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 making the switch to WHIO-TV in May 2011. Since then, my reporting has led to several new laws at the Ohio Statehouse, a congressional hearing in Washington, and criminal indictments and convictions in the Miami Valley. My reporting has been recognized with some of journalism’s highest honors, including the duPont-Columbia Award, the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize, and national and regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. My reporting on the real-world impact of billions of dollars of Social Security Administration overpayments and payback demands was honored as a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service. I’m also a Regional Emmy, National Headliner, National Association of Broadcasters Service to America, Bartlett and Steele, and Loeb Award recipient. The Harvard Kennedy School recognized my reporting with a Goldsmith Special Citation. I’ve travelled 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 that the crash in Dayton nearly killed him. My reporting for Channel 7 has also taken me across Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and California. I believe strongly in the public service 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 and 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 also 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.