 Byron Pitts speaks at the RTNDAC convention on Oct. 10, 2009. Read an interview with Byron at Poynter online ... |
Byron Pitts
In "Step Out on Nothing," in stores Sept. 29, Byron Pitts chronicles his astonishing story of overcoming a childhood filled with obstacles to achieve enormous success in life.
Throughout Pitts' difficult youth – his parents separated when he was 12 and his mother worked two jobs to make ends meet – he suffered from a debilitating stutter. But Pitts was keeping an even more embarrassing secret: He was also functionally illiterate. For a kid from inner-city Baltimore, it was a recipe for failure.
Throughout his life, a few key people ‘stepped out on nothing’ to make a difference for him – from his mother who worked tirelessly to raise her kids right while delivering ample amounts of tough love to his college roommate who helped Byron practice his vocabulary.
In "Step Out on Nothing," Pitts even learns from those who didn’t believe in him, like the college professor who labeled him a failure and said he would amount to nothing.
By following his steadfast passion for journalism, Pitts persevered. And after 15 years in local television, he landed a job as a national correspondent for CBS News in 1998. Not bad for a kid who couldn’t read.
Pitts was named a contributor to 60 Minutes and chief national correspondent for CBS News in January 2009.
He was one of CBS News' lead reporters during the 9/11 attacks and won a national Emmy award for his coverage.
As an embedded reporter covering the Iraq War, he was recognized for his work under fire within minutes of the fall of the Saddam statue.
Other major stories Pitts covered include the Chicago train wreck in 1999, for which he received a national Emmy Award, Hurricane Katrina, the war in Afghanistan, the military buildup in Kuwait, the Elian Gonzalez story, the Florida presidential recount and the refugee crisis in Kosovo.
He garnered recognition as the National Association of Black Journalists Journalist of the Year Award in 2002 for his coverage of the 9/11 attacks, and he is also the recipient of four Associated Press awards, as well as six regional Emmy awards.
Pitts graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University with a B.A. in journalism and speech communication. He lives with his wife in Montclair, N.J.