Catherine Herridge is a Canadian-American journalist who was a senior investigative correspondent for CBS News in Washington D.C. from 2019 to 2024. She began at CBS after leaving her role as chief intelligence correspondent for Fox News Channel, which she joined at its inception in 1996.[1] Herridge was among twenty CBS News employees who were terminated in February 2024, along with Jeff Glor, Jeff Pegues, Pamela Falk, and Christina Ruffini.
Catherine Herridge | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Herridge in 2020 | |
| Born | Toronto, Ontario |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) Columbia University (MA) |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, author |
| Spouse | Lt Col J.D. Hayes |
| Children | 2 |
Early life and education
editHerridge was born in Toronto, Ontario, and attended Jarvis Collegiate Institute for high school before moving to the US for college. She earned a Bachelor's degree from Harvard College and a Master's degree in journalism from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.[2][3]
Career
editIn journalism
editInitially a London-based correspondent for ABC News, Herridge joined the Fox News Channel at its inception in 1996. Herridge has also served as a field correspondent for the defunct Fox newsmagazine The Pulse. At Fox, Herridge regularly covered stories centered on Hillary Clinton, including her campaign for Senate in 2000; she also produced.notable coverage of the 2004 Democratic presidential primary, the D.C.-area sniper attacks, and the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui.[citation needed]
Herridge was in New York on September 11, 2001, and reported for the network from locations in New York City.[4] On October 31, 2019, Fox News announced Herridge would be leaving the network shortly after being awarded the Tex McCrary Award for Journalism from the Congressional Medal of Honor Society for her enterprise reporting at Fox News.[citation needed] She then joined CBS News as a senior investigative correspondent later that year.[1] Some CBS staffers and Democrats accused Herridge of promoting Republican talking points and conservative conspiracy theories. Daily Beast media reporter Maxwell Tani said Herridge at times got scoops with prominent Trump administration officials and asked "softball" questions, adding she was "considered a star in conservative media circles" but was "careful to never cross the line into overt advocacy." However, CNN anchor Jake Tapper and national security attorney Mark Zaid have defended her work.[5]
In 2017, citing to one of more anonymous sources, Herridge reported on an FBI investigation of University of Management and Technology and its founder, Yanping Chen. Charges were never filed and Chen subsequently sued several government agencies alleging they had leaked information to Herridge in order to damage her reputation. Chen's lawyers issued a subpoena for Herridge to disclose the names of her sources; Herridge refused to do so and in February 2024 was held in contempt of court by the federal judge overseeing Chen's lawsuit.[6][7][8] According to Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, courts had ruled Herridge would be unable to appeal the order to testify until she had first been held in contempt for refusing.[8] Herridge's appeal of the contempt order is currently still pending before the DC Circuit Court.
Herridge was among twenty CBS News employees laid off on February 13, 2024, among 800 employees terminated by CBS parent Paramount Global.[9] She had been probing the Hunter Biden laptop scandal. On Monday, February 26, 2024, CBS News returned confidential files belonging to Herridge amid mounting pressure from the House Judiciary Committee and the union which represented her.[10]
Author
editIn 2011, Herridge authored The Next Wave: On the Hunt for Al Qaeda's American Recruits.[11]
Personal life
editOn June 6, 2006, she donated a portion of her liver to her infant son, who was diagnosed with biliary atresia.[12][13][14]
References
edit- ^ a b Stelter, Brian (October 31, 2019). "Fox News departure: Catherine Herridge joins CBS News, saying 'facts matter'". CNN.
- ^ "Alumni Board 2015-16". Columbia University. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- ^ "Catherine Herridge". Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- ^ "Catherine Herridge". The Aspen Institute. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
- ^ Tani, Maxwell (May 15, 2020). "The New CBS Reporter Driving Democrats—and Some of Her Own Colleagues—Crazy". The Daily Beast. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ^ Richer, Alanna Durkin; Tucker, Eric (November 14, 2023). "A veteran journalist who is refusing to divulge her sources could be held in contempt of court". AP News. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ Richer, Alanna Durkin; Tucker, Eric (February 29, 2024). "Judge holds veteran journalist Catherine Herridge in civil contempt for refusing to divulge source". AP News. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ a b "Chen v. FBI". Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ Steinberg, Brian (February 13, 2024). "Paramount Layoffs Hit 20 CBS News Staffers". Variety.
- ^ Steigrad, Alexandra (February 26, 2024). "CBS News returns confidential files of reporter covering Hunter Biden laptop scandal".
- ^ Herridge, Catherine (June 21, 2011). The Next Wave: On the Hunt for Al Qaeda's American Recruits (1st ed.). Crown. ISBN 978-0307885258.
- ^ Van Susteren, Greta (June 6, 2006). "Catherine Herridge Fights to Save Her Son's Life – Fox News". Fox News. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
- ^ Flood, Brian (May 20, 2020). "Media largely ignored Biden staffer's attack on CBS News' Catherine Herridge". Fox News.
- ^ "Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts - Patrick Kennedy, Facing Up to a 'Miserable' Reality". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on December 6, 2020.