Mark Knoller, Longtime CBS News White House Correspondent, Dies at 73
Mark Knoller, the longtime CBS News radio correspondent and veteran political journalist, has died in Washington, D.C. He was 73.
CBS News confirmed his death on Saturday, noting he had been in ill health and suffered from diabetes.
Knoller was an editor and radio reporter for CBS News from 1988 to 2020. He was a legend among White House journalists for his status as an unofficial presidential statistician.
“His frustration over the lack of a central database of daily presidential actions inspired him to take upon himself the enormous burden of keeping meticulous records of every presidential act, movement, and utterance, single-handedly filling an immense void in American history,” CBS News’ Chip Reid wrote in his obituary for Knoller.
“Mark Knoller was the hardest-working and most prolific White House correspondent of a generation,” said Tom Cibrowski, CBS News president and executive editor. “Everyone in America knew his distinctive voice and his up-to-the-minute reporting across eight Presidential administrations.”
Born in Brooklyn, Knoller set his sights on a career in journalism as a youth. He graduated from New York University and began his career as a copy writer and then radio reporter at WNEW radio. In 1975, he joined the Associated Press Radio Network.
Knoller moved to CBS after a 1988 meeting with famed CBS News producer Susan Zirinsky led to a job offer with the Eye network. Knoller came in first as an assignment editor but after a few years, he moved over to his dream job, as Reid described it, as a White House correspondent for CBS Radio.
Former CBS News colleagues offered tributes to Knoller.
“Mark Knoller was simply the best, a legendary White House journalist who was a delight to be around,” said CBS News senior correspondent Norah O’Donnell. “His work was his life. He was kind, funny and always gracious in sharing his encyclopedic knowledge of the presidency. His CBS family adored him, and we will miss our friend.”
Major Garrett, CBS News’ chief White House correspondent, said Knoller “defined” the role of White House correspondent.
“Mark was the most devoted, tenacious and clear-eyed journalist I have ever had the honor of knowing. For as long as I live, I will count among my life’s greatest blessings that I was able to work alongside him,” Garrett said.
Jim Axelrod, chief investigative correspondent for CBS News, cited Knoller’s generosity with colleagues.
“As impressive as Mark Knoller’s sweep of knowledge about the White House and the presidency was – it was surpassed only by his generosity toward his many friends and colleagues,” Axelrod said. “And he always answered with kindness, class, and a sincere desire to help.”
