Faith Daniels (born March 9, 1957) is an American television news anchor, reporter, and talk show host.

Early life

Daniels was born to an unwed mother and lived eight months in a Catholic orphanage before being adopted by Steven A. Skowronski, a sheet metal worker, and his wife, Mary, who would name their daughter Faith Agostine Skowronski. Daniels grew up in

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...

, and graduated magna cum laude from Bethany College in

Bethany, West Virginia Bethany is a town in southern Brooke County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 756 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area. It is best known as the home of Bethany College, a private liberal ...

, in 1979.

Media career

While still a junior at Bethany College, she began her media career in 1978, working as an intern at

WTRF-TV WTRF-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Wheeling, West Virginia, United States, serving the Wheeling, West Virginia–Steubenville, Ohio market as an affiliate of CBS, MyNetworkTV, and ABC. The station is owned by Nexstar Me ...

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...

, where she was initially credited as Faith Agostine. In 1981, Daniels moved to

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

, where she worked for WRAU-TV and WMBD-TV, the

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 ...

and

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

affiliates. The following year, she moved to

WBNS-TV WBNS-TV (channel 10) is a television station in Columbus, Ohio, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside the company's sole radio properties, WBNS (1460 AM) and WBNS-FM (97.1). The stations share studios on Twi ...

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

to become the noon anchor. In 1983, she joined

WTAE-TV WTAE-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, affiliated with ABC. It has been owned by Hearst Television since the station's inception, making this one of two stations that have been built and signed on ...

in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Daniels' national news career began at CBS News in the spring of 1985, where she anchored the ''

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 anc ...

''. At age 28, she was one of the youngest national news anchors. She joined

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

in June 1990 as the news anchor for ''

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 the ''NBC Sunday Nightly News'', and she became anchor of the now-defunct ''NBC News at Sunrise''. In 1991, Daniels became the first journalist to host her own national daily talk show,''A Closer Look'' (later renamed ''Faith Daniels''), which was part of NBC's midday daytime schedule. Among the show's prominent interviews was with Stacey Koon—one of the police officers involved in the beating of

Rodney King Rodney Glen King (April 2, 1965June 17, 2012) was an African American man who was a victim of police brutality. On March 3, 1991, he was beaten by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers during his arrest after a pursuit for driving whi ...

—on October 24, 1992.

Popular culture appearances

An active supporter of the National Council for Adoption, Daniels no longer works as an anchor, reporter, or host; however, she did return to public view by playing the part of the candidates' debate moderator in

Robin Williams Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...

's movie '' Man of the Year'' (2006).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, Faith 1957 births Living people American television news anchors American women journalists Bethany College (West Virginia) alumni Television personalities from New Rochelle, New York CBS News people NBC News people Journalists from New York (state)