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Ohio Wesleyan graduate, contributing correspondent for 60 Minutes and CBS News chief national correspondent Byron Pitts, presented recently at The University of Findlay


Pitts is the author of “Step Out on Nothing: How Faith and Family Help Me Conquer Life’s Challenges,” released in 2009. In the book, Pitts shares the story of how faith and the encouragement of a strong mother carried him through many challenges including illiteracy and a persistent stutter.


Honored with two Emmy Awards and other national journalism awards, Pitts is known as an evocative storyteller who produced thought-provoking coverage on the ground from Iraq and from Ground Zero after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He has also covered the war in Afghanistan, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the presidential election recount in Florida and the refugee crisis in Kosovo, among others.


Pitts’ book traces his roots to a working-class neighborhood in Baltimore, where his mother used his desire to play football as an incentive by requiring him to receive grades of B or higher in order to play, despite his illiteracy and difficulty with stuttering. With that goal in mind, Pitts raised his grades and was able to attend Ohio Wesleyan University, from which he earned a bachelor of arts in journalism and speech communication in 1982.


He began his career as a journalist in 1983 at WNCT-TV in Greenville, N.C., as a reporter and weekend sports anchor, moving on to stations in Virginia, Florida, Boston and Atlanta prior to joining CBS News as a correspondent for CBS Newspath, a 24-hour news affiliate service of CBS News, in 1997.


Pitts was named a CBS News correspondent in 1998 and worked in Miami and Atlanta before moving to New York in 2001. He now resides with his wife in Upper Montclair, N.J.


Video clips from the event can be seen at http:// www.findlay.edu/newsevents/newsroom/campus/ events/bpittseventfollowup_nov11.htm.


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