Michael Cogdill | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | June 11, 1961 |
| Education |
North Buncombe High School University of North Carolina at Asheville ( BA) |
| Occupation(s) |
Journalist Anchor Novelist Screenwriter Film producer |
| Spouse | Danette Luanne Cogdill |
| Website | https://michaelcogdill.wordpress.com/ |
Michael Cogdill (born George Michael Cogdill, June 11, 1961) is an American journalist, anchor, novelist, screenwriter, and film producer. [1] His work as a journalist has appeared on NBC’s Today Show, CNBC, MSNBC, and CNN. [2] He has been the recipient of 32 Emmys and a National Edward R. Murrow Award. [3]
Early life
Cogdill was born in Asheville, North Carolina, the son of a truck driver and a mill worker. [4] His earliest jobs included mowing lawns, cleaning horse stalls, and working as a production assistant on film sets. [5] He graduated from North Buncombe High School in Weaverville, North Carolina in 1979 and then graduated cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Asheville in 1984, earning a BA degree in communications (with an emphasis on the liberal arts). [6]
Early television career
Two weeks after college graduation, Cogdill began his career in television, working at WECT, an NBC affiliate in Wilmington, North Carolina. He soon moved over to WWAY, Wilmington's ABC station, [7] and later migrated to CBS-aligned WRDW-TV in Augusta, Georgia. He finally landed at Greenville, South Carolina station WYFF (an NBC affiliate) in 1989, where he cemented his position as, arguably, the most decorated anchor man in South Carolina television history. [8]
National acclaim
Cogdill first rose to prominence when he reported on the story of Susan Smith, [9] a Union, South Carolina woman convicted of murdering her two young sons in 1994 (after initially claiming that an African-American man had carjacked her and kidnapped the children). [10] [11] [12] Cogdill’s Susan Smith: A Question of Justice (1996) garnered an Emmy, leading to appearances on such outlets as NBC’s Today Show, CNBC, MSNBC, and CNN. [13]
Books
Cogdill is the author of She-Rain, a novel set in rural western North Carolina in the 1920s. [14]
Film
It was announced in 2014 that filmmaker Richard O'Sullivan had adapted She-Rain as a screenplay and that plans to produce the property as a feature film were in development (with Cogdill's film and television production company HeartStrong Media serving as a producing partner). [15]
Awards
In addition to winning the National Edward R. Murrow Award and 30 Emmys, Cogdill has garnered the South Carolina Broadcasters Association Star Award, [16] a South Carolina Television Journalist Award, and is a multiple-time winner of the Radio and Television News Director Association of the Carolinas Award.
External links
References
- ^ [1], Michael Cogdill - IMDb
- ^ [2], msnbc - Mike Angley
- ^ [3] Michael Cogdill – WYFF4.com
- ^ [4], Michael Cogdill - SMG Talk, Signature Media Group Speakers
- ^ [5], 20 Questions with Michael Cogdill - Greenville Online
- ^ [6] Archived 2015-05-27 at the Wayback Machine, UNC Asheville Magazine
- ^ [7] The blue banner online resource (Asheville, NC)
- ^ [8] Michael Cogdill – SC Literary Map
- ^ [9] Stock Footage & Video Clips - NBCUniversal Archives, Transcript of Michael Cogdill Report on Susan Smith
- ^ [10] Blacks still angry over white woman who claimed black man kidnapped her two boys - Student Resources in Context, November 28, 1994
- ^ [11] Susan Smith: 20 years later, case still a shocker - The State, October 18, 2014
- ^ [12] Top 5 'The Black Guy Did It' Excuses by White Criminals - Newsone, May 29, 2009
- ^ [13] Michael Cogdill – SC Literary Map
- ^ [14] She-Rain by Michael Cogdill - Amazon
- ^ [15] She-Rain - IMDb
- ^ [16] WYFF 4 honored with 7 South Carolina Broadcasters Association awards, August 14, 2013