PERSON: Charlie D'Agata

Correspondent

Charlie D’Agata was named a London-based CBS News correspondent in October 2011. Previously, he was the London-based correspondent for CBS Newspath, the affiliate news service of CBS News, since October 2005 and was Newspath’s first internationally based correspondent. Prior to that, he was CBS Radio’s chief overseas correspondent (2002-05).

D’Agata was the first American journalist in Baghdad 10 months before the U.S.-led invasion and was an embedded reporter during the Iraq War. He witnessed first-hand the fall of Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit and was one of the first reporters in Fallujah when U.S. Marines fired on Iraqi civilians. Since 2003, D’Agata has covered every major event in Iraq, including the first suicide bombings at the U.N. and the Jordanian Embassy; the establishment of the Green Zone; the capture of Saddam Hussein; the handover of power; the fight for Fallujah; the fall of Tikrit; the country’s first free and fair elections, and the trial of Saddam Hussein.

D’Agata has also been a correspondent for many other international events, including the tsunami in Asia, the death of Pope John Paul II and succession of the new Pope, Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee, the G8 Summit at Gleneagles, and the London terror attacks. His coverage in Iraq contributed to CBS Network Radio winning five Edward R. Murrow Awards, including one for Overall Excellence.

Before joining CBS News, D’Agata was a correspondent for APTN in London, and began his international career in 1990 as assignment editor for ABC News in London. He has travelled extensively throughout Europe, Russia, Africa, the Middle East, and the Far East.

D’Agata was born in Lawrence, Mass., and graduated from Colorado State University with a B.A. degree in journalism. He lives in London with his wife and two daughters.

— cbsnews.com