Michael Cogdill
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[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
Cogdill is the author of She-Rain, a novel set in rural western North Carolina in the 1920s.[14]
Film[edit]
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[edit]
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[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ [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