Richard Benedetto
2018 Presidential Sites Summit Speaker
Richard Benedetto is a retired White House correspondent/columnist for USA TODAY and Gannett News Service. He has reported and commented on government and politics on the local, state and national levels for nearly 50 years.
Since retiring from USA Today in 2006, he has taught journalism and political science at American University, Washington, D.C. and in The Fund For American Studies programs at Georgetown University and George Mason University. He continues to write political commentary for USA Today, The Hill, RealClearPolitics, The Wall Street Journal and Politico, among others.
University Press of America published Benedetto’s memoir of his long reporting career, Politicians Are People, Too, in 2006.
Benedetto is a founding member of USA TODAY, joining the newspaper before its debut in 1982. He wrote the national newspaper’s first Page One cover story and saw it rise to No. 1 in national circulation, selling more than two million newspapers daily.
At USA Today, he covered the presidencies of Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He also covered every presidential campaign since 1984 and every national political convention since 1976.
Benedetto began his journalism career with the Buffalo (N.Y.) Evening News (1966-70), and held government and political reporting positions with the Utica (N.Y.) Daily Press and Observer-Dispatch (1971-76) and the Gannett News Service State Capital Bureau, (Albany N.Y.) (1976-82) during the Gov. Hugh L. Carey administration.
He is a graduate of Proctor High School in Utica, N.Y., and holds a B.A. from Syracuse University, an M.A. in Journalism from the Newhouse School at Syracuse University and an honorary doctorate degree from Syracuse University. Among his many journalism awards, he is proudest of his 1998 Media Award by the National Italian American Foundation for his projection of a positive image of Italian Americans.
He is married to the former Carol DelMastro. They have four daughters, including triplets, and one grandson. They reside in Springfield, Va.
