josh Elliott is an American television
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
who most recently worked 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 ...
. He has previously worked as the news anchor for
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's ''
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 ...
'', a sports anchor for
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
and ''
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 ...
'', and was a co-anchor for the live telecast of
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
's morning edition of ''
SportsCenter
''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
''.
Early life and education
Elliott was born to Susan, who gave Elliott up for adoption.
He was adopted by Charles Elliott and Toni Jordan and grew up in
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
. When he was 13, his father
came out as gay at the time of his parents' divorce. His father died when Elliott was 15.
After graduating from
Loyola High School of Los Angeles
Loyola High School is a private, Roman Catholic, college-preparatory high school for boys in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was established in 1865 and is part of the Society of Jesus. It is the oldest continuously run educational inst ...
, Elliott attended the
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...
. He originally enrolled at UC Santa Barbara in hopes of joining the
UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
The UC Santa Barbara Gauchos are the intercollegiate athletic teams who represent the University of California, Santa Barbara. Referred to in athletic competition as ''UC Santa Barbara'' or ''UCSB'', the Gauchos participate in 19 NCAA Division I ...
men's water polo team,
but instead ended up working at the university paper, ''
The Daily Nexus
The ''Daily Nexus'' is a campus newspaper at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).
''Daily Nexus'' lineage can be traced to the Santa Barbara State College student newspaper, ''The Eagle'', of the 1930s. After the college becam ...
''. He graduated from UCSB in 1993 with a B.A. degree in English literature.
Elliot worked as a
stringer
Stringer may refer to:
Structural elements
* Stringer (aircraft), or longeron, a strip of wood or metal to which the skin of an aircraft is fastened
* Stringer (slag), an inclusion, possibly leading to a defect, in cast metal
* Stringer (stairs), ...
for the ''
Santa Barbara News-Press''.
He then moved on to graduate school at
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 ...
's
Graduate School of Journalism, where he earned a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
degree in 1999. He worked in television as a producer for Galaxy Productions before moving onto
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
. He began there in comedy development and later worked in physical production. After graduating from Columbia, Elliott worked for ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...
'' for six years, covering events in most major sports.
Career
ESPN career
Elliott first joined ESPN in 2004 as a panelist for ''
Around the Horn
''Around the Horn'' (''ATH'') is an American sports Round table (discussion), roundtable discussion show, conducted in the style of a panel game, produced by ESPN. The show premiered on November 4, 2002, as a replacement for ''Unscripted with C ...
'' and ''
Jim Rome Is Burning
''Jim Rome Is Burning'' (originally titled ''Rome Is Burning'' and often abbreviated as ''JRIB'') is a sports conversation and opinion show hosted by Jim Rome. Debuting on May 6, 2003, as ''Rome Is Burning'', it was originally a weekly show in pri ...
'', as well as serving as guest co-host for ''
Cold Pizza
''Cold Pizza'' is an American television sports morning talk show that aired weekdays on ESPN2 from 2003 to 2007. The show's style was more akin to '' Good Morning America'' than '' SportsCenter''s straight news and highlights format. It included ...
'' on
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially fo ...
. On
ESPN Classic
ESPN Classic was an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns 20%).
The channel was originally l ...
, Elliott hosted the short-lived ''
Classic Now
''Classic Now'' is a program that aired on ESPN Classic between August 2005 and March 31, 2006. The show was hosted by Josh Elliott from a studio in New York City rented by K2 Productions.
''Classic Now'' mixed interviews with sportswriters and ...
'', which aired from June 2005 to March 2006. He also started appearing as a co-anchor on
ESPNEWS
ESPNews (pronounced "ESPN News", stylized ESPNEWS) is an American multinational digital cable and satellite television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns ...
and reporting for ''
SportsCenter
''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
''. After ''Classic Now'' was canceled, Elliott began contributing to ''
ESPN the Magazine
''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year i ...
'' and
ESPN.com
ESPN.com is the official website of ESPN. It is owned by ESPN Internet Ventures, a division of ESPN Inc.
History
Since launching in April 1995 as ESPNET.SportsZone.com (ESPNET SportsZone), the website has developed numerous sections including ...
.
When ESPN began airing ''
SportsCenter
''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...
'' live every weekday morning on August 11, 2008, Elliott was paired as an
anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄγ ...
with
Hannah Storm for the first three hours of the programming block beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET.
Good Morning America
In May 2011, Elliott joined the team at
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
's ''
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 ...
'' following the departure of previous news anchor
Juju Chang
Hyunju "Juju" Chang (born September 17, 1965) is an American television journalist for ABC News, and currently serves as an anchor of ''Nightline''. She previously served as a special correspondent and fill-in anchor for ''Nightline,'' and was a ...
. He also started as a substitute anchor on the weekend edition of ''
ABC World News
''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 ...
