Sam Donaldson

Sam Donaldson
RTVJ Reunion Dinner Keynote Speaker
"Call me a braggart, call me arrogant. People at ABC (and elsewhere) have called
me worse. But when you need the job done on deadline, you'll call me."
"Don't sit around and wait," he said. "Don't lead a life of quiet desperation.
Opportunities worth taking aren't easy."
- Sam Donaldson quotes.
http://www.abcmedianet.com/shows05/news/correspondents/donaldson.shtml
Sam Donaldson, a 37-year ABC News veteran, served two appointments as chief White House
correspondent for ABC News from January 1998 to August 1999 and from 1977-1989, covering
Presidents Carter, Reagan and Clinton. Mr. Donaldson also co-anchored, with Diane Sawyer,
"PrimeTime Live" from August 1989, until it merged with "20/20" in 1999. He co-anchored the ABC
News Sunday morning broadcast, "This Week With Sam Donaldson & Cokie Roberts," from
December 1996 to September 2002. From October 2001 to May 2004, he hosted "The Sam
Donaldson Show -- Live in America," a daily news/talk radio program broadcast on ABC News
Radio affiliates across the country.
In the three-hour show, Mr. Donaldson tackled the day's top stories and important issues - getting
comment from newsmakers, engaging listener calls and, of course, inserting his own unique
experience and opinion.
Currently Mr. Donaldson is appearing on ABC New Now, the ABC NEWS digital network. His daily
half-hour show, "Politics Live," is an unscripted dialogue with numerous guests and commentators
discussing the top political news stories of the day. The show also features a "Stump Sam"
segment, where viewers can submit political trivia questions via email and quiz him.
From 1999 to 2001, Mr. Donaldson also hosted SamDonaldson@abcnews.com, the first regularly
scheduled Internet webcast produced by a television network. On it, he interviewed former
Presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and George Bush, along with such diverse personalities as
actor Sean Connery, comedian Janeane Garofalo, tech company CEO Jeff Bezos, and sports
great Willie Mays.
On "PrimeTime Live," Mr. Donaldson covered breaking news events, reported on a wide range of
topics, and conducted scores of timely interviews with newsmakers -- including President Clinton,
Hillary Rodham Clinton, the first pimetime interview with then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Colin
Powell and the first primetime interviews with George W. Bush when he ran for Governor of Texas
and when he ran for president.
Mr. Donaldson also reported from Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1989 as part of an hour-long, awardwinning "PrimeTime Live" investigation of the Pan Am 103 bombing. And in June 1997, along with
Diane Sawyer, he co-anchored a special edition of "PrimeTime Live" dedicated to the mystery of
TWA Flight 800, which exploded shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy airport in New York the
year before.
During the 1997-98 season, Mr. Donaldson co-anchored a special edition of "PrimeTime Live" with
Judd Rose, in which the two men shared their personal experiences with cancer.
Mr. Donaldson was also anchor of "World News Sunday" for ten years (1979-1989) and a regular
interviewer on "This Week with David Brinkley," from the program's inception in 1981 until Mr.
Brinkley retired in 1996. Since joining ABC News in 1967 as Capitol Hill correspondent, Mr.
Donaldson has covered many major news stories, including the Vietnam War, Watergate, the
House Judiciary Committee impeachment investigation in 1974 and the Gulf war in 1991. Two
days after the Gulf war ended, he co-anchored a special edition of "PrimeTime Live" from Kuwait
City.
Mr. Donaldson has covered every national political convention since 1964 with the exception of the
1992 Republican Convention in Houston. He reported on the presidential campaigns of Senator
Barry Goldwater, Senator Eugene McCarthy, Senator Hubert Humphrey, President Jimmy Carter,
President Ronald Reagan and Governor Michael Dukakis. He also reported as an eye-witness on
Spiro Agnew's no contest plea in a Baltimore courtoom that forced Agnew's resignation from the
Vice Presidency.
In 1998 Mr. Donaldson received the Broadcaster of the Year Award from the National Press
Foundation. The Washington Journalism Review named him the Best Television White House
Correspondent in the Business in 1985 and the Best Television Correspondent in the Business in
1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989. Mr. Donaldson has won many other awards, among them four Emmy
Awards and three George Foster Peabody Awards.
