Background
Whitaker was born in Philadelphia and graduated from Hobart College in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American history.
television journalist Tokyo correspondent
Whitaker was born in Philadelphia and graduated from Hobart College in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American history.
He also attended a graduate Journalism program at the University of California, Berkeley in 1978.
He went on to graduate study at Boston University earning a master"s degree in African-American studies in 1974. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 1997. Whitaker"s broadcast journalism career began in 1979 at KQED in San Francisco, California.
In 1982 Whitaker became a correspondent for WBTV in Charlotte, North Carolina.
He moved to Atlanta, Georgia and covered politics from 1985 to 1989. He joined Columbia Broadcasting System News as a reporter in November 1984.
He became the Columbia Broadcasting System News" Tokyo correspondent from 1989 to 1992. In November 1992 Whitaker moved to Los Angeles and became a Columbia Broadcasting System News correspondent there.
In March 2014, Whitaker was made correspondent for the Columbia Broadcasting System news program 60 Minutes, for which he will begin reporting in the fall season.
In June 2015, Whitaker received an honorary doctorate from Knox College.