Sam Donaldson

Sam Donaldson first came to the attention of many Americans with his relentless questioning of Presidents Carter, Reagan and Clinton as the longtime White House correspondent for ABC News. Born in El Paso, Texas, he grew up just across the state line in Chamberino, New Mexico. His father died before he was born, leaving his mother and one older brother to run the family's cotton and dairy farm. He became interested in broadcasting at an early age and, after graduating from New Mexico Military institute, majored in telecommunications at Texas Western. He immediately began working at local stations as a disc jockey, announcer and interviewer. At 26, he gave up a secure job on a local station in Dallas, Texas to move to New York and try to break into the big time. Rebuffed in New York, he finally found a job in Washington, D.C. Years of grueling work lay ahead, but in time Donaldson was to become one of the best-known, most-loved and most-hated figures in the world of broadcast news. For over 40 years, he was a pillar of the award-winning ABC News team. Beginning in the 1980s, he served as anchor or co-host of a number of prime time news programs including World News Sunday, Prime Time Live and the Sunday morning political discussion program This Week. Now retired from daily broadcasting, he can still be seen as an occasional panelist on This Week. In this podcast, recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 1996 Summit in Sun Valley, Idaho, he recounts the story of his early years, and the necessity of persistence in any pursuit.