CBS Evening News Sunday Anchor Adding Role As Early Show Hard News Anchor

(CBS) Russ Mitchell, anchor of the Sunday edition of the CBS Evening News, will also be the hard news anchor of The Early Show beginning Jan. 8, 2007.

Until then, Mitchell will retain his current duties as co-anchor of the Saturday Early Show with Tracy Smith, and as one of the rotating anchors of the Saturday edition of the CBS Evening News, with Thalia Assuras and Mika Brzezinski.

He also is a correspondent for CBS News' Sunday Morning, and he substitutes as anchor of the weekday CBS Evening News and The Early Show.

"Russ is one of our most versatile anchors," said CBS News President Sean McManus. "He has more than earned this position, and I’m pleased to further raise Russ' profile at CBS News."

Mitchell has been co-anchor of the Saturday Early Show
since its debut in August 1997 as CBS News Saturday Morning. He has served as one of two rotating anchors of the CBS Evening News' Saturday edition since November 1999. Mitchell was named a correspondent for Sunday Morning in July 2002.

Mitchell also has been a CBS News correspondent, contributing to many broadcasts, from New York and Washington. While based in Washington from 1995-99, Mitchell covered the 1996 presidential race, contributing regularly to the CBS Evening News as well as the 1996 Republican National Convention. He anchored a CBS News "Class of 2000" primetime special, as well as the late-night CBS Sunday Night News (1995-97).

Before that, Mitchell was a correspondent for the CBS News magazine Eye to Eye (1993-95), reporting from Russia, Chile, Indonesia and France, in addition to covering the 1994 U.S. military operation in Haiti. He served as the co-anchor of the network’s overnight news broadcast, Up To The Minute, beginning in 1992, the year he joined CBS News.

Mitchell was a weekend anchor and daily reporter with KMOV-TV, the CBS affiliate in St. Louis (1987-92), and a reporter at KTVI-TV St. Louis (1985-87). He anchored at WFAA-TV Dallas (1983-85). Mitchell began his broadcasting career in 1982 at KMBC-TV in Kansas City.

He has received many professional citations, including a 2005 New York Association of Black Journalists Award for best documentary for a Sunday Morning report on Stax Records, a 2001 Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award for the CBS Evening News with Russ Mitchell's coverage of the Elian Gonzales story, a 1997 Emmy Award for coverage of the crash of TWA’s flight 800, a 1995 National Association of Black Journalists Award, two Emmy Awards from the St. Louis chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and a 1989 Best Reporter honor from the Missouri UPI.

Mitchell was born in St. Louis. He graduated from the University of Missouri in 1982 with a B.A. in journalism.