Peter Sant

Background

Van Sant was born on February 21, 1953 in Seattle, Washington.

Education

He graduated cum laude from Washington State University in 1975 with a bachelor"s degree in Communications.

Career

After graduation Van Sant worked for KAPY-LP in Portuguese Angeles, Washington. He joined KMVT-television in Twin Falls, Idaho, in 1975. He worked for Cedar Rapids-based KCRG-television from 1976 through 1977, and from 1977 through 1978 for Omaha-based KETV. In 1978 he joined Fox-owned COOL-television in Phoenix, Arizona, as weekend anchor and reporter. In 1982 he moved to Dallas and worked at WFAA-television until 1984.

In 1984 Van Sant joined Columbia Broadcasting System News and worked in Atlanta as a correspondent for Columbia Broadcasting System Evening News for the next six years.

In 1989 he was assigned to the London bureau from where he reported on the collapse of Soviet Union, the first Gulf War, reunification of Germany and famine in Africa. He moved to New York in 1991 and reported for Columbia Broadcasting System News magazines Street Stories until 1993, and America Tonight until 1994.

He was then assigned to Columbia Broadcasting System Evening News where he worked until 1997 and received his second Emmy Award for his report on the economic and social collapse in Albania. In 1997–1998 Van Sant was named a correspondent for Public Eye with Bryant Gumbel.

He was also a part of the Columbia Broadcasting System News undercover investigative team which taped an indicted war criminal in Bosnia.

Van Sant reported on major national events including September 11 attacks, Hurricane Katrina, Virginia Technical massacre and interviewed many celebrities such as Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Garth Brooks, Nick Nolte, Lee Ann Womack, and Ronnie Dunn and Kix Brooks. He also reported 48 Hours Special on Oklahoma City bombing in a documentary called Day of Reckoning. Throughout his career Van Sant always liked to focus on stories involving "controversy and confrontation", following stories from early stages to their concurrent status, such as one on Lori Berenson, an American jailed in Peru since 1995.

Four Emmy.

Achievements

• Four Emmy Awards Three Edward R. Murrow Awards for his 48 Hours Mystery reports Alfred I. duPont–Columbia University Award for his reports on the collapse of the Soviet Union Overseas Press Club Award for his investigative reports on illegal organ trading in Peru and report on Lori Berenson American Women in Radio and Television Award for his report on rapes in war-torn Bosnia Sigma Delta Chi Award for the report on worldwide human trafficking awarded in 2005.

Works

• Other Work

  • Van Sant has co-authored the book Perfectly Executed, based on a story featured on the 48 Hours Mystery television show. In 2006, he also wrote the script and produced the documentary Three Days in September about the Beslan school hostage crisis, which premiered on Tribeca Film Festival. Narrated by Julia Roberts, the film won Van Sant his fourth Emmy Award and was named one of the top documentaries of 2006.
    
    The documentary also won the prestigious Golden Word Award of Russia.