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Benjamin Sampair Tracy (born July 16, 1976, in St. Paul, Minnesota) is an American journalist known for his work as a national correspondent for CBS News from January 2008 until September 2024. [1] [2] He served as CBS's White House correspondent from 2019 to 2020, [3] and was the network's senior environmental correspondent, based in Los Angeles. [4] [2]
Tracy was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated from St. Thomas Academy, and later from Marquette University with Bachelor's degrees in broadcast journalism and political science, and with a Master's degree in public service.
Prior to his national roles, Tracy worked as a reporter at WISN-TV in Milwaukee and WBAY-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He then joined WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, where he was part of the station's investigative team, covering major stories including the methamphetamine epidemic and the I-35W bridge collapse. During this time, he also contributed the “Good Question” segment—originating at WCCO—to the national CBS News programs. According to Marquette University, he is the recipient of five Emmy Awards and two Alfred I. DuPont-Columbia Awards recognizing his excellence in broadcast journalism. [5]
After his stint as White House correspondent, Tracy transitioned into the role of senior national and environmental correspondent, based in Los Angeles. In this role, he has anchored CBS News’s ongoing climate and environment coverage, contributing to initiatives such as the “Eye on Earth: Our Planet in Peril” series. His reporting has spanned critical topics including the western U.S. megadrought, the shift to electric vehicles and renewable energy, environmental justice, melting glaciers in Iceland, and advances in carbon capture technology. [6] Tracy also anchors and appears in CBS News segments like “Climate Watch,” covering stories from sustainable fashion and recycling to endangered species, and regularly reports on climate-related developments such as UN climate change reports and the impact of ocean plastic pollution. [7] [8] [9]
On October 5, 2020, Tracy criticized the lack of adherence he observed at the Trump White House to public health guidelines to slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic "I felt safer reporting in North Korea than I currently do reporting at The White House. This is just crazy. For context folks, this is in reference to the COVID-19 outbreak at The White House." [10] [ non-primary source needed ] The tweet garnered nearly 195,000 "Likes", [3] as well as swift criticism from Republicans. [3] [11]
