John Bedell

John Bedell

Lead Investigator Reporter

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 whose 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 in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in communication with a concentration in electronic media. I loved my time at UD. I’ve been with WHIO since May 2010 – starting my journalism career with WHIO Radio before making the switch to WHIO-TV in May 2011. Since then, my work has prompted new laws at the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus and a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C. My reporting has been cited in congressional letters sent to federal regulators (asking them to investigate whether a troubled real estate company at the center of an I-Team investigation was violating federal consumer protection laws with its business practices) and to federal administrators (demanding answers about what our I-Team investigations uncovered about billions of dollars in Social Security Administration overpayments.) My reporting has also gotten defrauded consumers their money back, helped lead to a criminal indictment, and has contributed to the resolution of criminal cases in the Miami Valley. 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 for a week in 2018. We went to Nevada to reconnect with a Thunderbird 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 that the crash in Dayton nearly killed him. My reporting has also taken me to 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. My work has been honored by several professional journalism organizations including the Ohio Valley Chapter of The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences which awarded me a regional EMMY, The Society of Professional Journalists, and The Ohio Associated Press Media Editors Awards. 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 by giving a voice to the next generation of Touretters 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, 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.

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