As a college student, Mr. Donaldson began his career in broadcasting at the age of seventeen by
working for local radio stations in El Paso, Texas, and has enjoyed reporting on the radio ever
since. An eye-witness to the shooting attempt on President Ronald Reagan's life in 1981, Mr.
Donaldson delivered the first report on any broadcast medium of that event on the ABC radio
network.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Mr. Donaldson received his Bachelor's degree from Texas Western
College and did graduate work at the University of Southern California. His 1987 autobiography,
"Hold On, Mr. President," was an international bestseller.
Mr. Donaldson served on active duty with the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1959, rising to the rank of
Captain, USAR. After resuming his broadcasting career at KRLD-TV in Dallas in 1959, he joined
WTOP-TV in Washington, DC in 1961, where, along with local and regional news, he covered such
national stories as the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, President Kennedy's funeral in 1963, passage
of the Civil Rights Act in the Senate in 1964 and Senate hearings on the Vietnam war in 1965. He
also anchored the station's weekend news broadcasts, and produced and moderated a weekly
interview program. Mr. Donaldson joined ABC News in 1967.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Biography: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/don0bio-1
Sam Donaldson, a 37-year ABC News veteran, served two appointments as chief White House
correspondent for ABC News from January 1998 to August 1999 and from 1977-1989, covering
Presidents Carter, Reagan and Clinton. Mr. Donaldson also co-anchored, with Diane Sawyer,
“PrimeTime Live” from August 1989, until it merged with "20/20" in 1999. Mr. Donaldson coanchored the ABC News Sunday morning broadcast, “This Week With Sam Donaldson & Cokie
Roberts” from December 1996 to September 2002. From October 2001 to May 2004 Mr.
Donaldson hosted ”The Sam Donaldson Show - Live In America,” a daily news/talk radio program
broadcast on ABC News Radio affiliates across the country. From 1999 to 2001, Mr. Donaldson
also hosted SamDonaldson@abcnews.com, the first regularly scheduled Internet Webcast
produced by a television network. On this Webcast, Mr. Donaldson interviewed former Presidents
Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and George Bush.
On “PrimeTime Live,” Mr. Donaldson covered breaking news events, reported on a wide range of
topics, and conducted scores of timely interviews with newsmakers -- including President Clinton,
Hillary Rodham Clinton, the first pime time interview with then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Colin
Powell and the first prime time interviews with George W. Bush when he ran for Governor of Texas
and when he ran for president. During the 1997-98 season, Mr. Donaldson co-anchored
“PrimeTime Live” with Judd Rose, in which the two men shared their personal experiences with
cancer.
Mr. Donaldson was also anchored of “World News Sunday” for ten years (1979-1989) and was a
regular interviewer on "This Week with David Brinkley” from the program's inception in 1981 until
Mr. Brinkley retired in 1996. Since joining ABC News in 1967 as Capitol Hill correspondent, Mr.
Donaldson has covered many major news stories, including the Vietnam War, Watergate, the
House Judiciary Committee impeachment investigation in 1974, and the Gulf war in 1991. Mr.
Donaldson has covered every national political convention since 1964 with the exception of the
1992 Republican Convention in Houston.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Mr. Donaldson received his Bachelor’s degree from Texas Western
College and did graduate work at the University of Southern California. His 1987 autobiography,
“Hold On, Mr. President,” was an international best-seller.
Mr. Donaldson served on active duty with the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1959, rising to the rank of
Captain, USAR. After resuming his broadcasting career at KRLD-TV in Dallas in 1959, he joined
WTOP-TV in Washington, D.C., in 1961, where he covered such national stories as the Cuban
Missile Crisis of 1962, President Kennedy's funeral in 1963, passage of the Civil Rights Act in the
Senate in 1964, and Senate hearings on the Vietnam war in 1965. Mr. Donaldson joined ABC
News in 1967.
