David Schechter

David Schechter was born to Neal Schechter and Marilyn Schechter, née Levin. He and his sister Buffy were born into a Jewish family in West Bloomfield, Michigan. His parents owned and operated Camp Walden, a children's' summer camp in northern Michigan for much of Schechter's life. During the school year, his father worked as a physical education teacher and his mother as an artist. Schechter attended West Bloomfield High School.

In 1989, while still in high school, Schechter won a Columbia Scholastic Press Gold Circle Award{{Cite web |title=Columbia Scholastic Press Association {{!}} Awards Programs {{!}} CSPA Gold Circle Awards CSPA Scholastic Gold Circle Awards: Past Recipients, by Year {{!}} Columbia University Pre-College Programs |url=https://precollege.sps.columbia.edu/columbia-scholastic-press-association/cspa-awards-programs/cspa-gold-circle-awards/cspa-scholastic |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=precollege.sps.columbia.edu |language=en}} for a sports feature about CBS newscaster Pat O'Brien, called "At The Half: A Behind the Scenes Look at Pat O'Brien." The piece went on to be featured in the Detroit Pistons in-house magazine as well as the NBA league magazine, Hoop. File:Schechter and O'Brien.jpg

Over the years, O'Brien would become a mentor to Schechter. After reading the piece by Schechter, O'Brien would send a note in April of 1989 reading "if you keep writing like that, not only will you be working for At The Half...you'll be hosting the thing! See you during the playoffs." The two would become friends in the years to come.

Schechter attended the University of Michigan, where he was a member of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity and worked as a sports reporter for the Michigan Daily student newspaper. In 1993 he graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Communication.

Immediately after college, Schechter started his career in Dubuque, Iowa in 1993 as a Primary Anchor at KDUB-TV, a now-closed local television station.

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After two years in Iowa, Schechter transitioned to WFMJ-TV in Youngstown, Ohio in 1995.

Soon after, Schechter moved to WDAF-TV in Kansas City, Missouri in 1996.{{Cite web |date=2000-05-10 |title=Television station sues University of Missouri system for violating open-records act |url=https://splc.org/2000/05/television-station-sues-university-of-missouri-system-forviolating-open-records-act/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=Student Press Law Center |language=en-US}} In Missouri, Schechter worked as a Special Projects Reporter until 1999.

Schechter's next stop was as an Investigative Reporter at WCCO-TV in Minneapolis, Minnesota from 1999-2006. In Minneapolis, Schechter dug deep into investigative reporting with an emphasis on equality with stories like "Access Denied," where he investigated discrimination on the basis of race using hidden cameras at a local club.{{Cite web |last=Woods |first=Keith |date=2002-08-21 |title=The Essence of Excellence |url=https://www.poynter.org/archive/2002/the-essence-of-excellence/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=Poynter |language=en-US}} At WCCO, Schechter created The Last Flagraiser with photojournalist Thomas Aviles, a 2003 regional-Emmy-winning, documentary length piece following the last living service member from the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima in World War Two.{{Cite web |title=2003 Emmy® Awards Nominees & Recipients |url=https://midwestemmys.org/emmy-awards-archives/2003-emmy-awards-nominees-recipients/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=Upper Midwest Emmys® |language=en-US}} It was for this documentary that Schechter won his first Edward R. Murrow Award.

Finally, Schechter landed at WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas, where he stayed from 2006 to 2022. As a senior reporter, Schechter spent his first ten years at WFAA covering typical local news. In 2015, Schechter gained recognition for his documentary following the 2013 West Fertilizer Company Explosion; the news documentary, titled Rise Up, West: Recovery Starts on the 50-Yard Line, won Schechter his second Murrow Award.{{Cite web |last=Bahari |first=Sarah |date=April 7, 2014 |title=Documentary tells West's story through football team |url=https://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/article3852952.html}}

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It was in 2016 that Schechter and his partner Chance Horner developed Verify Road Trip, a cutting-edge show in which Schechter would bring a skeptical viewer along with him on a road trip to challenge their previously held beliefs.{{Cite web |last=Wilner |first=Tamar |title=A TV station taps viewers to help 'truth-test' the news |url=https://www.cjr.org/business_of_news/tv_fake_news_fact_check.php |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=Columbia Journalism Review |language=en}} In 2020, he won his third Murrow Award for "Borderlands" after bringing a conservative viewer to the Texas-Mexico border to examine the implications of expanding the border wall.{{Cite web |date=2018-02-23 |title=Trump's Wall vs. landowners in the way |url=https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/verify/trumps-wall-vs-landowners-in-the-way/287-522698960 |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=wfaa.com |language=en-US}}

