Rise to Success: Career Highlights of Jake Tapper
From career breakthroughs to professional milestones, explore how Jake Tapper made an impact.
Jake Tapper is a prominent American journalist currently serving as the lead Washington anchor for CNN. He hosts 'The Lead with Jake Tapper' on weekdays and co-hosts the Sunday morning public affairs program 'State of the Union.' He is a well-known figure in American journalism and political commentary.
1992: Campaign Press Secretary
In 1992, Jake Tapper served as a campaign press secretary for Democratic congressional candidate Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky and later served as her congressional press secretary.
1994: Capitol Hell comic strip in Roll Call
From 1994, Jake Tapper's comic strip Capitol Hell appeared in Roll Call.
1997: Spokesman for Handgun Control, Inc.
In 1997, Jake Tapper worked for Handgun Control, Inc. (now the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence).
January 1998: Writing about date with Monica Lewinsky
In January 1998, Jake Tapper wrote about his platonic date with Monica Lewinsky in the Washington City Paper.
1998: Senior Writer for Washington City Paper
In 1998, Jake Tapper began his full-time journalism career as a senior writer for the Washington City Paper.
1999: Washington Correspondent for Salon
In 1999, Jake Tapper became the Washington correspondent for Salon.
2000: Publication of Down and Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency
In 2000, Jake Tapper's book Down and Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency, based on the 2000 Presidential election, was published.
2001: Host of Take Five on CNN
In 2001, Jake Tapper hosted the program Take Five on CNN, where young journalists and commentators discussed politics and pop culture.
2002: Host of entertainment news specials on VH1
In 2002, Jake Tapper hosted a series of entertainment news specials on VH1.
2002: VH1 News Specials Correspondent
In 2002, Jake Tapper was the correspondent for a series of VH1 news specials.
2003: Host of shows on the Sundance Channel
In 2003, Jake Tapper hosted shows focused on independent film on the Sundance Channel.
2003: End of Capitol Hell comic strip in Roll Call
In 2003, Jake Tapper's comic strip Capitol Hell stopped appearing in Roll Call.
November 5, 2008: Named Senior White House Correspondent
On November 5, 2008, Jake Tapper was named Senior White House Correspondent for ABC News.
2008: Lead Reporter Covering 2008 Presidential Election
In 2008, Jake Tapper served as ABC News' lead reporter covering the 2008 presidential election, gaining recognition for breaking stories and his even-handed approach.
July 2010: Interim Anchor of This Week
From March to July 2010, Jake Tapper was interim anchor of ABC's This Week.
August 1, 2010: Amanpour Takes Over This Week
On August 1, 2010, Christiane Amanpour took over as the anchor of This Week, replacing Jake Tapper who served as interim anchor.
December 2010: Tapper ranked number two on Mediaite
For December 2010, Jake Tapper ranked at number two on Mediaite's list of most influential TV-based journalists in America.
2010: Frequent Substitute Host
In 2010, Jake Tapper was a frequent substitute host of This Week and served as interim host for much of the year, including scoring the first TV interview with CIA director Leon Panetta.
2010: Merriman Smith Memorial Award for Obama story
In 2010, as the Senior White House Correspondent for ABC News, Jake Tapper won a Merriman Smith Memorial Award for the story that President Obama had asked for the resignation of his Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Dennis C. Blair (retired).
August 31, 2011: Guest bailiff on Judge John Hodgman podcast
On August 31, 2011, Jake Tapper appeared as a guest bailiff on the Judge John Hodgman podcast episode entitled "De Plane", standing in for regular bailiff Jesse Thorn.
2011: Merriman Smith Memorial Award for Standard and Poor's story
In 2011, Jake Tapper won a Merriman Smith Memorial Award for breaking the story that the ratings agency Standard and Poor's was expected to downgrade the United States' AAA rating for government debt.
December 20, 2012: Joins CNN
On December 20, 2012, it was announced that Jake Tapper would join CNN as the network's chief Washington correspondent and anchor a new weekday program.
January 2013: Start with CNN
In January 2013, Jake Tapper began hosting his own program, The Lead with Jake Tapper, on CNN.
2014: Introduction to The Complete Peanuts 1993 to 1994
In 2014, Jake Tapper wrote the introduction to The Complete Peanuts 1993 to 1994.
2014: Recognition by Congressional Medal of Honor Society
In 2014, the Congressional Medal of Honor Society recognized Jake Tapper for his book The Outpost and his reporting on military topics in general, presenting him with the Tex McCrary Award for Excellence in Journalism.
January 2015: Reporting on Pentagon Policy Change
In January 2015, Jake Tapper's reporting on a new Pentagon policy resulted in the U.S. military changing a rule that was adversely impacting caregivers for wounded servicemembers.
June 2015: Host of State of the Union
In June 2015, Jake Tapper became the host of CNN's Sunday political show, State of the Union with Jake Tapper, and challenged numerous politicians.
September 2015: Republican primary debate moderation
In September 2015, Jake Tapper moderated a Republican primary debate that drew over 23 million viewers, becoming the most-watched program in CNN's history and the second-most watched primary debate ever.
September 16, 2015: Moderated Republican primary debates
On September 16, 2015, Jake Tapper moderated two Republican primary debates from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, with the main debate drawing an average of 23.1 million viewers.
March 10, 2016: Moderation of Republican presidential debate
On March 10, 2016, Jake Tapper moderated the Republican presidential debate in Miami, which drew almost 12 million viewers and was acclaimed for its substance.