In 1998, Mr. Donaldson received the Broadcaster of the Year award from the National Press
Foundation. The Washington Journalism Review named him the Best Television White House
Correspondent in the Business in 1985 and the Best Television Correspondent in the Business in
1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989. Mr. Donaldson has won four Emmy Awards and three George Foster
Peabody Awards.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------From: http://www.bio.org/events/2003/speaker/plenary/donaldson.asp
Sam Donaldson, Veteran Washington Correspondent, ABC News
Wednesday, June 25, Plenary Breakfast
Sam Donaldson, a 37-year ABC News veteran, served two appointments as chief
White House correspondent for ABC News from January 1998 to August 1999 and
from 1977-1989, covering Presidents Carter, Reagan and Clinton. Mr. Donaldson is
currently the co-anchor, with Cokie Roberts, of the ABC News Sunday morning
broadcast, This Week With Sam Donaldson & Cokie Roberts.
Sam Donaldson is also the host of The Sam Donaldson Show - Live In America, a daily news/talk
radio program broadcast on ABC News Radio affiliates across the country. In the two-hour show,
Sam tackles the day's top stories and important issues - getting comment from newsmakers,
engaging listener calls, and of course, inserting his own unique experience and opinion.
As a college student, Mr. Donaldson began his career in broadcasting at the age of seventeen by
working for local radio stations in El Paso, Texas, and has enjoyed reporting on the radio ever
since. Mr. Donaldson, an eyewitness to the shooting attempt on President Ronald Reagan's life in
1981, delivered the first report on any broadcast medium of that event on the ABC radio network.
Donaldson is also the host of SamDonaldson@abcnews.com. The first regularly scheduled
Internet Webcast produced by a television network. On this Webcast, Mr. Donaldson has
interviewed former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and George Bush along with such
diverse personalities as actor Sean Connery, comedian Janeane Garofalo, tech company CEO
Jeff Bezos, and sports great Willie Mays.
Mr. Donaldson was co-anchor, with Diane Sawyer, of PrimeTime Live since the program
premiered in August 1989, until it merged with 20/20 in 1999. On PrimeTime Live, Mr. Donaldson
covered breaking news events, reported on a wide range of topics, and conducted scores of
timely interviews with newsmakers - including President Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton, the first
prime time interview with then chairman of the Joint Chiefs Colin Powell and the first prime time
interviews with George W. Bush when he ran for Governor of Texas and when he ran for
president.
Donaldson also reported from Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1989, as part of an hour-long, awardwinning PrimeTime Live investigation of the Pan Am 103 bombing. In June 1997, Mr. Donaldson,
along with Diane Sawyer, co-anchored a special edition of PrimeTime Live dedicated to the
mystery of TWA Flight 800, which exploded shortly after takeoff from John F. Kennedy airport in
New York the year before.
During the 1997-98 Season, Mr. Donaldson co-anchored a special edition of PrimeTime Live with
Judd Rose, in which the two men shared their personal experiences with cancer.
Mr. Donaldson was also anchor of World News Sunday for ten years (1979-1989) and a regular
interviewer on This Week with David Brinkley from the program's inception in 1981 until Mr.
Brinkley retired in 1996. Since joining ABC News in 1967 as Capitol Hill correspondent, Mr.
Donaldson has covered many major news stories, including the Vietnam War, Watergate, the
House Judiciary Committee impeachment investigation in 1974, and the Gulf war in 1991.
Two days after the Gulf war ended, he co-anchored a special edition of PrimeTime Live from
Kuwait City.
Mr. Donaldson has covered every national political convention since 1964 with the exception of
the 1992 Republican Convention in Houston. He reported on the presidential campaigns of
Senator Barry Goldwater, Senator Eugene McCarthy, Senator Hubert Humphrey, President
Jimmy Carter, President Ronald Reagan and Governor Michael Dukakis. He also reported as an
eyewitness on Spiro Agnew's no contest plea in a Baltimore courtroom that forced Agnew's
resignation from the vice presidency.
In 1998, Mr. Donaldson received the Broadcaster of the Year award from the National Press
Foundation. The Washington Journalism Review named him the Best Television White House
Correspondent in the Business in 1985 and the Best Television Correspondent in the Business in
1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989. Mr. Donaldson has won many other awards, among them four
Emmy Awards and a George Foster Peabody Award.
Born in El Paso, Texas, Mr. Donaldson received his Bachelor's degree from Texas Western
College and did graduate work at the University of Southern California. His 1987 autobiography,
Hold On, Mr. President, was an international bestseller.
