Jim Heath Biography

This article is about an anchorman, for the article on musician Jim Heath, see The Reverend Horton Heat.

Jim Heath (born April 20, 1966, in Van Wert, Ohio) is a Political Correspondent and Analyst for WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio. He is also the moderator of the weekly political program Capitol Square, aired each Sunday on WBNS.

During the 2012 presidential campaign, Heath made national news following an interview with Republician presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. During the interview, which took place in Columbus, Ohio, Heath asked Romney whether he supported the Blunt-Rubio Amendment. The controversial legislation was being voted on by the U.S. Senate the following day. Romney answered "no, I do not support the bill" but later in the day reversed his position, claiming he misunderstood Heath's question. The reaction to Romney's initial answer made headlines across the county and was the topic of national cable television political shows. The exchange lead GQ Magazine to list Heath on their Top 5 political "Power List."

Prior to Ohio's 2012 presidential primary, The Washington Post named Heath to their "Best Super Tuesday Twitter List."

During the 2008 presidential primary cycle, Heath was the only television anchor in South Carolina who landed interviews with all the presidential candidates. He was invited on board the campaign bus of Senator Fred Thompson during his first campaign trip to South Carolina. He interviewed Senator Barack Obama from J.V. Martin Middle School, one of the oldest and poorest schools in the south. He spent an inning at the ballpark interviewing former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He interviewed John Edwards and his wife Elizabeth Edwards as they walked into the South Carolina Democratic Convention. He interviewed former Governor Mitt Romney during his first campaign trip to Myrtle Beach. Heath was the only local journalist invited to interview Senator Hillary Clinton from Florence, South Carolina, as she began her presidential bid.

Heath has known and covered Senator John McCain for over thirty years. In 2002, Heath and McCain won an award from the Arizona Associated Press for a live interview. When McCain returned to Greenville, South Carolina in January, 2006, for the first time since his defeat in the 2000 South Carolina primary, Heath was granted the first interview. Heath also landed a rare interview with Cindy McCain.

Biography

Prior to joining WBNS, Heath was the Statehouse Correspondent and Capitol Square Moderator for the Ohio News Network. From 2003 to 2009, Heath was the primary evening anchor at the ABC-TV affiliate WPDE-TV in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. From 2000 to 2003, he was the primary evening anchor at the NBC-TV affiliate KYMA-DT in Yuma, Arizona.

Prior to television, Heath spent a decade in the political arena, including serving as a congressional press secretary, aide to a corporation commissioner, and a candidate for statewide public office in Arizona.

Although born in Ohio, Heath grew up in Lake Havasu City, Arizona and was a communications major at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. He completed his broadcasting internship at KTSP CBS (now KSAZ-TV) in Phoenix.

Recognition

• Heath was part of 10TV team that won the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Television Political Journalism
• Heath has received three Emmy Award nominations for his political reporting.
• The Ohio Society of Professional Journalists presented Heath with a "Best Government Reporting" award.
• Lake Havasu High School awarded Heath with the Distinguished Alumni Award.
• Heath was four times selected Anchorman of the Year by the Myrtle Beach Herald.
• The Associated Press has presented Heath with several "Best Live Reporting" awards.