Sam Champion, weather anchor and weather editor of ABC’s Good Morning America, will serve as this year’s Jessica Savitch Distinguished Journalism Lecturer on Thursday, March 29, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. in Emerson Suites. The lecture is free and open to the public.
Champion will discuss his career in broadcast journalism, weather-related stories, global warming, and the climate crisis.
Sponsored by the Roy H. Park School of Communications, the Jessica Savitch Distinguished Journalism Lecture Series brings a broadcast journalist to campus each year to honor the legacy of Jessica Savitch, the 1968 Ithaca College graduate who became an Emmy Award-winning NBC News anchor and correspondent. Previous speakers in the series have included Jean Chatzky, Lester Holt, Ann Cury, David Muir ’95, Andrea Mitchell, and Natalie Morales.
Champion's talk will also serve as the kickoff the "Media for Social Responsibility" mini-course.
Sam Champion:
Sam Champion is the weather anchor of ABC's Good Morning America, reporting on the nation’s weather throughout the morning broadcast. He also serves as weather editor for ABC News.
In addition to covering the national forecast, Champion frequently travels to report on weather-related stories around the country and the globe. Since joining Good Morning America, he has reported from the front lines of wildfires in California; from the scenes of hurricanes in Florida, Texas, and Louisiana; and from winter storm systems in Denver, Chicago, and Boston. As part of the morning show’s “New 7 Wonders of the World” series, Champion broadcast live afloat a raft in the middle of the polar ice caps.
Champion is also at the forefront of reporting on the environment and climate change. In 2007, he traveled to Paris for the release of a groundbreaking report on global warming by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He regularly brings tips and information on how to be environmentally efficient and aware with his regular “Just One Thing” reports. He has also played a key role in the network’s Earth Day reporting.
In addition to the weather and the environment, Champion regularly interviews authors, newsmakers, and celebrities during the morning program and hosts the Good Morning America summer concert series from Rumsey Playfield in Central Park.
In August 2009, Champion anchored his first 20/20 special, “Blown Away: Twisted Terror,” which chronicled the tornado that devastated Parkersburg, Iowa, in 2008.
Before joining ABC News in September 2006, Champion spent 18 years at WABC-TV in New York. Prior to working at WABC, he was a weekend weather anchor and news reporter at WPSD-TV in Paducah, Kentucky. He began his career in broadcast news as an intern at WKYT-TV in Lexington, Kentucky, while attending college.
Champion graduated from Eastern Kentucky University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast news. He is involved in many charities in the New York City area, including the Multiple Sclerosis Society. He resides in New York City.
Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Melissa Gattine at mgattine@ithaca.edu or (607) 274-1023. We ask that requests for accommodations be made as soon as possible.
Photo Credit: ABC/ Ida Mae Astute
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/2012022822012329