Sam Donaldson
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Named best TV White House correspondent by the Washington Journalism Review in 1985.
Biography
Sometimes considered emotionless, lacking warmth or even acidic in his delivery, Sam Donaldson was a no-nonsense news reporter and anchor who did his homework in an age when pretty boys seemed to be taking over the anchor chairs and substance was often forgotten.
Donaldson broke into broadcasting soon after his discharge from the US Army in 1959 and within a year had gone from being a general announcer at a station in Dallas to first a general reporter then anchor at WTOP in Washington, DC. He remained at WTOP for six years before ABC lured him away, naming him as a general reporter and later the Capitol Hill correspondent (1968-77). Donaldson moved to covering The White House until the end of the Reagan administration in 1989. At the same time, he departed from his decade-long stint anchoring the ABC Weekend News and became co-anchor (with Diane Sawyer) of "PrimeTime Live" (1989- ). He also was a regular interviewer and commentator on Sunday morning's "This Week With David Brinkley."
Through his decades with ABC, Donaldson has covered several political conventions and campaigns and his 1975 primetime special, "ABC News Close-up on Washington Regulators: How They Cost You Money" was ground-breaking in its time. Donaldson was the first US network TV reporter to provide live coverage from Saudi Arabia after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and coverage from Panama after the US invasion in 1989. For "PrimeTime Live," Donaldson has tracked down Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke and, along with Sawyer, did an unprecedented broadcast from inside the Kremlin in 1989. But he is perhaps best known for his coverage of the Washington political scene and climate. His experience in that realm dates back to 1964 when he followed the presidential campaign of Barry Goldwater.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Costume-Wardrobe (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Writer (Special)
Producer (Special)
Special Thanks (Special)
Life Events
1956
Served in U.S. Army; rose to rank of captain
1959
Worked as mutual fund salesperson
1959
Broke into broadcasting as a general announcer at KRLD-TV in Dallas, TX
1961
Was TV news reporter, WTOP-TV in Washington, DC; became news anchor
1967
Joined ABC News as Washington news reporter
1973
Served as ABC's chief Watergate correspondent
1976
Was White House correspondent for ABC News during Carter and Reagan administrations
1979
Anchored ABC Sunday evening news
1981
Regularly contributed to "This Week With David Brinkley" (ABC)
1989
Co-hosted ABC's "Primetime Live" with Diane Sawyer
1996
Named as co-host with Cokie Roberts of "This Week" (ABC), show eventually renamed "This Week With Sam Donaldson and Cokie Roberts"; Robert announced departure fall 2002
1998
Re-assigned to duties as White House correspondent
1999
Underwent throat surgery to remove a benign polyp
1999
Stepped down as ABC News' White House correspondent (announcement made August 31)
1999
Announced signing of multiyear contract with ABC News, which called for him to serve as substitute anchor of "20/20" and to launch an Internet-only news program to run three times per week on ABCNews.com
2001
Appeared in documentary " Ronald Reagan: The Hollywood Years, the Presidential Years"
2009
Retired from full-time work with ABC News
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
Named best TV White House correspondent by the Washington Journalism Review in 1985.
