Background
He was born in New York City, to Benjamin and Helen Greenfield. He grew up in Manhattan and graduated in 1960 from the Bronx High School of Science.
He was born in New York City, to Benjamin and Helen Greenfield. He grew up in Manhattan and graduated in 1960 from the Bronx High School of Science.
In 1964 he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Daily Cardinal, and in 1966 graduated with a bachelor of laws degree from Yale Law School, where he was a Note and Comment editor of the Yale Law Journal.
He also served as a speechwriter for Senator Robert F. Kennedy. He served as media commentator for Columbia Broadcasting System News from 1979 to 1983 and as political and media analyst for American Broadcasting Company News from 1983 to 1997, often appearing on the Nightline program He served as a senior analyst at Cable News Network from 1998 to 2007.
On May 1, 2007, Greenfield returned to Columbia Broadcasting System News, where he served as a senior political correspondent until April 2011.
He currently hosts Public Broadcasting Service"s "Need To Know" and also does political commentary on National Broadcasting Company Nightly News. He has also written or contributed to eleven books and has written for Time, The New York Times, and Slate.
Greenfield is the recipient of three Emmy Awards, two for his reporting from South Africa (1985 and 1990) and one for a profile of H. Ross Perot (1992).
Over the course of his career, he has reported primarily on domestic politics and the media and occasionally on culture. He appeared on the Firing Lincolnshire television program in 1968 and was the host of the national public television series "Chief Executive Officer Exchange," featuring in-depth interviews with high-profile chief executive officers, for five seasons.