Randall Pinkston was a correspondent/anchor for

Al Jazeera America Al Jazeera America was an American pay television news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network. The channel was launched on August 20, 2013, to compete with CNN, HLN, MSNBC, Fox News, and in certain markets RT America. It was Al Jazeera' ...

. Previously he was with

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 ...

. After a stint as a White House Correspondent in CBS's Washington Bureau, Pinkston became a general assignment reporter, contributing to CBS broadcasts, including

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 ...

, Morning News, Weekend News, CBS News Sunday Morning and 48 Hours. Pinkston also contributed to the

CBS Reports ''CBS Reports'' is the umbrella title used for documentaries by CBS News which aired starting in 1959 through the 1990s. The series sometimes aired as a wheel series rotating with '' 60 Minutes'' (or other similar CBS News series), as a series of i ...

documentary, Legacy of Shame with Correspondent Dan Rather. Pinkston has filled in as anchor on the

-Weekend Edition,

Up to the Minute ''CBS Overnight News'' is an American overnight news broadcasting that is broadcast on CBS during the early morning hours each Monday through Friday. The program maintains a infotainment format, incorporating national, international and business ...

and

CBS Morning News The ''CBS Morning News'' is an American early-morning news broadcast presented weekdays on the CBS television network. The program features late-breaking news stories, national weather forecasts and sports highlights. Since 2013, it has been an ...

Early life and education

Born in

Yazoo County, Mississippi Yazoo County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 28,065. The county seat is Yazoo City. It is named for the Yazoo River, which forms its western border. Its name is said to come from a ...

, he attended

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...

, originally intending to pursue a career in law. However, after his father died, he moved back to Mississippi and earned a bachelor's degree in 1973 from

Millsaps College Millsaps College is a private liberal arts college in Jackson, Mississippi. It was founded in 1890 and is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. History The college was founded in 1889–90 by a Confederate veteran, Major Reuben Webster M ...

Jackson, Mississippi Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...

. He also earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

Law School in 1980.Staff
Randall Pinkston
''

'', April 12, 2011. Accessed August 16, 2011.

Professional career

Pinkston began his career at

WLBT WLBT (channel 3) is a television station in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Gray Television, which also operates American Spirit Media–owned Fox affiliate WDBD (channel 40) and Vicksburg-licensed MyNet ...

-TV in

, where he worked as an anchor and reported from 1971 until 1974. He then worked for

WJXT WJXT (channel 4) is an independent television station in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is owned by Graham Media Group alongside CW affiliate WCWJ (channel 17). Both stations share studios at 4 Broadcast Place on the south bank of th ...

-TV from 1974 until 1976, as urban affairs director, a general assignment reporter and the producer of a daily public affairs program. From 1976 until 1980, Pinkston worked for

WFSB WFSB (channel 3) is a television station licensed to Hartford, Connecticut, United States, serving the Hartford–New Haven market as an affiliate of CBS. Owned by Gray Television, the station maintains studios on Denise D'Ascenzo Way in Rocky H ...

-TV in

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

, where he served as a reporter, an anchor and the producer of several public affairs programs and specials. From 1980 until 1990, Pinkston worked for

WCBS-TV WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station WL ...

in New York, where he served as a reporter and as the station's New Jersey correspondent from 1989 until 1990. In 1990, Pinkston joined

as its White House correspondent. He spent two years covering 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 ...

, including breaking the news in January 1992 of the president falling ill while dining with Japan's prime minister,

Kiichi Miyazawa was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan from 1991 to 1993. He was a member of the National Diet of Japan for over 50 years. Early life and education Miyazawa was born into a wealthy, politically active family in Fukuyama ...

. From 1992 until 1994, Pinkston remained in CBS' Washington bureau. In 1994, Pinkston was moved to CBS' New York bureau. He reported for the ''

'' and also for other CBS news broadcasts. He has covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the U.S. intervention in Haiti, the Unabomber story, the standoff involving the

Montana Freemen The Montana Freemen were an anti-government militant Christian Patriot group based outside the town of Jordan, Montana, United States. The members of the group referred to their land as "Justus Township" and had declared their leaders and follower ...

and the trial of

Susan Smith Susan Leigh Smith (née Vaughan; born September 26, 1971) is an American woman who was convicted of murdering her two sons, three-year-old Michael and 14-month-old Alexander, in 1994 by drowning them in a South Carolina lake. The case gained i ...

. In November 2000, Pinkston was a candidate for an job anchoring at

WBBM-TV WBBM-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. Owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division, the station maintains studios on West Washington Stre ...

in Chicago. He taped an audition in November 2000 with longtime WBBM news anchor Linda MacLennan, according to an article in the November 15, 2000, edition of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

''. Ultimately, however, the station gave the job to insider

David Kerley Paul David Kerley III (born May 30, 1957), known professionally as David Kerley, is an American journalist who is a correspondent for ABC News in Washington, D.C. Early life and education A native of Southern California, Kerley earned a bachelor' ...

. On May 19, 2013 it was announced that Pinkston was leaving CBS after 33 years with the company. In August 2013 he joined Al Jazeera America as a freelance journalist. On January 14, 2016, the Al Jazeera Media Network announced that it would be shutting down Al Jazeera America's cable TV and digital operations on April 30, 2016.

Awards

Pinkston has won 4 national Emmy awards (1996, 1997, 1998), and one

RTNDA Edward R. Murrow Award The Radio Television Digital News Association (formerly the Radio-Television News Directors Association) has been honoring outstanding achievements in electronic journalism with the Edward R. Murrow Awards since 1971. Among the most prestigious ...

(1996), a Society of Professional Journalists Community Service Award (2009), and a Silver Em Award from the University of Mississippi Meek School of Journalism (2013).

Personal

Pinkston and his wife, Patricia McLain, live in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, th ...

, in

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey."Randall Pinkston"
''Contemporary Black Biography'', p. 129.

Gale Research Gale is a global provider of research and digital learning resources. The company is based in Farmington Hills, Michigan, west of Detroit. It has been a division of Cengage since 2007. The company, formerly known as Gale Research and the Gale G ...

, 2000. . Accessed August 16, 2011. "He and his wife, Patricia McLain, and their daughter and two stepdaughters, live in Teaneck, New Jersey."

References

External links

Randall Pinkston Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinkston, Randall Living people Wesleyan University alumni American television reporters and correspondents People from Teaneck, New Jersey 1950 births People from Yazoo City, Mississippi Al Jazeera people CBS News people Journalists from Mississippi University of Connecticut School of Law alumni