Daniele Compatangelo

Daniele Compatangelo (born November 15, 1975) is an Italian journalist. He lives in the United States.

Daniele Compatangelo at White House - July 4th 2023

Biography

Compatangelo was born in Savona and raised in Torino, Italy, where he studied at Collegio San Giuseppe. He attended the University of Torino, graduating in 2003 in law with a thesis on the "Reform of CONI" (the Italian National Olympic Committee).

He became a member of the Italian Press Bar Association in 2008 (Ordine dei Giornalisti di Torino – Professionista). In his career, he has been American correspondent for Italian broadcasters RTI Reti Televisive Italiane Mediaset, SkyTg24, RAI, LA7, and Tv2000.

In March 2020, he became a member of the White House Correspondents' Association in Washington, D.C.

He is also known for becoming the first Italian journalist to have asked a question the 46th President of the United States, Joe Biden. (This needs context. The journalist claims he asked a question to Joe Biden. However, in the original video, we can see that the question was actually asked by a woman. It appears that Compatangelo simply edited the audio and dubbed his own voice over it.)

Career

Early career

In the late 1990s, he began freelancing in media relations at the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup in Sestriere. He later continued working in media relations in 30 different sporting events around the world, such as the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Sestriere (1997), Vail – Colorado (1999), Bormio – Italy (2005); the International Track and Field Meeting in different locations (1994–2000), the Gerald Ford Golf Tournament in Vail – Colorado (1998), the National Basketball Association Europe Live Tour (2007) and the 2007 Winter Universiade in Torino.

In 2006, he was hired by NBC Universal as bureau coordinator and producer at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. Together with the Olympic production team, he organized NBC's on-air broadcasting studio and facilities. Later on, he covered, as reporter the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing while at 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, he was hired as one of the managers of the International Broadcast Centre. His last coverage the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

In the fall of 2008 he worked as sport correspondent at Infront Media at that year Alpine Ski World Cup season and the same year, he began freelancing for Italian daily newspaper "Il Secolo XIX" covering events such as the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup, the Mediterranean Games in Pescara and the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2009 in Val-d'Isère.

In 2011, his documentary "The Los Angeles Break Down" about the tragic and uncontrolled homeless crises in Los Angeles was awarded at the Southern California Journalism Awards.

Coverage of January 6 event and the question to Joe Biden

His coverage of the January 6 United States Capitol attack in Washington, D.C., while working for Italian Sky Tg24 during the 2020 United States presidential election, was a notable point in his career. He was the first Italian correspondent to broadcast Live from the US Capitol ground, while the mobs were storming and entering the Congress.

Due to his coverage, Italian news show Mezz'Ora in Più il Mondo che Verrà on Italian television RAI, offered him to cover the White House and the US Parliament, where a year later, on January 6, 2022, he became the first and only Italian journalist to briefly ask a question the 46th President of the United States Joe Biden, on the anniversary.(This needs context. The journalist claims he asked a question to Joe Biden. However, in the original video, we can see that the question was actually asked by a woman. It appears that Compatangelo simply edited the audio and dubbed his own voice over it.)

2012 – present

While in Los Angeles, for a decade he has covered The Oscars, the Golden Globes, and the Critics Choice Awards. He interviewed the main Hollywood celebrities for RTI Mediaset Studio Aperto Nightly News and the Italian Today Show Mattino Cinque. He also contributed to the Swiss station RSI News and the Italian newspaper "Corriere della Sera".

During the 2015 San Bernardino attack, Compatangelo was the first Italian journalist to report live on Rai News24 and the Italian today Show Mattino Cinque, from the Greater Los Angeles area, and the following year he covered the 2016 United States presidential election.

Since 2020, he has interviewed dozens of American politicians from the White House and the US Senate, including Marco Rubio and John Kirby.

In 2022 he was acclaimed in Italy for his interview with Oksana Markarova the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States.

On January 6, 2022, he became the first Italian journalist to briefly ask a question the 46th President of the United States Joe Biden, in the anniversary of the insurrection. (This needs context. The journalist claims he asked a question to Joe Biden. However, in the original video, we can see that the question was actually asked by a woman. It appears that Compatangelo simply edited the audio and dubbed his own voice over it.)

He was recognized in Italy in different occasions, thanks to his brief interviews in Capitol Hills with former Speakers of the House Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy and Speaker Mike Johnson on geopolitical and foreign relations issues.

In early 2024, after more than a decade as one of the US correspondent for RTI Reti Televisive Italiane Mediaset he left the network, and in March he joined Italian broadcaster LA7’s news show L’Aria Che Tira hosted by anchor David Parenzo, covering the White House.

In the same month, he joined prime time news show’s DiBellaSul28 hosted by legendary Italian anchor Antonio Di Bella on Tv2000, the Italian based broadcaster own by the Italian Episcopal Conference, the conference of the Catholic Bishops in Italy, covering the US Senate and the White House.

This is the first time that the Roman Catholic network in collaboration with the Vatican Media, covers more in depth both foreign and American politics. An example of this historical and going change, is the interview aired with Senator Chris Coon, co-chair for President Biden's 2024 campaign, recorded on occasion of the State of the Union 2024 at the US Congress.

He also became the first Italian reporter to have interviewed Senator Marco Rubio, now US Secretary Of State, several times in different years, for Italian networks Rai, TV2000and LA7.

The question to President Donald Trump

On January 30, 2025, he became the first Italian journalist to ask a question to President Donald Trump, the 47th President of the United States, during his first ever press briefing at the WH at the beginning of his second presidency. The question was about if the president was going to fire all the DEI hiring in the federal government, after President Trump suggested that the 2025 Potomac River mid-air collision was the result of diversity hiring in the air traffic control tower at Ronald Reagan National Airport.