Mr. Donaldson served on active duty with the U.S. Army from 1956 to 1959, rising to the rank of
Captain, USAR. After resuming his broadcasting career at KRLD-TV in Dallas in 1959, he joined
WTOP-TV in Washington, D.C., in 1961, where, along with local and regional news, he covered
such national stories as the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, President Kennedy's funeral in 1963,
passage of the Civil Rights Act in the Senate in 1964, and Senate hearings on the Vietnam war in
1965. He also anchored the station's weekend news broadcasts, and produced and moderated a
weekly interview program. Mr. Donaldson joined ABC News in 1967.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sam Donaldson: Network News Dead
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
Broadcasting & Cable: Former ABC News reporter/anchor Sam Donaldson is ready to say the last
rites for network news because it will soon lose its dominant position as Americans' primary source
of news. "I think it's dead. Sorry," he said during a breakfast panel Tuesday at the National
Association of Broadcasters' convention in Las Vegas. "The monster anchors are through."
\
Even though 30 million viewers still turn to networks news each night and garner ratings well above
CNN and Fox News, networks news operations long ago lost their role as the sources Americans
rely on during time of major breaking news, said Donaldson.
"God forbid, if someone shot the President, which network would you turn to? It will be cable, the
Internet--something other than General Hospital being interrupted."
Increasingly, viewers will continue turning to alternative sources for everyday news as well, he
said.
Donaldson was joined on the panel by CNN political analyst Jeff Greenfield and CBS Sunday
Morning's Charles Osgood., both of whom were less pessimistic about network news' future.
"If it's dying, it's dying a very slow death," Greenfield said. Although the network news monopoly
was "smashed" by cable, broadcast news will redefine itself, thought he didn't yet know how.
Osgood said the network news can remain competitive with other platforms but must be constantly
reevaluated to remain competitive--a fact that makes him glad he's at the tail end of his career
rather than the beginning. "It used to be when we wanted to make a show more appealing to more
people, the first thing we did was design a new set."
During their talk the three reporters came out in favor of a federal shield law that would allow
journalists to protect the identity of their sources without threat of jail.
Donaldson, however, said journalists shouldn't have blanket protection when lives are at stake, but
didn't know how to draft a law that would balance the need to ensure that journalists can protect
whistle blowers but won't impede legal investigations.
The three also agreed that that Internet bloggers have had a generally positive impact on news
because mainstream reporters are forced to better verify their information and pare opinions out of
their work or face he wrath of scrutinizing critics.
From:
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ABC NEWS
Three Bodies Found at Sam Donaldson’s Ranch Thu Jul 8, 2004
Gruesome Discovery Three Bodies Found at Sam Donaldson’s Ranch
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/WorldNewsTonight/donaldson_ranch_040707.html
July 7, 2004— Three bodies were found at a New Mexico ranch owned by ABC newsman Sam
Donaldson, and authorities said they were treating
the case as a triple homicide.
The bodies of a man and two women were found Tuesday on Donaldson's remote ranch north of
Hondo, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department said.
"My wife Jan and I are shocked by the apparent triple homicide that took place on our ranch in
Hondo, New Mexico, sometime over the Fourth of July weekend while we were away in Santa Fe,"
Donaldson said in a statement. "We understand the investigation is continuing, and we have been
asked by authorities not to comment further at this time."
Donaldson called the sheriff's department at 5 p.m. Tuesday after he went to the house of his
ranch manager and found an "obvious crime scene," Sheriff Tom Sullivan said.
Sheriff's deputies sent to the ranch searched the area and found the bodies in a shallow grave,
Sullivan said. The victims' identities were being withheld pending notification of relatives.
Donaldson and his wife are not suspects, Sullivan said.
Donaldson's ranch is in the south-central part of the state, between Roswell and Ruidoso. He is a
native of El Paso, Texas, and his father bought farmland in New Mexico in 1910. Donaldson has
added to the property over the years.
Donaldson joined ABC News in 1967 and covered the administrations of presidents Jimmy Carter
and Ronald Reagan as chief White House correspondent. He also was the anchor of World News
Sunday and hosted news programs including This Week and Primetime Live.
