Jim Heath

Jim Heath
Broadcast news journalist Jim Heath
Born (1966-04-20) April 20, 1966
Van Wert, Ohio
Occupation TV news journalist, Author
Parent(s) Rolden L Heath, Jr. (deceased)
Doris J. Heath

Jim Heath (born April 20, 1966) is a best selling author, award winning television news correspondent, and the publisher of the political blog Jim Heath TV. Prior to writing Mylo the Panda Travels to Washington, D.C. ( ISBN 9781684014682) and Front Row Seat at the Circus: One Journalist's Journey through two Presidential Elections ( ISBN 9781631773327) Heath was the Political Correspondent and Analyst for WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio. He was also the moderator of the weekly political program Capitol Square, aired each Sunday on WBNS.

Mylo the Panda is Heath's first children's book, written to address the "negative and angry tone" in America. It was released on February 6, 2018. [1]

Front Row Seat at the Circus is a behind-the-scenes look at Heath's coverage of both the 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. Steve Scully, Political Editor of C-SPAN Networks and Past President of the White House Correspondents' Association said about the book, "Electing a president has turned into a political circus and nobody captures it better than Jim Heath. From his vantage points in South Carolina and Ohio, which are ground zero in presidential campaigns, Jim provides amazing insights and remarkable stories. This is a 'must-read' for anyone interested in the sport (or circus) of politics." The book also received positive reviews from Rick Klein, Political Director of ABC News; Jeff Zeleny, CNN's National Political Correspondent; Dr. Larry Sabato, Director, University of Virginia Center for Politics; Former Ohio Governor Ted Strickland; U.S. Senator Rob Portman; Kevin Madden, Senior Adviser and Spokesman, Mitt Romney for President 2012; and David Wilhelm, former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee and Campaign Manager for Bill Clinton for President in 1992.[2]

During the 2012 presidential campaign, Heath made national news following an interview with Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. During the interview, which took place in Columbus, Ohio, Heath asked Romney whether he supported the Blunt Amendment. The controversial legislation was being voted on by the U.S. Senate the following day. Romney answered "no, I do not support the bill" but later in the day reversed his position, claiming he misunderstood Heath's question. The reaction to Romney's initial answer made headlines across the county and was the topic of national cable television political shows.[3][4][5][6] The exchange led GQ Magazine to list Heath on their Top 5 political "Power List."[7]

Prior to Ohio's 2012 presidential primary, The Washington Post named Heath to their "Best Super Tuesday Twitter List."[8]

During the 2008 presidential primary cycle, Heath was the only television anchor in South Carolina who landed interviews with all the presidential candidates. He was invited on board the campaign bus of Senator Fred Thompson during his first campaign trip to South Carolina. He interviewed Senator Barack Obama from J.V. Martin Middle School, one of the oldest and poorest schools in the south. He spent an inning at the ballpark interviewing former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He interviewed John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth Edwards as they walked into the South Carolina Democratic Convention. He interviewed former Governor Mitt Romney during his first campaign trip to Myrtle Beach. Heath was the only local journalist invited to interview Senator Hillary Clinton from Florence, South Carolina, as she began her presidential bid.[9]

Heath knew and covered Senator John McCain for over thirty years. In 2002, Heath and McCain won an award from the Arizona Associated Press for a live interview. When McCain returned to Greenville, South Carolina in January, 2006, for the first time since his defeat in the 2000 South Carolina primary, Heath was granted the first interview.[10] Heath also landed a rare interview with Cindy McCain.[11]

In addition to his television reporting, Heath maintains his own news website, and he has produced five documentaries on American presidential elections from 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996 and 2008 for the Jim Heath Channel on YouTube.[12]

Website

Heath is the publisher of JimHeath.TV, a political blog based in the United States.

In an interview with C-SPAN,[13] Heath described his website as "a place for people interested in government to get their latest campaign, political and election related headlines." As a longtime political journalist, Heath said he also incorporates his own "interviews with news makers, plus analysis on the news of the day."

Heath is quoted in Havasu News on why he created the site: "We live in an era where 'fake news' is a slogan tossed around by people who don't want to read the truth. Our goal on the website is to highlight only credible, sourced information. A political reporter’s job is to challenge an elected official, make them explain policy decisions, hold them accountable for mistakes, and explore what it is, exactly, they want to do for the future. None of that is bias. It’s journalism. And both sides complain regularly about it."[14]

Readership

Jim Heath TV is officially non-partisan. Heath told C-SPAN [15] that his website regularly includes a variety of reality TV articles, because "from the president on down, so much of our politics today is like a reality TV show."