'', debuting on May 21, 2011. Joined by
Lara Spencer
Lara Christine Von Seelen (known professionally as Lara Spencer; born June 19, 1969) is an American television presenter. She is best known for being the co-anchor for ABC's ''Good Morning America''. She is also a correspondent for '' Nightline ...
, he also anchored ''Good Afternoon America'', an afternoon spin-off broadcast from July 9 to September 7, 2012 as a temporary replacement for ABC's cancelled talk show ''
The Revolution''.
NBC
On March 30, 2014, it was announced by
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 ...
President Ben Sherwood that Elliott had signed a contract with
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
, and would depart ABC News and ''Good Morning America''.
Amy Robach
Amy Joanne Robach (born February 6, 1973) is an American television reporter for ABC News. She is the co-anchor of ''20/20'' and the breaking news anchor/fill-in anchor for '' Good Morning America''. She was a national correspondent for NBC N ...
was announced as his immediate replacement. With NBC, Elliott made $4 million per year, but a six-month non-compete clause prohibited him from appearing on news-related programming, relegating him primarily to
NBC Sports
NBC Sports is an American programming division of the broadcast network NBC, owned and operated by NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and subsidiary of Comcast. The division is responsible for sports broadcasts on the network, and its d ...
programming such as the
2014 Kentucky Derby—where he made his on-air debut. Upon his hiring, it was believed that NBC was contemplating Elliott to serve as a future host of ''
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 ...
''; in response, he told the press that he "
oped
An op-ed, short for "opposite the editorial page", is a written prose piece, typically published by a North-American newspaper or magazine, which expresses the opinion of an author usually not affiliated with the publication's editorial board. O ...
Matt Lauer
Matthew Todd Lauer (; born December 30, 1957) is an American former television news personality, best known for his work with NBC News. After serving as a local news personality in New York City on WNBC, his first national exposure was as the ne ...
is here when I step away from this gig 30 years down the road. I can tell you that the only discussions I have had, as they relate to news,
reways to supply sports content to them." Elliott would, eventually, serve as a sports correspondent for the program.
In December 2015, it was reported that Elliott had left NBC.
CBS
On March 1, 2016,
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 ...
announced that it had hired Elliott to serve as the lead anchor for its digital news service
CBSN
CBS News (formerly CBSN, also known as the CBS News Streaming Network) is an American streaming video news channel operated by the CBS News and Paramount Streaming divisions of Paramount Global. Launched on November 6, 2014, it features blocks ...
. Of the hiring, CBS News president
David Rhodes explained that Elliott needed an "outlet", going on to say that "we're going to need from him as much as he can bring in these different areas of reporting and anchoring. It's another reason it's the perfect place for him because it's kind of unlimited. We have some really hard-working people at CBSN, but we don't have enough of them."
On February 10, 2017, Elliott announced on-air that he would be leaving CBSN, but stated that "knowing how things work around here, I may see you again on Monday morning". Elliott had been told by an executive that CBS had desired to place him in a larger role as a field correspondent, under which he would have filed reports for CBS's television news programs. However, CBS executives were caught off-guard by the abrupt announcement, and were unaware of any plans for him to be promoted from CBSN.
On February 13, 2017, Elliott was fired.
Other work
Elliott received a local
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 ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 2005 for writing and contributing to ''Angles'' on
MSG Network
The MSG Network (MSG) is an American regional cable and satellite television network, and radio service owned by MSG Entertainment, Inc.—a spin-off of the main Madison Square Garden Company operation (itself a spin-off of local cable provider ...
and served as one of the co-hosts for
Super Bowl XL
Super Bowl XL was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Seattle Seahawks and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion f ...
for
Westwood One Sports. In 2018, Elliott co-hosted ''Yellowstone Live'' on
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...
with wildlife expert
Chris Packham
Christopher Gary Packham CBE (born 4 May 1961) is an English naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author, best known for his television work including the CBBC children's nature series '' The Really Wild Show'' from 1986 ...
, a four-night event showcasing the
Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) is one of the last remaining large, nearly intact ecosystems in the northern temperate zone of the Earth. It is located within the northern Rocky Mountains, in areas of northwestern Wyoming, southwestern M ...
with feeds from dozens of live cameras and seven camera crews.
Personal life
Elliott is divorced from Priya Narang, with whom he has a daughter.
On July 11, 2015, Elliott married news anchor
Liz Cho
Liz Cho is a news anchor at WABC-TV in New York City. She has co-anchored the weekday 4 and 6 p.m. editions of ''Eyewitness News''.
Early life and education
Cho grew up in Concord, Massachusetts, and has a younger brother, Andrew. She was born ...
.
References
External links
Creative Artists Agency biographyABC News biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, Josh
National Football League announcers
1971 births
Living people
American sportswriters
American television news anchors
American television sports announcers
News & Documentary Emmy Award winners
People from Greater Los Angeles
University of California, Santa Barbara alumni
ABC News personalities
Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni
American adoptees
CBS News people
ESPN people