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Charles S. Roberts (born October 25, 1950, Santa Fe, New Mexico) is an American broadcast journalist, most notable for being the former weekday news anchor on Headline News, based at CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. He was the longest-serving anchor among the CNN networks, anchoring weekday broadcasts from the network's debut on January 1, 1982— when he was the first anchor on-air— until his retirement on July 30, 2010.[1]
From 1973–1975, Roberts anchored the evening news at KRGV-TV in Texas. Before joining KRGV, he was a newscaster at WHB Radio in Kansas City, Missouri from 1971–1973. From 1970–1971, he anchored morning newscasts at KOMU-TV, the NBC affiliate in Columbia, Missouri.
During his time at Headline News, Roberts led the network's coverage for each national election. In 1989, Roberts reported from a rooftop in Charleston, South Carolina, on Hurricane Hugo's arrival. In 1985, he reported live on the trial of Wayne Williams, who was convicted in the Atlanta child murders case. In 2003, the U.S. Army Forces Command in Atlanta asked Roberts to host the 228th birthday celebration of the U.S. Army.
Before joining Headline News, Roberts was the principal weeknight anchor at KMTV in Omaha, Nebraska. During that time, he conducted an exclusive interview with serial killer Caril Ann Fugate for KMTV and flew aboard the Strategic Air Command post-nuclear-attack airborne command post "Looking Glass".
Roberts is a member of the Atlanta Press Club and the National Society of Professional Journalists. He is a recipient of the 1971 University of Missouri Faculty/Student Award for Outstanding Journalism and, in 1998, was inducted into the New Mexico Military Institute's Hall of Fame for "lifetime achievement in service to the ideals of America."
Roberts is a graduate of the New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI), a State of New Mexico supported educational institution located in Roswell, New Mexico. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. He volunteers with Project for Humanity causes in Atlanta.
Roberts became known nationally in the summer of 2006 for referring in a question to Connecticut Senate candidate Ned Lamont as the "al-Qaeda" candidate.[2] However, a Google search on August 12, 2006, showed no reference on the Internet in which someone referred to Lamont as such. Nevertheless, Roberts' comment led to calls in the blogosphere for an apology. On August 13, 2006, Arianna Huffington, in an interview with CNN, demanded that Roberts be held accountable for his comment and wondered why he wasn't "demoted to covering Paris Hilton or entertainment news where the truth doesn't matter.".[3] Roberts apologized on air to Lamont during the afternoon of August 15, 2006, saying, "...I posed [the question] badly, stupidly..."
Today, Roberts works at WYAY Newsradio 106.7 in Atlanta, and serves as a consultant to them and its owner, Cumulus Media. He also provides reports for the station.
- ^ Allocca, Kevin (30 July 2010). "Chuck Roberts Departing HLN". TVNewser. Archived from the original on 3 August 2010. Retrieved 31 July 2010.
- ^ ""Chuck Roberts Refers to Senate Candidate Ned Lamont as the 'Al-Qaeda' Candidate"". Thinkprogress.org. Thinkprogress.org. 11 August 2006. Archived from the original on 21 May 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ ""Chuck Roberts Apologizes to Ned Lamont For Calling Him 'al Qaeda Candidate'"". Archived from the original on March 20, 2008.