After completing graduate studies, Whitaker worked as associate producer, production coordinator, researcher, writer and correspondent for various television stations around the country.
From 1985-89 he was based in Atlanta, Ga., where he covered the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion and the presidential campaign of Michael Dukakis. In 1989, Whitaker became CBS' Tokyo correspondent where he reported on stories throughout Asia, from the Tiananmen Square massacre, to military coup attempts in the Philippines.
In 1992, Whitaker became a CBS correspondent in Los Angeles, Calif., where he has covered the Unabomber case, the Heaven's Gate cult suicides, both O.J. Simpson trials and the Columbine school shootings. He served as CBS' principal correspondent covering the presidential campaign of George W. Bush.
Whitaker won an Emmy Award in 1989 for a segment on 48 Hours and was honored at the Minorities in Broadcasting Training Program's 7th Annual "Striving for Excellence Awards" in 2000. He is a member of the Hobart and William Smith Board of Trustees.
"I love travel, I love adventure, and I have a job that pays me to go to the most interesting places in the world and then tell everybody about it," says Whitaker. "I occasionally pinch myself to see if it's real."
He resides in Los Angeles, Calif., with wife Teresita Conley Whitaker and children William and Lesley.
Contribution: Emmy Award Winning Correspondent for CBS News
Hometown: Media, Penn.
Major: American History
Other Education: Boston University; Boston, Mass. (African American Studies M.A., 1974), attended University of California, Berkeley Master of Journalism Program, Berkeley, Calif. (1987-88)