Lou Dobbs facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lou Dobbs
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Dobbs at CPAC in February 2015
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Louis Carl Dobbs
September 24, 1945 Childress County, Texas, U.S.
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| Died | July 18, 2024 (aged 78) |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) |
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| Spouse(s) | Debi Lee Roth-Segura |
| Children | 4 |
Louis Carl Dobbs (September 24, 1945 – July 18, 2024) was an American TV host and political commentator. He was known for his conservative views. He hosted Lou Dobbs Tonight for many years. This show aired on CNN and later on the Fox Business Network.
Dobbs started working at CNN when it first began in 1980. He was a reporter and a vice president there. He also hosted Moneyline, a business news show. After leaving CNN twice, he joined Fox Business Network. He also hosted a radio show called Lou Dobbs Radio. Dobbs was a strong supporter of Donald Trump. He often shared his views on immigration and trade deals.
Contents
Early Life and School
Lou Dobbs was born in Childress County, Texas, in 1945. His father owned a propane business. His mother was a bookkeeper. When Lou was twelve, his family moved to Rupert, Idaho.
He was accepted into Harvard University. He graduated in 1967 with a degree in economics.
His Career Journey
After college, Dobbs worked for programs that helped reduce poverty. He then worked in banking for a short time. He later became a police and fire reporter for a radio station. By the mid-1970s, he was a TV reporter and anchor in Phoenix and Seattle. In 1979, he was asked to join Ted Turner's new news channel, CNN.
Starting at CNN
Dobbs joined CNN when it launched in 1980. He was the main economics reporter. He also hosted Moneyline, a business news program. Dobbs also held a high position as an executive at CNN. He helped start CNN fn, which was CNN's financial news channel.
Leaving CNN and Space.com
Dobbs had some disagreements with Rick Kaplan, who became president of CNN in 1997. In 1999, Dobbs decided to leave CNN. He wanted to start a new website called Space.com. This website was all about news related to space travel. Dobbs was a major owner of this company.
Returning to CNN
After Rick Kaplan left CNN, Dobbs returned in 2001. His friend and CNN founder, Ted Turner, asked him to come back. Dobbs became the host of a new general news show. This show was later renamed Lou Dobbs Tonight.
After returning to CNN, Dobbs started focusing more on immigration issues. He often talked about the challenges of illegal immigration. He also became known for criticizing big companies. He spoke out against their opposition to raising the minimum wage.
Leaving CNN Again
In 2009, Dobbs faced some criticism. He was the only major news anchor to discuss a theory about former President Barack Obama's birth. This theory claimed Obama was not born in the U.S. Many groups criticized Dobbs for this.
On November 11, 2009, Dobbs announced he was leaving CNN. He said he wanted to explore new opportunities. He had worked at CNN for almost thirty years.
His Radio Show
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From 2008 to 2012, Dobbs hosted Lou Dobbs Radio. This was a three-hour daily show. It was broadcast on many radio stations across the U.S. The show featured political discussions and calls from listeners. Dobbs also wrote columns for magazines like Money and U.S. News & World Report.
Working at Fox Business Network
On November 10, 2010, the Fox Business Network announced that Dobbs would host a show for them. His new show, Lou Dobbs Tonight, started on March 14, 2011.
In 2021, Dobbs and other Fox hosts faced legal challenges. These challenges were about claims made on their shows regarding the 2020 United States presidential election. His show was canceled by Fox News on February 5, 2021.
Other TV Appearances
Dobbs also appeared on other news programs. These included CNBC's The Kudlow Report and Fox News Channel's The O'Reilly Factor. In 2010, he even made a guest appearance on the TV show The Good Wife. He played a client looking for a new law firm.
His Political Views
Dobbs was known for his strong views on several topics. He often spoke about his opposition to outsourcing jobs. He also warned about Islamist terrorism.
Views on China
In 2018, Dobbs suggested that the U.S. should consider a conflict with China. He believed this was due to hacking by Chinese groups. He compared it to the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
Views on the Environment
Dobbs believed that the scientific agreement on climate change was not true. He said that scientists had warned about global cooling in the 1970s. This was a very small view at the time.
Views on Immigration
Dobbs had strong views against immigration. He was against both illegal immigration and programs for foreign workers. He often dedicated a lot of his show time to discussing immigration.
His show sometimes made incorrect claims about immigration. For example, he once claimed that illegal immigrants were responsible for many new cases of leprosy. This was not accurate. He also falsely claimed that a large part of the federal prison population was "illegal aliens."
Dobbs criticized local officials for how they handled border security. He said the U.S. needed a "rational, effective humane policy" for immigration. This policy would include better border security. It would also allow some illegal immigrants to become legal under certain rules.
In 2010, an article claimed that undocumented workers had worked on Dobbs's properties. Dobbs denied this, calling the article "a political assault."
Support for Donald Trump
Dobbs was a very strong supporter of Donald Trump during his presidency. Some people described his coverage as overly supportive. He often praised Trump's achievements.
Dobbs believed in the "Deep State" theory. This theory suggests that some government officials secretly work against the president. He called for a "war" on the "Deep State." He claimed that parts of the government were trying to bring down Trump's presidency.
He also supported the Trump administration's decision to ban a CNN reporter from a press event. This was different from his stance in 2012. Back then, he defended a reporter who was criticized by the Obama White House.
Dobbs also promoted claims that Google was biased against Trump. He said Google was promoting anti-Trump stories. After his segment, Trump tweeted about Google and asked an adviser to look into regulating it.
When bomb attempts targeted CNN and other Democrats in 2018, Dobbs called them "fake news." He suggested they were a trick by Democrats to gain support.
Awards and Recognition
Lou Dobbs won many awards for his TV journalism. These include a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award. He also received the George Foster Peabody Award for his reporting on the 1987 stock market crash. The Wall Street Journal once called him "TV's Premier Business News Anchorman." He also received awards for his coverage of immigration. In 1993, he was named "Father of the Year."
Personal Life and Passing
Dobbs divorced his first wife in 1981. He later married Debi Lee Segura, who was a sports anchor at CNN. They raised four children together.
Lou Dobbs passed away on July 18, 2024, at the age of 78.
Books He Wrote
- Lou Dobbs, Border War, Forge (2014).
- Lou Dobbs, Independents Day: Awakening the American Spirit, Viking (2007).
- Lou Dobbs, Exporting America: Why Corporate Greed Is Shipping American Jobs Overseas, Warner Books (2004).
- Lou Dobbs, Space: The Next Business Frontier with HP Newquist, Pocket Books (2001).
- Lou Dobbs, War on the Middle Class: How the Government, Big Business, and Special Interest Groups Are Waging War on the American Dream and How to Fight Back, Viking (2006).
- Ron Hira and Anil Hira, with foreword by Lou Dobbs, Outsourcing America: What's Behind Our National Crisis and How We Can Reclaim American Jobs. (AMACOM) American Management Association (May 2005).
- Lou Dobbs, Upheaval, Threshold Editions (2014).
- Lou Dobbs and James O. Born, Putin's Gambit: A Novel (2017).
Images for kids
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Dobbs with then-U.S. Representative Tom Tancredo in 2004