May 23, 2016: Guest-illustrated Dilbert cartoon
During the week of May 23, 2016, Jake Tapper guest-illustrated the Dilbert cartoon. The original drawings were auctioned online to raise money for the Homes for our Troops Foundation.
2016: National Headliner Awards for The Lead
In 2016, The Lead was honored with two National Headliner Awards for its coverage of the November 2015 Paris attacks.
2017: RTDNA John F. Hogan Distinguished Service Award
Also in 2017, Jake Tapper was named Radio Television Digital News Association's John F. Hogan Distinguished Service Award winner. The award "recognizes an individual's contributions to the journalism profession and freedom of the press."
2017: Awards in 2017
In 2017, Jake Tapper won the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism, RTDNA's John F. Hogan Distinguished Service Award, CJF's Tribute Award, Moment Magazine's Robert S. Greenberger Journalism Award, and the Dartmouth Club of Washington's Daniel Webster Award for Distinguished Public Service.
2017: Los Angeles Press Club President's Award
In 2017, the Los Angeles Press Club gave Jake Tapper its President's Award for Impact on Media, citing his willingness to take on politicians from both sides of the aisle during a divisive election and his effective interviewing style.
April 24, 2018: Publication of The Hellfire Club
On April 24, 2018, Little, Brown and Company published Jake Tapper's first novel, The Hellfire Club, a political thriller. It debuted at Number 3 on the New York Times Best Seller list.
2018: Recognition on Mediaite's list
In 2018, Jake Tapper was recognized on Mediaite's list for his "ability to hold Republicans and Democrats to account equally" and "his 2018 noteworthy moments."
2018: Merriman Smith Award for Steele dossier news
In 2018, as a CNN anchor, Jake Tapper was awarded his fourth Merriman Smith Award as part of a team that broke the news that President-elect Donald Trump and President Obama had been briefed on the Steele dossier.
July 2020: Release of The Outpost film adaptation
In July 2020, the Rod Lurie-directed film adaptation of Jake Tapper's book, The Outpost, was released, starring Milo Gibson, Orlando Bloom, Scott Eastwood and Caleb Landry Jones.
January 2021: Expanded Role at CNN
In January 2021, CNN announced that Jake Tapper's role would expand to be the network's "lead anchor for all major Washington events", and Dana Bash would join him as a co-host on State of the Union.
May 2021: Release of The Devil May Dance
In May 2021, The Devil May Dance, the sequel to The Hellfire Club, was released.
October 5, 2021: Discussion of date with Monica Lewinsky on CNN
On October 5, 2021, Jake Tapper and Monica Lewinsky discussed their date on an episode of his CNN program, The Lead with Jake Tapper.
October 2022: Writing about C.J. Rice for The Atlantic
In October 2022, Jake Tapper wrote a cover story for The Atlantic magazine about C.J. Rice, who was serving a 30–60 year prison sentence.
2022: Tapper called 'top dog' by Mediate
In 2022, Mediate called Jake Tapper "the top dog who could represent the CNN brand."
December 2023: C.J. Rice's conviction overturned
In December 2023, C.J. Rice's conviction was overturned.
2023: Ranked number seven on Mediaite
In 2023, Jake Tapper ranked number seven on Mediaite's list and it was noted that his "skills as an interrogator are arguably unrivaled on cable news right now."
2023: Publication of All the Demons Are Here
In 2023, the third volume in the series, All the Demons Are Here, was published.
March 2024: C.J. Rice exonerated
In March 2024, Jake Tapper broke the news that Pennsylvania had freed C.J. Rice and dropped the charges against him, leading to Rice's exoneration.
June 27, 2024: Co-moderated debate between Biden and Trump
On June 27, 2024, Jake Tapper co-moderated a debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump that was seen by more than 51 million viewers and influenced Biden's subsequent decision to end his 2024 presidential campaign.
September 2024: Misrepresentation of Rashida Tlaib's statement
In September 2024, Jake Tapper misrepresented a statement from Michigan U.S. congresswoman Rashida Tlaib in an interview with Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, falsely rendering her criticism of Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel as antisemitic. Tapper later said he "misspoke".
2024: Co-moderation of 2024 presidential debate
In 2024, Jake Tapper co-moderated the presidential election debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden with Bash. Biden's performance led to his withdrawal from the race. Tapper and Bash were criticized for not fact-checking Trump's statements. The event sparked discussions about journalistic responsibility.
2024: Moderated Republican Primary Debate
In 2024, Jake Tapper moderated a Republican primary debate alongside Dana Bash between Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley before the Iowa caucuses; it was viewed by around 2.6 million people.
2024: Report on Gold Star Families
In 2024, Jake Tapper reported on Gold Star families protesting a 2014 policy change by the American Battle Monuments Commission regarding flowers on graves in cemeteries abroad, leading to the White House pushing for the policy to be changed back.
2024: Ranked 23rd on Mediaite
In 2024, Jake Tapper was ranked 23rd on Mediaite's list and recognized as one of America's preeminent anchors, earning headlines for moderating a presidential debate and championing the release of C.J. Rice.
2024: Emmy Awards in 2024
In 2024, Jake Tapper won two Emmy Awards: one for Outstanding Live News Special for "A CNN Town Hall: Toxic Train Disaster, Ohio Residents Speak Out", which he hosted, and another for Outstanding Live Breaking News Coverage for being part of the team that covered the Israel-Hamas War.
2025: Appearance in Superman movie
In 2025, Jake Tapper appeared in the background on TV screens as a news correspondent in the movie Superman. His character is called Jake Tapir.
2025: Publication of Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again
In 2025, Penguin Press published Jake Tapper's book Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again, which he co-authored with Alex Thompson.
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