Craig Cheatham, an award-winning St. Louis investigative reporter, has been hired by WCPO-TV as the I-Team's executive producer and investigative reporter.
The Louisville native and University of Kentucky graduate has won more than 30 national journalism awards, including a George Foster Peabody Award; four Edward R. Murrow Awards; three Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Batons; two Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE) certificates; and a Robert F. Kennedy Award.
He'll join Emmy-winning investigative reporter Hillary Lake, hired in June from KATU-TV in Portland, OR, and 9 On Your Side multi-media Journalist Tony Mirones, who rejoins the I-Team as producer and videographer. Mirones has won 10-Emmy Awards and three Ohio Associated Press Best Photographer Awards.
Channel 9's I-Team had been depleted in the past two years, with investigative reporter Jason Law leaving in March for a Boston TV station and Brendan Keefe, who won 31 Emmys for Channel 9, going to an Atlanta TV station two years ago.
“Craig is the perfect fit to lead the 9 On Your Side I-Team,” said Jeff Brogan, WCPO-TV vice president and general manager in the station announcement. "His investigations grab attention and high interest and they go a step further in empowering others to make significant changes in communities; it’s right in line with the nationally recognized I-Team which has been watching out for the best interests of Cincinnatians for over 20 years.”
During his 16 years at KMOV-TV in St. Louis, Cheatham's stories "prompted state and federal investigations, changed laws, (and) sent people to prison," says his KMOV-TV bio. In his 30-year career, he also "has covered major earthquakes and storms, climbed the steaming lava dome of Mount St. Helens and pursued convicted killers violating their parole."
You can read about his award-winning KMOV-TV stories here.
Cheatham, a 1984 UK graduate, started his career in radio. In 1986, as a 24-year-old reporter, he produced a documentary "that prompted services for young child abuse survivors and earned eight national awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy award and his first duPont," KMOV-TV says.
Before joining KMOV-TV in 1999, he was a reporter and anchor at KOIN-TV in Portland, OR.
