Jeff Greenfield

Infobox journalist
name = Jeff Greenfield


caption =
birthname =
birth_date = birth date and age|1943|6|10
birth_place = New York, NY, USA
age =
death_date =
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education =
occupation = Television journalist
alias =
gender = male
status = Divorced
title = Senior Political Correspondent
family =
spouse =
children = Casey
David
relatives =
ethnic =
religion =
salary =
networth =
credits = "CBS Evening News" Correspondent (2007–present)
agent =
URL = http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/04/02/utility/main2637898.shtml

Jeff Greenfield (born June 10, 1943) is an American television journalist and author.

Biography

He was born in New York City to Jewish parents Benjamin and Helen. He grew up in Manhattan and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science in 1960. He obtained a B.A. degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1964, where he served as editor-in-chief of the "Daily Cardinal". He graduated with an LLB degree from the Yale Law School in 1966, where he was a Note and Comment editor of the Yale Law Journal. He also served as a speechwriter for Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Greenfield lives in New York and Salisbury, Connecticut. He was married to Carrie Carmichael until their divorce in February 1993. They have one daughter, Casey, and one son, David. On April 24, 1993, he married Karen Gannett, [cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE4DE1431F936A15757C0A965958260|title= WEDDINGS; Jeff Greenfield and Karen Gannett |work=The New York Times|date=1993-04-25] from whom he is now divorced. He appeared on the Imus in the Morning show on August 11, 2008 and gave a very negative evaluation of the Beijing 2008 Olympics opening ceremony, calling it a "chilling" display. He also stated that the ceremony was shot in a similar way to the one held in Berlin, Germany in 1936, effectively comparing the Chinese to the Nazis.

Career

Over the course of his career he has reported primarily on domestic politics and the media, as well as occasionally on culture. He appeared on the "Firing Line" television program in 1968. He served as media commentator for CBS News from 1979 to 1983 and as Political and Media Analyst for ABC News from 1983 to 1997, often appearing on the "Nightline" program. He served as a Senior Analyst at CNN from 1998 to 2007. On 1 May, 2007, Greenfield returned to CBS News to serve as Senior Political Correspondent. [cite news|first=Howard|last=Kurtz|title= CNN Analyst Jeff Greenfield to Join CBS |url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/30/AR2007033001146.html|date=2007-03-30|accessdate=2008-05-09]

He has also written or contributed to eleven books, and written for "Time Magazine", "The New York Times", and Slate.com.

Greenfield is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, two for his reporting from South Africa (1985 and 1990) and one for a profile of H. Ross Perot (1992).

He has also received criticism from progressive groups such as FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) for his coverage of healthcare in the United States. While discussing Michael Moore's documentary "Sicko" on a June 22, 2007, edition of "CBS Evening News", Greenfield criticized Moore's proposals for healthcare reform, saying that "no one [presidential candidates] , Democrat or Republican, has come close to advocating the kind of government-run national health system Michael Moore proposes." He argued that "Americans are just different" and, unlike Canadians and Europeans, do not desire government-run national healthcare. FAIR countered that Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D.-Ohio), a presidential candidate, indeed endorsed that healthcare plan, as did other members of Congress supporting HR 676. They also cited recent polls that found widespread support among Americans for a state-run national health system, inclduing a CNN poll conducted May 4 - 6, 2007, in which 64% of those asked agreed that "government should provide a national health insurance program for all Americans, even if this would require higher taxes." [ [http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3124 "CBS's 'Sicko' Spin: Americans Don't Want Single-Payer Health-Except They Do,"] Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, June 25, 2007.] Greenfield responded to the criticism in a post on the CBS website. He wrote that Moore's proposal is not for a single-payer system, but a "government run system in which doctors work for the government," and that FAIR was "comparing apples and oranges; actually, apples and bowling balls is more like it." [ [http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/06/25/publiceye/entry2977235.shtml "Jeff Greenfield Responds to FAIR's Critique of Michael Moore Piece,"] CBS News: Public Eye, June 25, 2007.] [ [http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=3125 "Jeff Greenfield Responds to FAIR: CBS Reporter Misses the Point on Healthcare,"] Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, June 26, 2007.]

Books

*cite book|title=No Peace, No Place: Excavations Along the Generational Fault|publisher=Doubleday|date=1973|isbn= 978-0385019361
*cite book|title=Television: The First Fifty Years|publisher=Abrams|date=1977|isbn= 978-0810916517
*cite book|title=Playing to Win: An Insider's Guide to Politics|publisher=Simon and Schuster|date=1980|isbn=978-0671247621
*cite book|title=|publisher=Putnam|date=1995|isbn= 0452277051
*cite book|title=Oh, Waiter, One Order of Crow! Inside the Strangest Presidential Election Finish in American History|publisher=Putnam|date=2001|isbn= 978-0399147760

Notes

External links

*cite web|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2007/04/02/publiceye/entry2638175.shtml |title= Greenfield Joins CBS News|first=Brian|last=Montopoli|date=2007-04-02|work=CBS News Blog
* [http://www.nndb.com/people/476/000024404/ Jeff Greenfield biographical information]