========================
Wednesday, July 7, 2004 · Last updated 6:27 p.m. PT
Boy arrested in deaths at Donaldson ranch
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/tv/aptv_story.asp?category=1401&slug=Donaldson's%20Ranch%20
Death
ABC Television newsman San Donaldson questions White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry
during the daily White House briefing in the White House briefing room in this Jan. 12, 1998 file
photo. Three people were found slain on a New Mexico ranch owned by ABC newsman Sam
Donaldson, authorities said Wednesday, July 7, 2004. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
HONDO, N.M. -- The 14-year-old son of the manager of ABC newsman Sam Donaldson's New
Mexico ranch was arrested Wednesday on charges of murdering his father, stepmother and
stepsister, authorities said
Cody Posey was arrested at a friend's home in the Hondo area around 5 p.m., Sheriff Tom Sullivan
said.
The bodies were found at the ranch after Donaldson went to the manger's house on Tuesday and
discovered an "obvious crime scene," Sullivan said earlier. Deputies searched the area and found
three bodies in a shallow grave.
The dead were identified as Delbert Paul Posey, the teen's father; his stepsister, Mary Lee Schmie,
14; and his stepmother, whose name was withheld because her relatives had not been notified,
Sullivan said.
"My wife Jan and I are shocked by the apparent triple homicide that took place on our ranch
sometime over the Fourth of July weekend while we were away in Santa Fe," Donaldson said in a
statement before the arrest.
The Lincoln County ranch is in rolling pastureland about 125 miles northeast of Las Cruces.
Donaldson, a journalist with ABC since 1967, owns three ranches in south-central New Mexico and
has extensive ties to the state. He grew up on a cotton farm in New Mexico and graduated from
New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell.
July 28, 1997
Sam Donaldson interprets
Washington foibles
Calls Senate hearings on campaign finance a 'bust'
By Mary Ann Barton
senior staff writer
(in photo at right: ABC News' Sam Donaldson addresses NACO
members.
photo by David Hathcox).
W
hen ABC Newsman Sam Donaldson covered the
White House, the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
was Ronald Reagan. He sometimes went by the
nickname "The Teflon President," because scandals
came and went but never seemed to stick to the
president.
In an address to members of NACo at the Annual Conference, Donaldson noted that the current
occupant of the White House - President Bill Clinton - too, is something of a "Teflon president."
But he's getting some help from the Republicans in Congress. Donaldson noted that the first week
of the much-ballyhooed Senate campaign finance hearings, chaired by Sen. Fred Thompson (RTenn.), was a bust.
"So here we are this week, starting out with a hearing that - it's like saying ... OK, here it comes,
here it comes, here it comes ... and the public finally says 'Alright, I'll take a little look.' Here it is!
Nothing," Donaldson said.
Donaldson called the hearings a "bust" so far, because they have failed to immediately capture
America's attention.
"Once you get the public to focus a little bit on what you're doing and you're not doing anything, you
can't come back - it's like the little boy that cried wolf," he said.
Donaldson noted that the highlights of the hearing, so far, were actually blunders made by two
senators who sit on the committee.
"When you have a week in which the two most important events were not a witness testifying, but
one senator - [Republican Sen.] Robert Torricelli from New Jersey, in an impassioned opening
statement, saying that he remembers as a little boy watching the Kefauver hearings, and watching
how they unfairly slammed Italian Americans and warning us all ... that we ought not to tar Asian
Americans as a group ... that he remembers the flickering image of the Kefauver hearings; it turns
out he was six days old! I mean it gives elaboration a bad name."
Another "highlight," Donaldson noted, came courtesy of Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.).
"...The other [most important event of the week] was Brownback deciding to do some imitation of,
'No tickee, no laundry.' When he did his little Pidgin English thing there - I'm sure he's a good man,
with a good heart and all that - but here were the Democrats for months saying 'Don't Asian bash,
this is all about Asian-bashing,' and the Republicans saying 'No of course it's not;' and then a
Republican senator says 'no tickee, no laundry'...this is not good," Donaldson said.
The hearings, the ABC anchorman predicted, will not hurt the president.
"Bill Clinton will serve out his presidency, as far as these hearings are going, without another
scratch," Donaldson said. "He is a man who can walk into a room, as you've noticed, have the
plaster ceiling fall down on his head and walk out with not a fleck of plaster in his hair. It's going to
happen again."
