Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host, legal commentator, and author. He is currently the host of the prime-time show ''Dan Abrams Live'' on

NewsNation NewsNation is an American subscription television network owned by the Nexstar Media Group, and is the company's only wholly-owned, national cable-originated television channel. The channel runs a mixture of entertainment programming (consist ...

, ''On Patrol: Live'' on Reelz and ''The Dan Abrams Show: Where Politics Meets The Law'' on SiriusXM's P.O.T.U.S. channel. He is also the Chief Legal Analyst of

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 with David Muir''; other programs include morning news-talk show '' Good Morning America'', '' ...

. Abrams was the host of '' Live PD'' on the A&E cable network and created and hosts '' Court Cam,'' a Law&Crime production on A&E. He was formerly an anchor of ''

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 prog ...

''. Abrams also worked as the chief legal correspondent and analyst 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 v ...

and general manager of

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 ...

, and doubled 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 � ...

for the same network. He began his professional career in 1994 as a reporter for ''

Court TV Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former cable television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cov ...

'', covering, among others, the

O. J. Simpson murder trial ''The People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson'' was a criminal trial in Los Angeles County Superior Court starting in 1994, in which O. J. Simpson, a former National Football League (NFL) player, broadcaster and actor, was tr ...

Early life

Daniel Abrams was born in Manhattan; he is Jewish, the son of Efrat and well-known attorney Floyd Abrams, an expert on

constitutional law Constitutional law is a body of law which defines the role, powers, and structure of different entities within a state, namely, the executive, the parliament or legislature, and the judiciary; as well as the basic rights of citizens and, in fe ...

. He is a 1984 graduate of Riverdale Country School. Abrams received his B.A. ''cum laude'' in

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 ...

from

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist Jam ...

in 1988. While at Duke, he anchored newscasts on the student-run channel Cable 13 and was vice president of the student body. Abrams received a J.D. from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...

Career

Television and broadcasting

Early career

Abrams worked as a reporter for

from May 1994 to June 1997, where he covered the O. J. Simpson case, the International War Crimes Tribunal from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and the assisted-suicide trials of Dr. Jack Kevorkian from

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 t ...

MSNBC and NBC News

After leaving Court TV, Abrams was a general assignment correspondent for

from 1997 to 1999 at which time he was named Chief Legal Correspondent. Abrams then began hosting his own show at MSNBC, and ''

The Abrams Report ''The Abrams Report'' is an American television program on MSNBC, focusing on legal and tabloid issues. Until June 2006, the show was hosted by Dan Abrams Daniel Abrams (born May 20, 1966) is an American media entrepreneur, television host ...

'' began in 2001. Abrams hosted ''The Abrams Report'' until he accepted the lead managerial position at MSNBC. Abrams held the position of

General Manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

of MSNBC from June 12, 2006, until October 2007. Abrams left to concentrate on his program ''Live with Dan Abrams'', which replaced ''

Scarborough Country ''Scarborough Country'' is an opinion/analysis show broadcast on MSNBC Monday to Thursday at 9 P.M. ET. It was hosted by former congressman Joe Scarborough. ''Scarborough Country'' made its debut in April 2003. On average, ''Scarborough Countr ...

'' due to Joe Scarborough's move to mornings. This show would eventually be revamped and renamed ''Verdict with Dan Abrams'', which aired until August 21, 2008. MSNBC announced on August 19, 2008, that Air America Radio host

Rachel Maddow Rachel Anne Maddow (, ; born April 1, 1973) is an American television news program host and liberal political commentator. Maddow hosts '' The Rachel Maddow Show'', a weekly television show on MSNBC, and serves as the cable network's special e ...

would take over that time slot beginning September 8, 2008. At that time, Abrams took on additional duties with NBC News including substituting as an anchor on the ''Today'' show.

ABC

In March 2011, Abrams left NBC to become the Chief Legal Analyst for ABC News and a substitute anchor on ''Good Morning America''. ABC announced in June 2013 that Abrams would become the network's Chief Legal Affairs Anchor, as well as an anchor of ''

''. He stepped down from his full time role as ''Nightline'' anchor in December 2014 to focus on his expanding media businesses and returned to his freelance role as the network's Chief Legal Analyst. In 2020, The Poynter Report described Abrams as the "go-to analyst on legal affairs."

A&E

From October 2016 to June 2020, Abrams hosted the A&E show '' Live PD'', which followed police officers live across the United States as they patrol their communities. Using dash-cam footage, handheld low-light-capable cameras, and fixed-camera rigs, Abrams analyzed each incident with analysts Tom Morris Jr. and Sean "Sticks" Larkin as the police work occurs. He was also co-host of '' Grace vs. Abrams'', in which Abrams and legal commentator Nancy Grace debated high-profile crime cases. In 2019, Abrams signed on to produce and host ''Court Cam'', a new show that takes viewers inside America's courtrooms. ''Live PD'' was canceled on June 10, 2020, in the wake of protests against police brutality following the murder of George Floyd and the destruction of the video footage of the killing of Javier Ambler.

