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Dan Harris (journalist)

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Dan Harris
Born
Daniel B. Harris

(1971-07-26) July 26, 1971 (age 53)
Alma materColby College (BA)
OccupationTelevision journalist
Notable credits
Spouse
Bianca Harris
(m. 2009)
Children1

Daniel B. Harris (born July 26, 1971) is a retired American journalist for ABC News. He was an anchor for Nightline and co-anchor of the weekend edition of Good Morning America.

Early life and education

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Harris is the son of Nancy Lee Harris and Jay R. Harris. His father is in the chair of the radiation oncology residency program at Harvard University and his mother is a pathologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and an expert on lymphomas. His younger brother, Matthew Carmichael Harris, is a venture capitalist.[1] Harris graduated in 1993 from Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

Career

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Journalism

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Harris began his career as an anchor for WLBZ in Bangor, Maine. He then worked for two years at WCSH in Portland, Maine, as an anchor and political reporter. From 1997 to 2000 he was an anchor at New England Cable News.[2]

He joined ABC News in 2000. He anchored World News Sunday from 2006 to 2011 and frequently anchored World News, ABC World News Tonight weekend editions and Nightline. He is also a frequent contributor to World News. He also anchored ABC's coverage of Hurricane Katrina in September 2005. In October 2010, he was named the new co-anchor for the weekend edition of Good Morning America. In October 2013, he was named a co-anchor for Nightline, succeeding Bill Weir.[3] In August 2021, Harris announced that he would be leaving ABC News to focus on his meditation company. He retired from ABC News on September 26, 2021.[4]

In addition to reporting on a range of natural disasters and several mass shootings, and from multiple combat zones, Harris led the network's reporting on religion, especially evangelicalism, and once spent 48 hours in solitary confinement for a story on criminal justice.[2] 

On March 1, 2016, it was announced that Harris would become the host of the game show 500 Questions, replacing Richard Quest.[5]

Meditation and authorship

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Harris encourages the use of meditation, and he uses a method of watching the breath. His "10% Happier" podcasts are interviews with other meditators. Harris' book, 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Really Works – a True Story, was published in March 2014. Harris has said that his self-examination, abandonment of drugs, and adoption of meditation were prompted by an on-air panic attack in 2004.[6] In the book, Harris recounts how he resolved the apparent conflict between meditation-induced equanimity and the aggressive competitiveness required for success as a TV news journalist.

A meditation smartphone application was launched in 2015 and rebranded as 10% Happier, based on Harris' book.[7]

Personal life

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Harris is married to Dr. Bianca Harris; they have a son.[8][9] Although he refers to himself as "half-Jewish“ and “culturally Jewish",[10] he identifies as a Buddhist.[11]

In high school Harris played the drums in a band with the bassist for the rock band The Unband.[12]

Awards

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Harris received an Edward R. Murrow Award for his reporting on a young Iraqi man who received the help he needed in order to move to America, and in 2009 won an Emmy Award for his Nightline report, "How to Buy a Child in Ten Hours".[13]

He has been awarded honorary doctorates by his alma mater Colby College and by the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.[14]

Bibliography

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  • 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works – A True Story (2014) ISBN 9781444799064
  • Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics: A 10% Happier How-to Book (2017), co-authored with Jeff Warren and Carlye Adler ISBN 9780399588945

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Harris, Dan (2014). 10% Happier, Harper Collins, p. 76.
  2. ^ a b "Dan Harris: 'Nightline' co-anchor and 'Good Morning America' weekend edition correspondent". ABC News. March 14, 2017. Archived from the original on June 13, 2019.
  3. ^ Nicole Enberg (October 11, 2013). "Dan Harris Named Co-Anchor of Nightline". ABC News Blogs. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  4. ^ Johnson, Ted (August 8, 2021). "'Good Morning America' Weekend Co-Anchor Dan Harris Announces Departure From ABC News". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  5. ^ Petski, Denise (March 1, 2016). "Nightline's Dan Harris To Host '500 Questions' Season 2 On ABC". Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  6. ^ Gary Singh (March 4, 2020). "Get Centered". Metro Silicon Valley. p. 8.
  7. ^ Sarah Perez (June 5, 2018). "10% Happier, a 'no BS' meditation app for skeptics, raises $3.7M in new funding". Techcrunch. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
  8. ^ "Dan Harris Becomes a Father". ABC News Blogs (video, 3 mins, 3 secs).
  9. ^ "Dan Harris Becomes a Father". Yahoo! News. December 27, 2014. Archived from the original on February 27, 2015.
  10. ^ Jay Michaelson (May 26, 2014). "Why Do Jews Meditate? It's All in the Worrying!". The Jewish Daily Forward. although Harris hastens to note that he's 'only' half-Jewish and culturally Jewish
  11. ^ Dan Harris (April 10, 2015). "How a skeptical anchorman became a Buddhist". CNN.
  12. ^ "Dan Harris on Twitter". October 24, 2013.
  13. ^ "News & Documentary Emmy Awards (2009)". IMDb. Retrieved July 25, 2021.
  14. ^ Avenue, Peabody Museum Auditorium See map 170 Whitney (May 25, 2016). "Poynter Fellowship: Dan Harris". Office of Public Affairs & Communications. Retrieved July 25, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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