Longtime CBS News reporter Randall Pinkston wanted to be a disc jockey and had an interest in law but was pushed into journalism by mentors who saw something in him that he didn’t see in himself.
For 20 years, the award-winning reporter has covered many major events for CBS News, and he recently moved to CBS Newspath, which provides content to CBS affiliates and foreign media clients. Journalism has held sway for the student of history who listened to radio news as a child and would run to an atlas to look up a country that was being reported on.
“I was curious about the world, where things were and how things work, and the news allowed me to feed my curiosity on a daily basis about a whole range of topics,” Pinkston says.
The Mississippi native, who earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Millsaps College and a J.D. from the University of Connecticut Law School, came up in an era where news stations took a position on issues, such as supporting segregation, and refused to even cover African-Americans in the state.
“I knew something about fairness and accuracy because I saw so much that was unfair and inaccurate,” says Pinkston, who has always sought to stay true to the essence of journalism—finding a story, telling the truth and making it clear.
Pinkston recently spoke with Diverse about his career and the state of journalism.
DI: Of what coverage are you most proud?