NewsNation

On July 19, 2021, Nexstar announced that Abrams would join

to host a nightly prime-time show called ''Dan Abrams Live'', which premiered on September 27, 2021.

Reelz

On June 8th, 2022, the

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

announced that Abrams would return as host and executive producer for ''On Patrol: Live'', a new show on Reelz following the same format as A&E's cancelled Live PD. ''On Patrol: Live'' premiered on July, 22nd 2022.

Abrams Media

Gossip Cop

On July 29, 2009, Abrams and Michael Lewittes launched ''Gossip Cop'', a media watchdog site that patrols the celebrity gossip universe. The site has been described by its designer, Rex Sorgatz, as " TMZ meets

Smoking Gun The term "smoking gun" is a reference to an object or fact that serves as conclusive evidence of a crime or similar act, just short of being caught '' in flagrante delicto''. "Smoking gun" refers to the strongest kind of circumstantial evidenc ...

". The site rates gossip rumors on a 0–10 scale. For the month of May 2013, the site reported over 8 million unique visitors. In 2019 ''Gossip Cop'' was acquired by Gateway Blend.

Mediaite

In September 2009, Abrams started ''

Mediaite Mediaite is a news website focusing on politics and the media.Howard PolskinHow the Washington Examiner became a traffic monster ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (May 15, 2020). Founded by Dan Abrams, it is part of the Abrams Media Network. Conte ...

'', a news site he described as "appreciating the celebrity of the media." The site combines editorial content with analytic rankings of media personalities. In mid-2015, it had over 7 million unique visitors per month.

Geekosystem

''Geekosystem'' was launched on January 25, 2010. ''Geekosystem'' covered "geek" culture, following developments in science, technology, as well as internet memes and Internet culture. Abrams described the site upon launch as "a broader interest site that will celebrate and cover everything from technology and science fiction to video games and comics."

Styleite

Abrams's foray into fashion, ''Styleite'', debuted on March 25, 2010. Functioning for fashion the way ''Mediaite'' did for journalism, ''Styleite'' launched with both news and opinion content, as well as a fashion version of the "Power Grid," which ranks designers, models, writers, and others in the style business based on influence and following. Abrams rebranded ''Styleite'' as ''Runway Riot'' in 2015, appointing model

Iskra Lawrence Iskra Arabella Lawrence (born 11 September 1990) is a British model. Early life and education Lawrence was born in Wolverhampton and grew up in Kidderminster, Worcestershire from the age of 6 weeks. Lawrence attended Holy Trinity School, Kidder ...

as managing editor. ''RunwayRiot.com'' is marketed as a fashion site for "plus-sized women."

SportsGrid

Launched in May 2010, ''SportsGrid'' offers a mix of sports news, video clips and other media tracking both sports and the media world surrounding it. Like the other Abrams Media properties, the site features a Power Grid "tabulated by using a specially developed algorithm that pools a variety of metrics, including TV ratings; Web traffic and circulation counts; attendance; number of Twitter followers; on-field performance for players and coaches; and franchise values." In 2013, SportsGrid was acquired by Anthem Media Group in a stock and cash deal.

The Mary Sue

In 2011, Abrams Media started ''The Mary Sue'', a sister site to ''Geekosystem'' with the goal of "highlighting women in the geek world, and providing a prominent place for the voices of geek women." Based on its rapid growth and high engagement, in 2014, Abrams folded ''Geekosystem'' into ''The Mary Sue''. On July 4, 2022, The Mary Sue was acquired by

GAMURS The GAMURS Group, simply known as Gamurs, is an esports media and entertainment publisher. Established in December 2014, the group operates multiple brands focusing on the esports and entertainment news markets, including the websites: ''Dot Espo ...

Group.

The Braiser

In May 2012, Abrams launched a site focused on the personalities and lifestyles of chefs. Rather than recipes or techniques, ''The Braiser''s topics consist of chefs who "have gone from being food icons to becoming mainstream celebrities," according to an interview Abrams gave to ''The New York Times'' in late April. It was nominated for a

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

in 2014. By 2015, ''The Braiser'' had gone on "a short hiatus" with plans for a relaunch, but saw no further activity as of 2019.

Law&Crime

In 2016, Abrams started ''LawNewz'', a legal news website which also live streams trials as part of its online network. The new live trial network, slated as the new

, launched on February 24, 2017, with

A&E Networks A&E Networks (stylized as A+E NETWORKS) is an American multinational broadcasting company that is a 50–50 joint venture between Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company through its General Entertainment Content division. The company ...

taking a stake in the site. On November 13, 2017, ''LawNewz'' was

rebrand Rebranding is a marketing strategy in which a new name, term, symbol, design, concept or combination thereof is created for an established brand with the intention of developing a new, differentiated identity in the minds of consumers, investors ...

ed to ''Law&Crime'' and is available on most OTT platforms and many cable systems in the United States.

