John Bedell

Hi, everyone! I’m John Bedell and I serve as the lead investigative reporter for the News Center 7 I-Team. I’m an Ohio native and my roots run deep here in the Buckeye State. I was born and raised in northeast Ohio in the Akron area. I came to the Miami Valley to go to college. I graduated cum laude from the University of Dayton with a bachelor’s degree in communication with a concentration in electronic media. I’ve been with WHIO since May 2010. I started my journalism career with WHIO Radio before switching to WHIO-TV in May 2011. Since then, my reporting has led to new laws at the Ohio Statehouse, a congressional hearing in Washington, and a criminal indictment and conviction. My work has been cited in congressional letters and has contributed to the resolution of criminal cases in the Miami Valley. My reporting was honored as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Public Service. I’m also a Regional Edward R. Murrow, Regional Emmy, National Headliner, and National Association of Broadcasters Service to America Award recipient. The Harvard Kennedy School recognized my reporting with a Goldsmith Special Citation. My work has also been honored by The Society of Professional Journalists and The Ohio Associated Press Media Editors Awards. I’ve traveled across the country to cover stories that impact our community. I went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee to cover wildfires in the Great Smoky Mountains in 2016. I embedded with the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds at Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas in 2018. We went to Nevada to reconnect with a Thunderbirds pilot about his recovery and return to flying after he crashed his F-16 at the Dayton Air Show the previous summer. In our exclusive interview, he revealed for the first time the crash in Dayton nearly killed him. My reporting has also taken me across Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. I helped document a difficult 2019 here in the Dayton area. That included the Montgomery County water crisis, the FBI public corruption probe of Dayton City Hall, the Memorial Day tornado outbreak, the Oregon District mass shooting, and the murder of Dayton Police Detective Jorge Del Rio. I’ve covered high-profile crime and court sagas like the Rhoden family murders in Pike County and Brooke Skylar Richardson’s murder trial in Warren County. My investigative reporting closely followed the child abuse cases in connection with the murders of Takoda Collins in Montgomery County and James Hutchinson in Butler County. I’ve seen and covered a lot in our community over the years. I take seriously the trust our viewers place in WHIO-TV to deliver even-handed, accurate, compassionate, and informative reporting every day about the stories they care about happening in their communities. I believe in the public service of journalism – the work of giving a voice to the previously unheard, holding the powerful accountable, and serving as the people’s auditor. I also believe strongly in the power of investigative journalism and how it can be a catalyst for positive change and serve our community. One of the biggest honors I’ve gotten has been the kind words people share with me about the story I did opening up about my lifelong journey with Tourette Syndrome. I wanted to “pay it forward” with that story – to help others after someone inspired me to share my story. As my aunt once told me, “Sharing our stories gives hope to those who share our struggles.” I believe in the power of storytelling. I’m a big sports fan. It’s a great decompression from the investigative reporting grind. I love my Dayton Flyers. I’m also a dyed-in-the-wool Cleveland sports fan – rooting for my Guardians, Cavs, and Browns. And I’m an Ohio State Buckeyes football fan. I also enjoy studying U.S. military history, doing yard work, staying active by swimming and hiking, and spending time with my family. I love to explore local, state, and national parks here in the Miami Valley, around Ohio, and across the country. If you have a story idea or a tip you’d like me to investigate, you can: message me on my Facebook page, email me at john.bedell@cmgohio.com, fill out our I-Team tip sheet, or call the News Center 7 I-Team Tipline at (937)-535-7777.