American television news correspondent, author, and journalist David C. Martin was born on July 28, 1943. He currently works for CBS News. Since 1993, he has served as the network’s national security correspondent, reporting from the Pentagon. Martin has provided news segments for 48 Hours, 60 Minutes, and the CBS Evening News.
David Martin Early Years and Career
David Martin was born in Washington, D.C., on July 28, 1943. He earned an English degree from Yale University in 1965. He served as a navy officer in the Vietnam War. In 1969, Martin started working for CBS News as a researcher.
David Martin worked for Newsweek Magazine and the Associated Press during the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s. In 1983, he was appointed a CBS News Pentagon reporter.
Both before and during the Iraq war, Martin broke a number of important stories. On the first night of the conflict, he was the first to announce that an American strike was being launched against Saddam Hussein’s palace bunker in southern Baghdad.
David Martin also revealed the military’s “shock and awe” tactics used during the initial attack on Baghdad. He was the first journalist to go to and write about Dora Farms, where Saddam was allegedly hiding out on the first night of the war, according to the CIA, during a trip to Iraq in May 2003.
For his tale “Starting Over,” Martin most recently won an Emmy in 2012. In addition, he has won two Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards (in 2002 and 2004) for his body of work, the majority of which has been shown on “60 Minutes Wednesday” and “CBS Evening News.”
The selection committee for the inaugural Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia University Award stated that “this year saw a peak in the consistently excellent reporting on the topic of national security, with breaking news on a variety of defense and security stories that contained information that could only be discovered through perseverance and experience.” This is excellent reporting that consistently overcomes the limitations of official declarations.
In giving the second DuPont its approval, the committee noted: “His stories on the Pentagon, the military preparations for the Iraq War, and the War itself show David Martin’s outstanding command of national security problems.”
Together with Mary Walsh, his longtime producer, Martin reliably reports on the Pentagon’s objectives while breaking fresh facts. “He is an excellent example of how a journalist should balance what we are told with what we discover.”
The Washington Radio & Television Correspondents’ Association also gave Martin the Joan S. Barone Award in 2004 for outstanding national affairs and public policy reporting from Washington.
In 1983, he started working for CBS News as a Pentagon reporter. Later, the State Department and intelligence beats were added to Martin’s responsibilities.
Prior to that, he worked out of Newsweek magazine’s Washington desk, where he covered defense and intelligence issues (1977–83). Martin covered the FBI and CIA for the Associated Press in Washington from 1973 to 1977. He was also a member of the AP special assignment team in 1977.
In 1969, Martin started working in media as a researcher for CBS News in New York. Later, in 1971–1972, he started working as a news writer for the AP broadcast wire and was also a fellow at the Washington Journalism Center (1973).
David Martin is the author of two books: “Best Laid Plans: The Inside Story of America’s War Against Terrorism” and “Wilderness of Mirrors: An Account of the Secret Wars Between the CIA and KGB” (Harper & Row, 1980). Harper & Row, 1988).
David Martin Age
In Washington, D.C., on July 28, 1943, he was born. He earned his bachelor’s in English from Yale University in 1965. Martin served as an officer on a US Navy ship during the Vietnam War.
David Martin Wife and Children
David Martin resides in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with his wife, Dr. Elinor Martin. They have four kids together.
David Martin Net worth
David Martin has an estimated net worth between $1M – $5M as a journalist.