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Rita Cosby

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Rita Cosby
Cosby at theWhite House Correspondents Dinnerin 2019
Born(1964-11-18)November 18, 1964(age 59)
Brooklyn, New York,U.S.
OccupationTelevision journalist
Notable credit(s)The Big StoryWeekend EditionandFox News Livewith Rita Cosby(1995–2005)

Rita Cosby Live & Directanchor (2005–2007)

Inside Editionspecial correspondent (2007–present)

Rita Cosby(born November 18, 1964) is a televisionnews anchorfor Fox, MSNBC and NewsMax, as well as a best selling author. She is a host on the two-hour news showSaturday ReportonNewsmaxand a special correspondent for theCBSsyndicated programInside Edition,specializing in interviewing newsmakers and political figures. Cosby has the Jack Anderson Award for investigative excellence, the Matrix Award, theEllis Island Medal of Honor,and the Lech Walesa Freedom Award.[1] October 11, 2010, was declared "Rita Cosby Day" in the State ofNew Yorkfor her “extraordinary journalism and exemplary service on behalf of her community.”[2]

Biography

The daughter of a Danish mother and a Polish father Richard Cosby (Ryszard Kossobudzki) who came to the United States afterWorld War II,Cosby was born inBrooklyn,New York.She grew up inGreenwich, Connecticut,where she attendedGreenwich High Schooland freelanced for the local paper. She earned herbachelor's degreesfrom theUniversity of South Carolina.Cosby balanced college with a position atWACH-TV,the localFOXaffiliate. After an internship working for Dan Rather on theCBS Evening News,Cosby found work as an anchor/reporter atKERO-TVinBakersfield, California,andWBTVinCharlotte, North Carolina.[3]

Fox News Channel

From 1995 to 2005, Cosby worked atFox News.At Fox, she hosted bothThe Big StoryWeekend Edition with Rita CosbyandFox News Livewith Rita Cosby.[3]

Rita Cosby with Ariel Sharon.

She has interviewed over twenty world leaders, conducting historic back-to-back interviews withPalestinianleaderYasser ArafatandIsraeliPrime MinisterAriel Sharon.[4]She was the first reporter to see prisoners held atGuantanamo Bay.She also interviewedSerbianpresidentSlobodan Miloševićwho called her from his prison cell atthe Hague.[5]Years earlier, while broadcasting live fromBelgradeduring theNATObombing, she broke the news that three AmericanPOWswere going to be released.[3]

Cosby also made national headlines for her interviews with boxerMike Tyson,singerMichael Jacksonand convicted serial killerDavid Berkowitz,"The Son of Sam," who wrote to her during theWashington, D.C.sniper shootings in October 2002. As that story unfolded, Cosby secured another major first, by reporting the names and license plate numbers of the sniper suspects. In 2001, Cosby's interview with flight attendant Anne Marie Smith led to a U.S. Attorney's Office investigation of Rep.Gary Conditfor obstruction of justice and witness tampering.[6]

Cosby served as a lead reporter during the 1996 and 2000 Presidential campaigns. During theMonica Lewinskyinvestigation, she broke the news that PresidentBill Clintonwas about to be subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury.[7]After receiving an exclusive letter from Timothy McVeigh, who carried out the Oklahoma City bombing, she was granted a rare meeting with Pope John Paul II to discuss death penalty issues.[8]

MSNBC

In 2005, Cosby moved toMSNBCto host a primetime weeknight show,Rita Cosby Live & Direct.[4]It became the network's highest-rated show that year, and she did extensive reports for other NBC programs, includingThe Today Show.She traveled for the network, originating live for several weeks from New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region to report on HurricanesKatrinaandRita,as well as from the war zone in Afghanistan and along the U.S.-Mexico border. On February 8, 2007, Cosby broke the news on the death ofAnna Nicole Smith.She conducted the last broadcast interview with former Crips gang leaderStanley “Tookie” Williamsand was one of a few journalists to witness his execution atSan QuentinPrison. Additionally, she conducted rare interviews withErik Menéndezand Dr.Jack Kevorkian,both also behind bars. She left the network in 2007 to pursue other media offers and projects.[9]

Other media activities and appearances

Since 2009, she co-hosts the worldwide broadcast of The National Memorial Day Parade simulcast to all US military installations around the globe. Well known in the Mideast, Cosby also interviewed candidates about foreign policy on Israel's TV show,The Ambassador.[10]Additionally, Cosby has co-chaired various events internationally, including the Intersec Security Conference in Dubai in 2009.[11]and the Euro-American Women's Council Forum in Greece in 2010.[12]She was selected by Cosmopolitan Magazine as a “Fun and Fearless Female.”[13] Cosby is heard daily on her WOR Radio program called The Rita Cosby Show. Cosby's interviews have included: Jimmy Carter, Dick Cheney, Mitt Romney, Ross Perot, Governor Andrew Cuomo, Mark Burnett and former PresidentDonald Trump.[14]

Since 2022, Cosby has hosted the weekly two-hour news showSaturday ReportonNewsmax,replacing previous hostCarl Higbie

Publications

Cosby has authored two books.

