Candy Alt Crowley (born December 26, 1948) is an American news anchor who was employed as CNN's chief political correspondent, specializing in American national and state elections. She was based in CNN's Washington, D.C. bureau and was the anchor of its Sunday morning talk show State of the Union with Candy Crowley. She has covered elections for over two decades.[citation needed]

Candy Crowley
Crowley in February 2008, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas
Born
Candy Alt Crowley

(1948-12-26) December 26, 1948 (age 76)
EducationThe Principia School
Randolph-Macon Woman's College
Occupation(s)Broadcast journalist, anchor
Notable credit(s)Inside Politics
Anchor of State of the Union with Candy Crowley
TitleChief political correspondent
Children2

Early life and education

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Crowley was born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where her family had moved briefly from St. Louis, Missouri. Her family moved back to St. Louis when she was a toddler and she grew up in the St. Louis County suburb of Creve Coeur, Missouri.[1] She attended kindergarten through high school at The Principia School, a private school for children of Christian Scientists in St. Louis County, where she graduated in 1966. After high school she attended Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English.[2]

Career

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Crowley started her career as a newsroom assistant with the Washington, D.C.–based radio station WASH-FM.[citation needed] She was an anchor for Mutual Broadcasting and the White House correspondent for the Associated Press.[2] She moved from NBC to CNN in 1987.[3] She hosted Inside Politics in place of Judy Woodruff before the show was replaced with The Situation Room.[4] In February 2010, Crowley succeeded John King as an anchor of the Sunday morning political talk show State of the Union.[5]

Crowley has been characterized by the Los Angeles Times as a "straight shooter", her career as "sophisticated political observation, graceful writing, and determined fairness," and her style as "no-nonsense". The L.A. Times article says that because of this criticism of her reporting is equally distributed between the Democratic and Republican parties.[3]

Crowley has won several awards, including the Broadcasters' Award from the Associated Press, the 2003 and 1998 Dirksen Awards from the National Press Foundation, the 1997 and 2005 Joan Shorenstein Barone Award, a 2003 Emmy Award for her work on CNN Presents Enemy Within, the 2004 Gracie Allen Award for her war coverage, a National Headliner and a Cine award, the 2005 Edward R. Murrow Award, and the 2012 William Allen White Foundation National Citation from the school of journalism at the University of Kansas for her expertise on "politics, politicians, and the events that have changed the world."[6]

Crowley served as the moderator October 16, 2012, for the second presidential election debate between President Barack Obama and his Republican opponent Mitt Romney.[7] She received criticism for her contradicting Romney and seemingly confirming Obama's statement during an exchange with Romney over the language the President used regarding the attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi.[8][9][10][11] CNN noted that "conservative critics have launched an attack Crowley"...but "Crowley was right."[12] Crowley later stated that Romney "was right in the main, I just think that he picked the wrong word." [13]

On March 17, 2013, following their CNN report on the guilty verdict of two Steubenville high school football players for the rape of an unconscious sixteen-year-old, Crowley and fellow journalist Poppy Harlow were criticized for giving too much coverage to how the verdict would affect the defendants' lives.[14][15]

CNN announced on December 5, 2014, Crowley's decision to leave the network after 27 years. CNN Worldwide President Jeff Zucker said Crowley "has made the decision to move on, so she can embark on the next chapter of her already prolific career. As difficult as it is for us to imagine CNN without Candy, we know that she comes to this decision thoughtfully, and she has our full support."[16] Her last broadcast was on State of the Union on December 21, 2014.[17] On August 17, 2015, Politico reported that CNN correspondent Dana Bash would replace Crowley as chief political correspondent.

In fall 2015, Crowley became a fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics.[18] She has retired from daily work and is serving as a paid guest speaker.[19]

Personal life

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Crowley is a vegetarian and practices Transcendental Meditation.[3][20] She is divorced,[21] and has two children, two stepchildren and four grandchildren. Her elder child is a neurosurgeon and her younger son a musician.[22]

References

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  1. ^ Angel, Traci (January 2005). "Catching Up With...Candy Crowley". St. Louis Magazine.
  2. ^ a b "Anchors & Reporters: Candy Crowley". CNN. Archived from the original on June 19, 2012. Retrieved June 19, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Rainey, James (November 18, 2009). "She's lighter 'in a lot of ways'". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ^ "Saying Goodbye To Inside Politics". TVNewser. August 5, 2005.
  5. ^ "Crowley to take over State of the Union anchor chair". CNN. January 31, 2010. Archived from the original on February 3, 2010. Retrieved January 31, 2010.
  6. ^ Veseer, Natasha (January 25, 2012). "Political correspondent Candy Crowley to receive William Allen White citation". KU Press Release. Archived from the original on November 12, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
  7. ^ Blake, Aaron (August 13, 2012). "Presidential Debate Moderators Announced: Crowley Is First Woman in 20 Years". Washington Post.
  8. ^ Goldman, Russell (October 17, 2012). "Candy Crowley Defends Her Libya Comment During Presidential Debate". ABC News. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  9. ^ Stephanopolous, George (October 21, 2012). "Greta Van Susteren: Candy Crowley 'Clumsy' on Benghazi Debate Interjection". ABC News. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  10. ^ Monroe, Bryan (October 20, 2012). "The truth about what Candy Crowley said". CNN. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  11. ^ Greenberg, Jon (October 27, 2012). "Romney says Obama waited 14 days to call Libya attack terror". Politifact. Retrieved September 26, 2016.
  12. ^ Monroe, Bryan (October 18, 2012). "The truth about what Candy Crowley said | CNN Politics". CNN. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  13. ^ Schwartz, Ian (October 16, 2012). "Candy Crowley: Romney Was Actually "Right In The Main" On Libya". RealClearPolitics. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
  14. ^ Knowles, David (March 18, 2013). "Petition blasting CNN for allegedly sympathetic coverage of Steubenville, Ohio, rape convicts garners more than 200,000 signatures". New York Daily News. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  15. ^ Wemple, Erik (March 18, 2013). "CNN is getting hammered for Steubenville coverage". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 9, 2013.
  16. ^ Bradner, Eric. "Crowley to leave CNN after 27 years". CNN. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
  17. ^ "Candy bids CNN farewell (video)". CNN.com. CNN. December 21, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
  18. ^ "Candy Crowley". The Institute of Politics at Harvard University. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  19. ^ "Speakers | Executive Speakers Bureau". www.executivespeakers.com. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  20. ^ McCarthy, Ellen (August 24, 2010). "Candy Crowley, veteran CNN reporter, takes on competitive Sunday morning slot". The Washington Post.
  21. ^ McCarthy, Ellen (August 26, 2010). "CNN Host Candy Crowley anchored in nuance". The Peninsula. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved July 24, 2013.
  22. ^ McCarthy, Ellen (August 30, 2010). "CNN's new anchor Candy Crowley is not your typical broadcaster". The Daily Herald. Archived from the original on July 26, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
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