Dan Abrams

Television reporter and analyst Dan Abrams served as chief legal analyst for both NBC and ABC's news departments while also nurturing an extensive collection of media sites and multiple hosting duties for documentary-style series on the A&E Network like "Live PD" (2016-). Abrams was born, to esteemed First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams, who raised his son and daughter, future U.S. District Court judge Ronnie Abrams, in the New York City borough of Manhattan. Both of Abrams' children followed in their father's footsteps in regard to education, with Dan Abrams earning his J.D. from Columbia Law School before making his debut as a reporter for Court TV. From 1994 to 1997, he covered numerous high-profile cases, including the murder trial of O.J. Simpson and the International War Crimes Tribunal from the Netherlands. From there, Abrams joined NBC News, where he served as Chief Legal Correspondent from 1997 to 1999 before earning his own newscast on MSNBC. "The Abrams Report" (2001-2006) covered legal issues before Abrams was chosen to serve as General Manager of MSNBC in 2006. He managed to boost ratings for the network by 62% before departing his position to host a primetime newscast, "Live With Dan Abrams" (MSNBC, 2006-2007), which later became "Verdict With Dan Abrams." That program ran its course after a single year, but Abrams remained with NBC News for the next four years while also nurturing a pair of media sites, Mediaite and Gossip Cop, in 2009. The sites, which quickly attracted a sizable following for their mix of editorial content and celebrity news, were soon followed by a slew of additional sites that would comprise his blog empire, Abrams Media, including Geekosystem (2009), which explored pop and internet culture; SportsGrid (2010), which Abrams sold to Anthem Media Group in 2013; and The Mary Sue (2011), which focused on women in the pop culture and tech industries. That same year, Abrams moved to ABC as its Chief Legal Analyst and substitute anchor for "Good Morning America" (1975-). Two years later, he was named as ABC's Chief Legal Affairs Anchor and served as host of its newsmagazine, "Nightline" (1980-) until 2014. Abrams would remain a correspondent and legal analyst for the network while also hosting two docuseries for A&E: "60 Days In" (2016-), which followed volunteers who went undercover as inmates in an Indiana County jail, and "Live PD," which followed in real time officers from various police departments across the United States as they went on patrol. The following year, he launched LawNewz, a legal website that offers live-stream presentations of court trials, but returned to television in 2018 for "Grace vs. Abrams" (A&E), which pitted him against lawyer-turned-media-host Nancy Grace in debate over famous legal cases.