Blonde Ambition

On September 4, 2007, Cosby released a book aboutAnna Nicole Smith,Blonde Ambition: The Untold Story Behind Anna Nicole Smith's Death.[15]The book details the circumstances around the death of the model in 2007. The book has become aNew York Timesbestseller. In October 2007,Howard K. Stern,Smith's former attorney and agent filed a $60 million libel and defamation lawsuit against Cosby and her publisher for her claims that Stern and father of Smith's daughter were involved in homosexual relationship and that there was a videotape of their alleged relationship. In July 2009, in a court hearing whether to dismiss the lawsuit Cosby admitted there was no videotape and could not prove allegations that Stern was involved in criminal activities regarding Smith's death. New York Federal court judgeDenny Chinruled that Cosby's actions were extremely troubling, and suggest she was attempting to obstruct justice by tempering with witnesses. The defamation lawsuit was withdrawn and settled in November 2009. The terms of the settlement were confidential.[16][17]

Quiet Hero

In 2010, Cosby released a memoir,Quiet Hero: Secrets From My Father’s Past.The book became a best-seller on several lists, includingThe New York Times,USA Today,andThe Washington Post.[18][19]The book details her father's youth as aPolish Resistancefighter who battled theNazisduring theWarsaw UprisinginWorld War II.In 2010, a resolution was passed in the South Carolina Legislature honoring Rita Cosby and her father.[20]The book has raised money for the USO to help wounded soldiers and their families.[21]

References

  1. ^"PAC, PACB co-sponsor appearance of Rita Cosby, author of Quiet Hero".Retrieved2011-03-05.
  2. ^Starr, Michael (2010-10-14)."Starr report".New York Post.Retrieved2011-03-05.
  3. ^abc"Inside Editionwebsite ".Insideedition.com. 2010-06-18.Retrieved2017-08-20.
  4. ^ab"Rita Cosby joins NBC News".NBC News.2005-05-13.Retrieved2007-10-11.
  5. ^"Fox News Interview".Slobodan-milosevic.org. 2001-08-24.Retrieved2017-08-20.
  6. ^"Smith's Lawyer to File Legal Action Against Condit Monday".Fox News.2001-08-27.Retrieved2008-04-04.
  7. ^"Rita Cosby's bio on Mondo Stars".Archived fromthe originalon 7 February 2008.Retrieved7 June2022.
  8. ^"McVeigh's Apr. 26 Letter to Fox News".Fox News.2001-04-26.Retrieved2011-03-05.
  9. ^Learmonth, Michael (2007-03-09)."MSNBC's Cosby leaving network".Variety.Retrieved2008-02-05.
  10. ^Merav Crystal."Melody is the new 'Ambassador': Winner of 'The ambassador – Five continents' reality show is Melody Sucarovich".Ynetnews.com.Retrieved7 June2022.
  11. ^"Intersec Online".Archived fromthe originalon 2009-08-15.Retrieved2009-08-15.
  12. ^"EAWC Board of Directors".EAWC.2011.Retrieved2011-03-05.
  13. ^Cosmopolitan Magazine-Cosmopolitan Magazine, November 1999 issue, Page 38
  14. ^"710 WOR - New York's 710, WOR".Wor710.com.Retrieved2017-08-20.
  15. ^"Stern v. Cosby.CourtListener, District court, S.D. New York
  16. ^"Howard K. Stern Settles Defamation Case".Newshub, 23.11.2009.
  17. ^"Stern v. Cosby" Summary judgment.Casetext, Judge Denny Chin, August 12, 2009.
  18. ^"Polish Government: Bestselling Book Marks 'Historic Moment'".Human Events.Retrieved2017-08-20.
  19. ^Schoppa, Christopher (2011-06-06)."BOOK WORLD Bestsellers — June 5, 2011".The Washington Post.
  20. ^"Archived copy".Archived fromthe originalon 2017-08-21.Retrieved2011-03-05.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. ^"Celebrating Our Heroes this Father's Day · United Service Organizations".Blog.uso.org.2010-06-20.Retrieved2017-08-20.
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