Biography

Prior to joining WBNS, Heath was the Statehouse Correspondent and Capitol Square Moderator for the Ohio News Network. From 2003 to 2009, Heath was the primary evening anchor at the ABC-TV affiliate WPDE-TV in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. From 2000 to 2003, he was the primary evening anchor at the NBC-TV affiliate KYMA-DT in Yuma, Arizona.

Prior to television, Heath spent a decade in the political arena, including serving as the first congressional press secretary for Rep. J.D. Hayworth, chief of staff to corporation commissioner Dale Morgan, and a candidate for statewide public office in Arizona. In addition, he was elected the youngest Republican county chairman in the country in 1989, and was a George Bush Delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1992. Heath registered as an Independent prior to the start of his broadcast journalism career.[16]

Although born in Ohio, Heath grew up in Lake Havasu City, Arizona and was a communications major at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He completed his broadcasting internship at KTSP CBS (now KSAZ-TV) in Phoenix.

Heath's great uncle Mickey Heath was a first baseman for the Cincinnati Reds.

Recognition

  • The Cleveland Plain Dealer named Heath as "Van Wert County's Most Famous Person" in a list of the 88 most accomplished Ohioans.[17]
  • Heath was awarded the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism.[18]
  • Heath has won two Emmy Awards for his political reporting and has received a total of five nominations.[19]
  • The Ohio Society of Professional Journalists presented Heath with a "Best Government Reporting" award.[20]
  • Lake Havasu High School awarded Heath with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2008.
  • Heath was four times selected Anchorman of the Year by the Myrtle Beach Herald.[21]
  • The Associated Press has presented Heath with multiple "Best Live Reporting" awards.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Mylo the Panda". mylothepanda.com.
  2. ↑ "Front Row Seat at the Circus". frontrowseatatthecircus.com.
  3. ↑ Sargent, Greg (2012-02-29). "Romney comes out against `Blunt-Rubio' - The Plum Line". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  4. ↑ Gerald Herbert, Associated Press. "Mitt Romney's interview with Ohio News Network reporter leads to gaffe on birth control issue". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  5. ↑ "Friday, March 2 - msnbc - Hardball with Chris Matthews | NBC News". MSNBC. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  6. ↑ "Super Tuesday Campaign 2012 | Video | C-SPAN.org". C-spanvideo.org. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  7. ↑ Cogan, Marin (2012-03-02). "The Weekly Power List: 03.02.12: Death Race 2012: GQ on Politics". GQ. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  8. ↑ "The best Super Tuesday Tweeps: A Fix List". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  9. ↑ "Latest local news, weather and high school sports for Myrtle Beach and Florence". Wpde.com. Archived from the original on 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  10. ↑ Jim Heath interviews Senator John McCain by Jim Heath (2007-08-21). "Jim Heath interviews Senator John McCain : News : CarolinaLive.com". Wpde.com. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  11. ↑ Mrs. McCain on the campaign trail by Jim Heath (2007-09-18). "Mrs. McCain on the campaign trail : News : CarolinaLive.com". Wpde.com. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  12. ↑ "Jim Heath's Youtube Page". Youtube. 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2017-07-07.
  13. ↑ "Interview with Jim Heath, JimHeathTV".
  14. ↑ https://www.havasunews.com/news/havasu-tv-journalist-jim-heath-talks-about-his-new-book/article_3b30e80a-c25c-11e5-9ee9-1385637a6daf.html
  15. ↑ "C-Span's interview with Jim Heath". CSPAN.
  16. ↑ "Working 4 a Living". Myrtlebeachonline.com. Archived from the original on 2012-02-12. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  17. ↑ The Cleveland Plain Dealer. "The most famous person from each of Ohio's 88 counties".
  18. ↑ The Columbus Dispatch (2013-03-06). "WBNS wins award for election coverage". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  19. ↑ Ohio Valley Emmys 2014 Recipient List
  20. ↑ "Ohio's Best Journalism 2014". Spjawards.org. 2014-03-18. Retrieved 2014-08-05.
  21. ↑ http://myrtlebeach2007.anchormanoftheyear.com. Retrieved March 27, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  22. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20060225185118/http://www.azbroadcasters.org/eventcal.html. Archived from the original on February 25, 2006. Retrieved July 19, 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
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