Chief Investigative Reporter Craig Cheatham joined the WCPO 9 I-Team in September 2016.
The Louisville native has won more than 30 national journalism awards, including a George Foster Peabody Award; four Edward R. Murrow Awards; three Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Batons; two Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE) certificates; a Robert F. Kennedy Award and a Gerald Loeb award.
Since joining the I-Team, Craig has uncovered police misconduct, fraudulent business practices and corruption by public officials that prompted firings and systemic changes in policy and practices in government and private companies.
In 2017, Craig launched an ongoing investigation of local law enforcement corruption, misconduct and use-of-force. The series of reports exposed police officers who used excessive force and violated department policies and laws, but were not held accountable for their conduct.
In 2018, Craig broke the story of the arrest and extradition of an alleged Chinese spy accused of stealing corporate secrets from GE Aviation. Craig's reporting continued to reveal exclusive details of the international investigation conducted by Cincinnati-based federal prosecutors and agents. Numerous national news organizations have quoted WCPO's coverage of the espionage case.
In 2019, Craig was part of the I-Team's investigation of abuse by Catholic priests. The series revealed local priests with histories of abusing children openly violating church policy without any consequences.
Since then, Craig has investigated slumlords, drug kingpins, nursing home operators and local militia groups along with reporting on some of the biggest events in Cincinnati.
Before joining WCPO 9, Craig worked as a journalist in Minneapolis, St. Louis, Portland, OR, Louisville, Lexington, Roanoke and Charleston, WV.
Craig lives in northern Kentucky with his wife, Debbie. They have two adult children and love to spend their free time traveling and eating at locally-owned restaurants.
