Jeffrey Greenfield is an American television journalist and author.
Biography
He was born in New York City, to Benjamin and Helen Greenfield. He grew up in Manhattan and graduated in 1960 from the Bronx High School of Science. In 1964 he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Daily Cardinal. While at the university, Greenfield was inducted into the Iron Cross. In 1966, Greenfield graduated with a bachelor of laws degree from Yale Law School, where he was a Note and Comment editor of the Yale Law Journal. He also served as a speechwriter for Senator Robert F. Kennedy, assisting with the composition on Kennedy's speech, "On the Mindless Menace of Violence".
Career
Over the course of his career, he has reported primarily on domestic politics and the media and occasionally on culture. He appeared on the Firing Line television program as early as 1968 and was the host of the national public television series "CEO Exchange," featuring in-depth interviews with high-profile chief executive officers, for five seasons. He served as media commentator for CBS News from 1979 to 1983 and as political and media analyst for ABC News from 1983 to 1997, often appearing on the Nightline program. He served as a senior analyst at CNN from 1998 to 2007. On May 1, 2007, Greenfield returned to CBS News, where he served as a senior political correspondent until April 2011. He currently hosts PBS's "Need to Know" and also does political commentary on NBC Nightly News. He has also written or contributed to 11 books and has written for Time, The New York Times, National Lampoon, and Slate. He wrote one novel, which is about the Electoral College. Greenfield has been the recipient of five Emmy Awards, two for his reporting from South Africa and one for a profile of H. Ross Perot. Then Everything Changed was a finalist for the 2011 Sidewise Award for Alternate History, Long Form.
Personal life
Greenfield has been married three times:
His first wife was Carrie Carmichael, whom he divorced in February 1993. They had two children: a daughter, Casey, and a son, David. His daughter was married to screenwriter Matt Manfredi and has a son with CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin.
On April 24, 1993, he married Karen Anne Gannett, from whom he is now divorced.
On February 12, 1997, he met Dena Sklar, whom he subsequently married.