In 2020 and 2021, Schechter ran "Banking Below 30," an investigative series that exposed systemic racism entrenched in the banking industry, focusing on racial redlining in Dallas.{{Cite web |date=2021-02-28 |title='You're only crippling us': Banks own many of Dallas' low-income, high-crime apartments — and they're rewarded for it |url=https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/investigates/banking-below-30-banks-own-dallas-low-income-high-crime-housing-incentives/287-e49aa69d-9bd1-4072-aaa8-c50f47ac0af2 |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=wfaa.com |language=en-US}} In a congressional hearing, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell stated the series "shows we need real vigilance in making sure that banks honor their obligations to serve minority communities, low- and moderate-income communities, within their operating areas."{{Cite web |date=2021-07-15 |title=America's top banking regulator: WFAA's 'Banking Below 30' investigation documenting unfair treatment of minorities 'very troubling' |url=https://www.wfaa.com/article/money/economy/americas-top-banking-regulator-highlights-wfaas-banking-below-30/287-1ff3c06f-a16c-4e61-b18a-3e7a25b17706 |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=wfaa.com |language=en-US}} And that "that [story] got our attention. We can't talk about individual institutions of course, but we take this very seriously."

It was with Verify Road Trip that Schechter began covering climate change, realizing the pattern's threat and need for additional news coverage from a local level.{{Cite web |date=2021-08-13 |title=How David Schechter sees the future of local climate coverage - Storybench |url=https://www.storybench.org/how-david-schechter-sees-the-future-of-local-climate-coverage/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |language=en-US}} In 2020, Schechter and his partner, Chance Horner, released "Verify Road Trip: Climate Truth," an hour-long piece where they took a climate-change skeptic on the road to challenge his beliefs, from Texas to Alaska. The piece earned Schechter a 2020 Scripps Howard Award{{Cite web |last=McCarter |first=Rebecca |date=2020-03-03 |title=The Winners Of The 67th Scripps Howard Awards Announced |url=https://scripps.com/fund/news/scripps-howard-awards-announce-2019-winners-recognize-exceptional-american-journalism/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=Scripps |language=en}} and a 2021 duPont-Columbia Award,{{Cite web |title=2021 Winners |url=https://dupont.org/2021winners |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=duPont-Columbia Awards |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2021-02-09 |title=WFAA wins duPont-Columbia Award, broadcast equivalent of Pulitzer Prize, for reporting on climate change |url=https://www.wfaa.com/article/about-us/wfaa-verify-road-trip-climate-change-dupont-columbia-award/287-02388e1c-7a96-4c75-a621-fe514d0cb684 |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=wfaa.com |language=en-US}} widely accepted as the broadcast equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize.

Schechter left WFAA in July of 2022 after 16 years at the station.{{Cite web |date=2022-07-26 |title=David Schechter Leaving WFAA After 16 Years |url=https://www.adweek.com/tvspy/david-schechter-leaving-wfaa-after-16-years/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=www.adweek.com |language=en-US}}

