James LaPorta

James LaPorta is a national security coordinating producer in CBS News' Washington bureau and has covered national security and military affairs for over a decade. Prior to joining CBS News in 2024, he worked as an investigative reporter for the Associated Press and was a senior correspondent for Newsweek magazine covering military affairs.

He has broken both national and international news for multiple mainstream news outlets; helped mentor and teach the next generation of young journalists for Report for America; contributed to the AP Stylebook and taught effective strategies to journalists in using public record laws and the Freedom of Information Act at both the Associated Press and CBS News.

For his journalism, Jim has won multiple journalism awards and accolades over the past decade. Among them, five Military Reporters and Editors Awards; the Fourth Estate Award from the American Legion; the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation Gen. OP Smith Award; a honorable mention for distinguished reporting on national defense from the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation; and a 2022 Peabody Award nomination.

Jim has contributed reporting to two PBS Frontline documentaries and was a featured speaker in "Turning Point: 9/11 and the War on Terror," a 2021 five-part documentary series created for Netflix, which was later nominated for an Emmy award.

Aside from journalism, Jim has worked as a contributing writer and military advisor to scripted television shows such as "Chicago P.D." on NBC and "FBI" on CBS. For almost four years, Jim was the primary technical consultant for the Emmy award winning show "This is Us" on NBC.

Before journalism, he served eight years on active-duty in the U.S. Marine Corps as a rifleman, infantry squad leader, intelligence cell chief and as a combat marksmanship instructor. He's a veteran of the Afghanistan war.