Ambo TV

On October 15, 2018, Abrams launched his new media service, ''Ambo TV'', a Christian TV streaming service "dedicated to broadcasting Christian sermons with an in-studio discussion." It was announced that the service would be available to the public in November 2018. The station will be located at new studios built especially for ''Ambo TV'' at Abrams Media studios in Herald Square in New York City and will feature live programming on the weekends.

Whiskey Raiders

In December 2020, Abrams launched ''Whiskey Raiders'', a site that uses a proprietary algorithm to rate whiskeys on a scale from 50 to 100. Abrams purchased Jay West's spirit review site, ''t8ke.review'', as part of the launch.

Writing

Abrams has published articles in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

'' magazine, ''

The American Lawyer ''The American Lawyer'' is a monthly legal magazine and website published by ALM Media. The periodical and its parent company, ALM (then American Lawyer Media), were founded in 1979 by Steven Brill.Yale Law and Policy Review''. He has also written for online magazines such as ''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

'', ''

Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

'', and

. In March 2010, Abrams published the book ''Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers and Just About Everything Else''. The book was #10 on ''

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 n ...

'' best seller list of July 17, 2011, and has been translated into Russian, Indonesian, Croatian, Swedish and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, among other languages. Abrams' second book, ''Lincoln's Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency'', tells the true story of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...

's last murder trial. The book was released in June 2018, and spent five weeks on the New York Times Bestseller list for hardcover non-fiction.

Mental Floss ''Mental Floss'' (stylized as ''mental_floss'') is an online magazine and its related American digital, print, and e-commerce media company focused on millennials. It is owned by Minute Media and based in New York City, United States. mentalfloss ...

rated the book #1 on their list "56 Best Books of 2018." Abrams’ third book, ''Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense: The Courtroom Battle to Save His Legacy'', published on May 21, 2019, and became a New York Times bestseller.

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

accused his former friend and ally, now turned rival, Republican Party leader

William Barnes Jr. William Barnes Jr. (November 17, 1866 – June 25, 1930) was an American journalist and politician. The longtime owner and publisher of the ''Albany Evening Journal'', Barnes was most notable as a major behind the scenes player in state and ...

of political corruption. Barnes responded by suing Roosevelt for an enormous sum that could have financially devastated him. Abrams' fourth book, ''John Adams Under Fire: The Founding Father's Fight for Justice in the Boston Massacre Murder Trial,'' published on March 3, 2020, and became a New York Times bestseller. The book describes how, in 1770, British soldiers shot and killed five civilians. As John Adams would later remember, "On that night the formation of American independence was born". Yet when the British soldiers faced trial, the young lawyer Adams was determined that they receive a fair one. He volunteered to represent them, keeping the peace in a powder keg of a colony, and in the process created some of the foundations of what would become United States law. Abrams' fifth book, ''Kennedy's Avenger: Assassination, Conspiracy, and the Forgotten Trial of Jack Ruby'' was published in June 2021. It tells the story of the trial of

Jack Ruby Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; April 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner and alleged associate of the Chicago Outfit who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of ...

, the infamous night club owner who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald. Abrams' latest book, ''Alabama v. King: Martin Luther King Jr. and the Criminal Trial That Launched the Civil Rights Movement '' was published in May 2022. With help from Dr. King's lawyer, Fred D. Gray, and frequent collaborator David Fisher, Abrams details Dr. King's arrest and trial as he became the face of the Montgomery Bus Boycott movement. Abrams has made other on-air appearances covering law, politics, and to promote his books, including on all three late night talk shows. He has appeared on '' Jimmy Kimmel Live'', ''

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ''The Late Show with Stephen Colbert'' is an American late-night news and liberal political satire talk show hosted by Stephen Colbert, which premiered on September 8, 2015. Produced by Spartina Productions and CBS Studios, it is the second ...

'' on CBS and the ''

Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 2010� ...

'' on NBC.

Personal life

In June 2012, Abrams had his first child with girlfriend Florinka Pesenti, who was part of the winning team on '' The Amazing Race 3''. They had a daughter in 2021. Abrams was a co-owner with David Zinczenko of the restaurant The Lion in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

neighborhood. The Lion closed in 2015. Abrams's sister,

Ronnie Abrams Ronnie Abrams (born June 3, 1968 in New York City, New York) is a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Early life and education Abrams is one of two children born to Efrat Abram ...

, was nominated for a federal judgeship by

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 (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...

in 2011. She received her commission on March 23, 2012. In 2021 Abrams purchased Laurel Lake Vineyards on Long Island's North Fork, which he relaunched in Summer 2021 under a name inspired by his two children, Ev&Em Vineyards.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abrams, Dan ABC News personalities New York (state) lawyers American legal writers American television executives American television reporters and correspondents Jewish American writers Columbia Law School alumni Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni Living people MSNBC people Anthem Sports & Entertainment NBC News people People from Manhattan Jewish American journalists 1966 births Riverdale Country School alumni