Dan Abrams Biography

Dan Abrams (born c. 1965/1966) is an American web entrepreneur and television presenter who serves as the chief legal affairs anchor for ABC News and as the host of both 60 Days In and Live PD on the A&E cable network. He is also a legal commentator and author, and a former anchor of Nightline. He worked as chief legal correspondent and analyst for NBC News, as general manager of MSNBC and as an anchor for that network.

Early life and education

Abrams was born in Manhattan, the son of Efrat and attorney Floyd Abrams. His family is Jewish. Abrams received a J.D. degree from Columbia Law School.

Career

Television and broadcasting

Early career

Abrams worked as a reporter for Court TV from May 1994 to June 1997, where he covered the OJ Simpson case,, the International War Crimes Tribunal from the Netherlands, and the assisted-suicide trials of Dr. Jack Kevorkian from Michigan.

MSNBC and NBC News

After leaving Court TV, Abrams was a general assignment correspondent for NBC News from 1997 to 1999 at which time he was named Chief Legal Correspondent. Abrams then began hosting his own show at MSNBC, and The Abrams Report began in 2001. Abrams hosted The Abrams Report until he accepted the lead managerial position at MSNBC. Abrams held the position of General Manager of MSNBC from June 12, 2006 until October 2007.With ratings up 62% during his tenure, Abrams left to concentrate on his 9pm show Live with Dan Abrams, which replaced Scarborough Country due to Joe Scarborough's move to mornings. This show would eventually be revamped and renamed Verdict with Dan Abrams, which aired until August 21, 2008. MSNBC announced on August 19, 2008 that Air America Radio host Rachel Maddow would take over that 9 p.m. time slot beginning September 8, 2008. At that time, Abrams took on additional duties with NBC News including substituting as an anchor on the Today show.

ABC

In March 2011, Abrams left NBC to become the Chief Legal Analyst for ABC News and a substitute anchor on Good Morning America. He is also a regular contributor to The View. ABC announced in June 2013 that Abrams would become the network's Chief Legal Affairs Anchor, as well as an anchor of Nightline. He stepped down as Nightline anchor in December 2014.

Abrams Media

Mediaite

Template:Main article In July 2009, Abrams launched Mediaite, a news site he described as "appreciating the celebrity of the media." Managing Editor Colby Hall noted that it "plays into the vanity of these individuals" without being "over-snarky or mean and nasty." The site combines editorial content with analytic rankings of media personalities. It achieved significant growth immediately after its launch, now has over 7 million unique visitors per month and is regularly in Technorati's list of the top 20 blogs in the country.

Gossip Cop

Later that month, Abrams and Michael Lewittes launched Gossip Cop, a media watchdog site that patrols the celebrity gossip universe. The site has been described as "TMZ meets Smoking Gun". The site rates gossip rumors on a 0-10 scale. The site regularly attracts over 4 million unique visitors per month.

Geekosystem

The first official "offspring" of flagship site Mediaite, Geekosystem was launched on January 25, 2010. Geekosystem covers "geek" culture, following developments in science, technology, as well as internet memes and Internet culture. Abrams described the site upon launch as "a broader interest site that will celebrate and cover everything from technology and science fiction to video games and comics."

Styleite

Abrams's foray into fashion, Styleite, was launched on March 25, 2010. Functioning for fashion the way Mediaite does for journalism, Styleite launched with both news and opinion content as well as a fashion version of the "Power Grid," which ranks designers, models, writers, and others in the style business based on influence and following. Abrams rebranded Styleite as Runway Riot in 2015, appointing model Iskra Lawrence as managing editor. RunwayRiot.com is marketed as a fashion site for "plus-sized women."

SportsGrid

Launched in May 2010, SportsGrid offers a mix of sports news, video clips and other media tracking both sports and the media world surrounding it. Like the other Abrams Media properties, the site features a Power Grid "tabulated by using a specially developed algorithm that pools a variety of metrics, including TV ratings; Web traffic and circulation counts; attendance; number of Twitter followers; on-field performance for players and coaches; and franchise values." In 2013, SportsGrid was acquired by Anthem Media Group in a stock and cash deal. Consequently, Abrams holds a significant interest in the first and all fantasy sports cable channel called the FNTSY Sports Network which was launched by Anthem.

The Mary Sue

In 2011, Abrams Media launched The Mary Sue, a sister site to Geekosystem with the goal of "highlighting women in the geek world, and providing a prominent place for the voices of geek women." Based on its rapid growth and high engagement, in 2014, Abrams folded Geekosystem into The Mary Sue.

The Braiser

In May 2012, Abrams launched a site focused on the personalities and lifestyles of the world's best-known chefs. Rather than recipes or techniques, The Braiser's topics consist of chefs who "have gone from being food icons to becoming mainstream celebrities," according to an interview Abrams gave to The New York Times in late April. It was also nominated for a prestigious James Beard Foundation Award in 2014. This site is now part of Mediaite.com.

LawNewz

In 2016 Abrams launched LawNewz, a legal news website which also live streams trials as part of its online network launched on February 24, 2017.

Writing

Abrams has published articles in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today magazine, The American Lawyer, and the Yale Law and Policy Review. He has also written for online magazines such as The Huffington Post, Daily Beast, and Mediaite. He is a regular columnist for Men's Health.

In March 2010, Abrams published the book Man Down: Proof Beyond a Reasonable Doubt That Women Are Better Cops, Drivers, Gamblers, Spies, World Leaders, Beer Tasters, Hedge Fund Managers and Just About Everything Else. The book has since been verified as a Washington Post best seller, and it has been translated into Russian, Indonesian, Croatian, Swedish and Hebrew, among other languages.

Personal life

In June 2012, Abrams had his first child, a son named Everett Floyd Abrams, with girlfriend Florinka Pesenti, who was part of the winning team on The Amazing Race 3.

Abrams is a co-owner of the restaurant White Street, located in Tribeca.

Abrams's sister, Ronnie Abrams, was nominated for a federal judgeship by Barack Obama in 2011. She received her commission on March 23, 2012.