CBS News Promotes 3 Correspondents
Three award-winning correspondents are getting major new assignments, CBS News announced Thursday.
Jim Axelrod, a CBS News correspondent since 1999 who covered Campaign '04 and the Iraq War as an embedded reporter, will become Chief White House Correspondent. He replaces John Roberts, who announced Wednesday that he was leaving CBS to join CNN as a national correspondent.
Lara Logan, who joined CBS News in 2002, and reports primarily for the CBS Evening News and 60 Minutes will become Chief Foreign Correspondent.
Byron Pitts, the lead reporter for CBS News' coverage of the Sept. 11 attacks and also an embedded reporter in Iraq, becomes National Correspondent, covering the biggest domestic stories and reporting on a new beat focusing on faith, family and the culture.
"Jim, Lara and Byron are three of the most dedicated reporters and skilled storytellers in the business," said Sean McManus, President, CBS News and CBS Sports. "These high-profile assignments signal the depth of our commitment to covering Washington, international news and the national scene."
All the assignments become effective on Feb. 6.
"I have never seen a reporter as intensely driven as Jim," said McManus. "That aggressiveness will serve him and CBS News very well on the White House beat, one of the most crucial and competitive for any news organization. I can't wait to turn him loose.
McManus said Logan "has proved time and again how dedicated she is to reporting on and from the hottest spots in international news," especially Afghanistan, Iraq and the Middle East. "This new assignment will broaden the range of stories she'll report, and she'll continue to report for 60 Minutes."
Speaking of Pitts, McManus said: "Byron has emerged as one of the best on-scene reporters and storytellers in the business. He talks to viewers in a strikingly direct way, and his ability to get to the heart of a story and relate that eloquently is one of his many strengths. This new assignment will showcase Byron's skills on the most important domestic and breaking stories, as well as a new area of concentration – faith, family and the culture."