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53 countries, five continents, and multiple presidential administrations. Newsmax Chief White House Correspondent James Rosen is the man who’s in the know across Washington. “The only reason good reporters become reporters, is because we suffer from a peculiar compulsion to adduce new facts to the record of our times,” he said.
As a child, Rosen wanted to be a comic book illustrator, like his idol Neal Adams, but was swayed by his parents to pursue other avenues of employment. “I thought that I would very much like to be like another person I idolized in the 1970s, Dan Rather,” Rosen said. “He was really good looking, and as the CBS News White House Correspondent he would trot the globe in a smart looking trench coat and go toe to toe with the Presidents of the United States,” he recalled.
Rosen studied political science at Johns Hopkins University, where he came to the conclusion, “Why would you want to be like Dan Rather and spend your days as a reporter going after the crumbs of information?” Still looking for his calling, it wasn’t until high school friend and roommate Rich Eisen went to Northwestern University Rosen settled on being ‘the record of our times.’ He, too, went to graduate school at Northwestern before landing in market No. 137 in Rockford, Illinois at WREX TV.
The anchor and reporter then moved around to multiple start-up stations (at the time) including NY1 and News 12/The Bronx, before landing at Fox News in 1999. “I wrote a cheeky letter to Brit Hume, who at the time was the anchor and managing editor for Fox News, and that was my big break – when Brit Hume hired me for the Washington bureau,” Rosen recalled.
From his tenure at Fox News, to later Sinclair and beyond, Rosen has always made headlines. His exclusive reporting on North Korea’s nuclear program earned him the distinction of being the first reporter to be a designated as a criminal co-conspirator in an alleged violation of the Espionage Act. “Somebody was prosecuted in connection with that and served a prison sentence,” Rosen said. “The person stood up in open court and acknowledged that he ‘had provided classified national defense information to James Rosen of Fox News,’” Rosen recalled.
The incident, which happened while Rosen was at Fox News under the Obama administration, caught the attention of several rival outlets. In a unifying move, many outlets and anchors came to his defense, “I was grateful that so many people throughout the media, from Jake Tapper and others, all sorts of folks stood up for me, stood up for Fox News.”
Rosen joined Sinclair Broadcast Group in 2019, where he would break another major story. “On October 29th, 2020, 5 days before Election Day, I broke the story that Hunter Biden was under criminal investigation by the FBI for his finances,” he said. Rosen’s report came just 15 days after the New York Post initially reported on the ‘laptop from hell.’
Rosen recalled of his own report, “[It] was something that nobody else corroborated or refuted until after the 2020 election, when Hunter Biden himself stepped forward and confirmed that he was under FBI criminal investigation for his finances.”
In January 2022, he moved on to his new-found home, Newsmax. It is here where Rosen continues to ask the tough questions of Washington insiders, including President Biden. The proud moment which is best told in his own words:
“I asked my famous question of President Biden on January 19th, 2022. Basically, I said, ‘I’d like to ask you a delicate question, but with utmost respect for your lifetime of accomplishment and the high office you hold. A poll was released this morning by Politico/ Morning Consult which found that only 46% of registered voters agreed with the statement, “Joe Biden is mentally fit.” Not even a majority of Democrats were willing strongly to affirm the statement.’”
President Biden tried to cut him off, but he persisted. “I said, ‘If you’ll allow me to finish, Mr. President, why do you suppose such large segments of the American electorate have come to harbor such profound concerns about your cognitive fitness?’ He simply said, ‘I have no idea’ and turned to the next questioner. In the minds of many watching that moment live in the East Room, his answer validated the question because when a man tells you he has no idea, he is, in a sense, speaking to a mind that is empty.” As we approach the end of the Biden Presidency, it is clear Rosen’s question was a valid one.
For those looking to follow in Rosen’s footsteps he facetiously said, “There’s no substitute for comfortable shoes.” Less flippantly he noted there are two key items to success: reading and writing. “It’s really important to be a voracious reader if you want to be a good reporter,” he said. “Meaning, not just reading all the articles you think you need to know in order to pursue your daily assignments. It means keeping abreast of developments in totally unrelated areas, whether it’s science or technology or culture.”
Similarly on writing, Rosen suggests you write for more than just your 2-minute live hit. “I would urge young reporters, especially those who go into TV, to maintain their writing chops [as well] because when you’re working in increments of two minutes, your writing style will necessarily change to adapt to the TV medium. One thing I’ve been doing continuously since I got into this business is continuing to write and publish in print outlets because I wanted also to keep my writing skills, or real prose, intact.”
Having worked with Rosen previously, there are some things about him which are hard to completely capture in black and white. He has a great love for the Beatles and Paul McCartney and Wings. He will defend the group’s oft-overlooked 1979 album, Back to the Egg, but not Paul’s equally obscure 1986 solo effort Press for Play. His dry witty sense of humor is unmatched in any newsroom. He also is steadfast in the use of SAT words, which can make an unprepared producer’s head spin (“My audience always understand me,” he says). James Rosen is a true veteran in the media industry always looking to clarify the proverbial record and “adduce new facts for the record of our times.”
Krystina Alarcon Carroll is a news media columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. She has experience in almost every facet of the industry including: digital and print news; live, streamed, and syndicated TV; documentary and film productions. Her prior employers have included NY1 and Fox News Digital and the Law & Crime Network. You can find Krystina on X (formerly twitter) @KrystinaAlaCarr.