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In August of 2022, Schechter announced that he was taking a job at CBS News as a member of their new Innovation Lab, a branch of the business intended to experiment with next-generation storytelling.{{Cite web |date=2022-01-11 |title=Paramount Press Express {{!}} CBS STATIONS ANNOUNCES PLANS TO CREATE LOCAL NEWS INNOVATION LAB |url=https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-news-and-stations/releases/?view=58934 |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=www.paramountpressexpress.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2022-07-26 |title=CBS Local News Innovation Lab Adds Six Including Consumer and Environmental Correspondents |url=https://www.adweek.com/tvspy/cbs-local-news-innovation-lab-adds-six-including-consumer-and-environmental-correspondents/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=www.adweek.com |language=en-US}} As the National Climate Correspondent for CBS, Schechter runs segments on climate change in local markets around the country. He started with his show On the Dot with David Schechter, and his work has since transitioned to the CBS Evening News segment Eye on America, CBS Mornings, and CBS Saturday Morning.{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Mark |date=2023-01-10 |title=CBS Stations Debuts Climate Change Series 'On The Dot With David Schechter' |url=https://tvnewscheck.com/journalism/article/cbs-stations-debuts-climate-change-series-on-the-dot-with-david-schechter/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=TV News Check |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Eye on America - Full Episodes |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/eye-on-america/full-episodes/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Why several U.S. cities are seeing record-high October temps - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/video/why-several-us-cities-seeing-record-high-october-temps/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}} Schechter debuted the first episode in January of 2023.{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Mark |date=2023-01-10 |title=CBS Stations Debuts Climate Change Series 'On The Dot With David Schechter' |url=https://tvnewscheck.com/journalism/article/cbs-stations-debuts-climate-change-series-on-the-dot-with-david-schechter/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=TV News Check |language=en}} His pieces have covered forest fires; the effects of light pollution; sea-level rise; climate-change anxiety; university climate divestment; the effects of greenhouse gasses; climate-related extinction, specifically of the Yarrow's spiny lizard;{{Cite web |date=2024-04-17 |title=CBS News: An Arizona scientist documents climate related extinction of mountainous lizard {{!}} College of Science |url=https://science.arizona.edu/news/cbs-news-arizona-scientist-documents-climate-related-extinction-mountainous-lizard |access-date=2024-09-19 |website=science.arizona.edu |language=en}} and more.

In December of 2023, Schechter capped off CBS's weeklong docu-series "Warming Signs" with an hour-long piece in which he visited Svalbard, Norway, the fastest-warming area on planet earth.{{Cite web |date=2023-12-04 |title=Paramount Press Express {{!}} CBS NEWS AND STATIONS PREMIERES "WARMING SIGNS," A WEEK-LONG CLIMATE DOCUSERIES THAT JOURNEYS TO THE FASTEST-WARMING COMMUNITY ON EARTH, TODAY DEC 4-8, WITH AN HOUR-LONG SPECIAL TO AIR THE WEEKEND OF DEC. 9 |url=https://www.paramountpressexpress.com/cbs-news-and-stations/releases/?view=108890-cbs-news-and-stations-premieres-warming-signs-a-week-long-climate-docuseries-that-journeys-to-the-fastest-warming-community-on-earth-today-dec-4-8-wit |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=www.paramountpressexpress.com |language=en}}

In 2023, Schechter co-founded the CBS E-Team, where he trains local reporters, meteorologists, and news managers on better ways to locally cover climate change.{{Cite web |date=2023-09-19 |title=David Schechter - CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/team/david-schechter/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Schueneman |first=Thomas |date=2024-07-13 |title=Climate Reporting: CBS Journalist Spearheads Initiative for Local Meteorologists |url=https://globalwarmingisreal.com/2024/07/13/climate-reporting-e-team-initiative-for-local-meteorologists/ |access-date=2024-07-18 |website=Global Warming is Real |language=en-US}}

In September 2024, Schechter became CBS's main climate correspondent after the network revamped their climate team. Soon after, Schechter began taking part in more live appearances on CBS network news under CBS's Climate Watch.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/LLj4LJWzC_dObrvo3hVejzIU0rMLfrId/ |title=Watch CBS Mornings: World summit on climate change fight starts - Full show on CBS |language=en |access-date=2024-11-19 |via=www.cbs.com}}

Schechter also writes broadly circulated opinion pieces on the how local journalists can better cover climate change.{{Cite web |last=Schechter |first=David |date=2023-12-13 |title=I'm a reporter and I know why talking about climate change makes local TV news nervous |url=https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2023/climate-change-coverage-local-tv-news/ |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=Poynter |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Schechter |first=David |title=How a Texas TV reporter gained the confidence to cover climate change |url=https://www.cjr.org/covering_climate_now/climate-crisis-data.php |access-date=2024-03-18 |website=Columbia Journalism Review |language=en}}

Schechter lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife Janet and son Henry. He is an Ethics Fellow at the Poynter Institute.{{Cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Bill |date=2004-01-27 |title=Poynter Ethics Fellows Class of 2002 |url=https://www.poynter.org/archive/2004/poynter-ethics-fellows-class-of-2002/ |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=Poynter |language=en-US}}

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Category:1971 births

Category:Living people

Category:21st-century American journalists