American Emmy-award-winning Journalist & Host of 'Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson'

Sharyl Attkisson | Biography

Former investigative correspondent for CBS news

• By Anjila Shrestha
• Update : January 26, 2022

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Sharyl Attkisson is a five-time Emmy-winning American journalist, a New Your Times bestselling author, and a nonpartisan investigative journalist. 

Who is Sharyl Attkisson?

Born on 26 January 1961 in Florida, USA, Sharyl Attkisson is an American journalist and a former investigative correspondent for CBS news. 

Attkisson got her broadcast journalism degree from the University of Florida. Shortly after, she joined WUFT-TV at the PBS station in Florida. Subsequently, Attkisson joined CNN as a reporter and served there from 1990 to 1993. She then got appointed at the CBS Network as an anchor when she was 29 years old. However, Attkisson resigned from CBS News after working there for 21 years. She explained she left CBS because of the network’s liberal biases. 

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She currently hosts and edits the TV program Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson which is popularly known as Sharyl Attkisson Show in the public. According to her official website, the show reaches over 43 million US households and focuses on investigative and accountability reporting every week. Attkisson also regularly reports on Fox News as an investigative journalist, discussing current political issues.  

Attkisson has been working as a journalist for over three and half years and has received several awards. She earned an ‘Investigative Emmy Award’ in 2002 for her exclusive reports about mismanagement at the Red Cross. She received another ‘Investigative Emmy Award’ in 2009 for her investigations into TARP and the bank bailout. She then won an “Emmy Award’ in 2012 for ‘Outstanding Investigative Journalism’ for Gunwalker: Fast and Furious. 

Attkisson earned her fourth ‘Emmy award’ in 2013 for ‘Outstanding Investigative Journalism’ for her reporting on 'The Business of Congress.' In the same year, she accepted a ‘Daytime Emmy Award’ for ‘Outstanding Morning Program’ for her report: Washington Lobbying: K-Street Behind Closed Doors. Besides this, Attkisson is also a New York Times bestselling author of books ‘The Smear’ and ‘Stonewalled.’

Moreover, in 2020 she filed a lawsuit against the former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and other ex-officials present during the Obama administration. She claimed that the mentioned officials conducted investigations on her without her knowledge and permission. She reported that in 2012 while she was still a CBS correspondent her personal electronic gadgets were 'acting abnormally'. And after consulting with experts found that those abnormalities were signs of wiretapping. 

However, in 2021, US District Court Baltimore held that despite the arrays of evidence presented, the conclusive allegation could not support the gravity of the accusation. 

‘Stonewalled’

Attkisson is the author of the New York best-selling 2014 book ‘Stonewalled: My Fight for Truth Against the Forces of Obstruction, Intimidation, and Harassment in Obama’s Washington.’ 

In her book, she describes how she was in severe disagreement with the White House because of her work on the ‘Fast and Furious’ scandal and her inquires into the 9/11 terrorist attack and the terrorist attack in Benghazi. She also devoted a chapter of her book to her husband, detailing how he helped her overcome obstacles in her work.

Politics

Attkisson is a nonpartisan investigative journalist, meaning she doesn’t have any liking for any particular political group. She often reports politics on TV news channels and her podcast, but she isn’t associated with any political party. 

Moreover, in her New York best-selling book ‘The Smear: How Shady Political Operatives and Fake News Control What You See,’ she uncovers the tactics of smear artists who have access to big names in political media. According to her book’s bio, she also exposes how the operatives corrupt the political process and demoralize citizens’ involvement in their democratic values. 

She also shares her inside knowledge on how smear occurs and who the perpetrators are. She explains how the trick of smear is based on some shred of truth but is designed specifically to obscure the truth. 

Furthermore, in her 2020 book 'Slanted: How the News Media Taught Us to Love Censorship and Hate Journalism' she talked about another form of political media control. She also elaborated her 2017 media bias chart on the book. She also gave her perspective on biases that allegedly occurred during the Black Lives Matter movement, corona virus reporting among other 2019-2020 incidents. 

Podcast

The Sharyl Attkisson Podcast is her self-titled podcast where she reports on politics, corruption, COVID, and many more topics.

Family & Husband

Attkisson is married to James Attkisson. Her husband is a retired attorney and a law enforcement officer. She revealed in a Twitter post her husband is a Vietnam War veteran who taught her important police behaviors. 

The couple also has a daughter who graduated in May 2018.