Online at ABCnews.com – video clips
http://abcnews.go.com/search?searchtext=Sam%20Donaldson&type=
UTEP Launches the Sam Donaldson
Center for Communication Studies
- Newsman Travels to El Paso for Announcement EL PASO - Today, the University of Texas at El Paso announced that the university’s Center for
Communications will be named after one of its most recognized alumnus, Sam Donaldson.
The 35-year ABC News veteran, has verbally dueled with such powerful figures as former
presidents Jimmy Carter and George Bush, amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos, designer Oscar de la
Renta and Minnesota governor Jesse Ventura. In the process, the Texas Western College (Now
UTEP) graduate has gained a name for himself as one of the nation’s best-known broadcast
journalists.
UTEP’s Center for Communication Studies will capitalize on the university’s unique location on the
U.S.-Mexico border by housing research, outreach and professional initiatives, including:
• a Latin American Media Institute,
• a collaborative communication research institute,
• an internship program for students,
• a visiting lecturer program and
• a fellowship program with specialized courses and workshops.
Donaldson grew up in the Sun City where he attended El Paso High School and graduated from
Texas Western College (now UTEP) in 1955. He was station manager for KFOV-FM, now KTEP.
Radio announcements were accompanied by live piano, and a seven-girl staff dominated traffic
reports. The Texas Western Showcase originated from the campus studio and was broadcast over
the KEPO radio station. Kelly Hall was the home of KVOF radio, as well as The Prospector.
Donaldson began his broadcast career at KRLD-TV in Dallas in 1959. He soon joined WTOP-TV in
Washington, D.C., where he anchored the station's weekend news broadcasts, and produced and
moderated a weekly interview program, before joining ABC NEWS in 1967. Donaldson revisited his
hometown last year, to serve as Grand Marshal of the 65th Annual Las Palmas Del Sol Sun Bowl
Parade on Thanksgiving Day. Now, his name will remain as a permanent tribute one of the region’s
most beloved sons.
"Having the center named after Sam Donaldson can inspire a lot of students," said Larry Monarrez,
editor the student newspaper, The Prospector, said. " Donaldson is the embodiment of everything
communication/journalism students want, and his name will give the center credibility and
prominence. And what better way to do it at UTEP than with a hometown success story?”
In 47 years of service to his journalism career, Donaldson’s highlights include:
• Investigating a U.S. Naval air station in Bermuda that appeared to remain open as a
vacation playground for military brass at the expense of taxpayers.
• Exposing how, for 40 years, the six major tobacco companies waged campaigns to obscure
the truth about smoking hazards and fend off regulation.
• Updating his report on the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., posing the theory that the
killing was a conspiracy possibly involving the U.S. government.
• Tracking down Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke in Bariloche, Argentina.
• His 1987 autobiography, Hold On, Mr. President, which was an international best seller.
Since joining ABC NEWS as a Capital Hill correspondent, Donaldson has covered history-making
news events such as the Vietnam War, Watergate and the House Judiciary Committee
impeachment investigation in 1974.
He served two appointments as chief White House correspondent for ABC NEWS from January
1998 to August 1999 and from 1977 to 1989, covering former presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald
Reagan and Bill Clinton. He covered the White House for World News Tonight and other ABC
NEWS programs.
Donaldson may have gained a reputation as a tenacious reporter, throwing out tough questions in
a determined tone to presidents and press secretaries in the line of his journalistic fire, but the
nation witnessed the private side of the journalist when he faced one of his most difficult personal
battles.
In 1995, he went National Institutes of Health where he underwent successful surgery to remove a
malignant tumor in a lymph node.
He returned to journalism at full force and is the co-anchor, with Cokie Roberts, of the ABC NEWS
Sunday morning broadcast, This Week With Sam Donaldson & Cokie Roberts. He also is the host
of SamDonaldson@abcnews.com - a live Internet newscast broadcast at 12:30 p.m., ET, Monday
through Friday. It’s the first regularly scheduled web-based newscast produced by a television
network.
For more information on Sam Donaldson visit:
abcnews.go.com/sections/ThisWeek/ThisWeek/donaldson_sam_bio.html