Veteran political journalist Mark Knoller, who served as an editor and radio reporter for CBS News for over three decades, from 1988 to 2020, has died. He was 73.
CBS News president and executive editor Tom Cibrowski called him “the hardest-working and most prolific White House correspondent of a generation” following his death, which was confirmed by the outlet on Saturday, Aug. 31.
While a cause of death was not confirmed, Knoller was known to suffer from diabetes and was reportedly in ill health prior to his death.
The journalist was known as a legend among those covering the White House, particularly due to his unofficial role as the presidential statistician, keeping track of absolutely everything each Commander in Chief did and said when possible.
“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,” the network’s Chip Reid explained in his obituary, quoting Knoller, who once detailed, “I keep a daily log of everything the president does. I keep a list of speeches. I keep a list of travel – foreign travel, domestic travel. A list of outings. A list of golf. A list of pardons, vetoes, states that he’s visited, states that he hasn’t visited. Every time he goes on vacation, every visit to Camp David.”
Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images
He also made all those records available to anyone in need, rather than hoarding the “hard-earned gold mine” for himself.
“In the extremely competitive world of journalism, you might think he would hoard it for his own use. But no,” Reid wrote. “This remarkably generous man shared it with anyone who asked – reporters on deadline, historians, even White House aides filling gaps in their own administration’s records. He believed the public had a right to know.”
“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…And he always answered with kindness, class, and a sincere desire to help,” Jim Axelrod, chief correspondent and executive editor for CBS News’ Eye on America franchise, emphasized.
Knoller covered eight administrations during his tenure as both an editor and writer. After stepping down as editor to focus on covering the news directly, he coveredthe end of George H.W. Bush’s and retired at the end of Donald Trump’s first term. “Everyone in America knew his distinctive voice and his up-to-the-minute reporting across eight Presidential administrations,” Cibrowski added.
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