Thomas Osborne was born in Akron, Ohio.
After receiving his BA degree from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, 1974, he completed his post graduate studies earning a Masters of Divinity studying at Methesco Seminary, Delaware, Ohio, 1978. During this course of study he also studied at St. John’s College, Durham University in Durham, England, 1976-‘77 where he was accepted as a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of theology in 1978. He Attended Catholic University, Wash. D.C. while studying theology with the Paulist Fathers, 1978-’82.
Osborne began his career as a journalist in 1967 while completing a BA degree reporting and anchoring for the CBS affiliate KELO TV in Sioux Falls.
Taking temporary leave from active journalism in 1971, Osborne served as staff assistant and speech writer for various members of the South Dakota congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. He served in the Washington office of Rep. Frank E. Denholm, D.S.D. as legislative assistant and speech writer.
Before joining ABC in 1987, Osborne served as U.S. Director of the Amsterdam-based Anne Frank Foundation, 1984-85, supervising the U.S. opening and national tour of the international archival photographic exhibition: Anne Frank in the World: 1929-45, created by the foundation. Osborne inaugurated the U.S. tour of the exhibition, opening it in 18 U.S. cities. He inaugurated the first annual Anne Frank Award for Human Rights in the U.S.
Assigned as reporter/producer and Bureau Chief at the United Nations in 1989 just prior to the Gulf War, Osborne covered the UN for ABC News Tonight with Peter Jennings; Good Morning America; 20/20, overseeing all editorial coverage for the various primetime news specials as well as general coverage at the UN through 2000.
He was elected president of the UN Correspondents Association in 1992. As president of UNCA, inaugurated and chaired the 1992 series of international press conferences: The UN in the Post Cold War Era. Convened at UN headquarters in New York, the conferences provided a forum for international journalists, members of the UN Security Council, the UN Secretariat to discuss UN Security Council reform and transparency, an issue under intense scrutiny in the wake of UN involvement in conflicts in the first Iraq/Gulf war, and the impending crises in the former Yugoslavia.
In residence -Adjunct professor at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee lecturing on U.S. Policy in the United Nations and an additional course: Faith, Politics, and Fundamentalism in the War on Terrorism. Awards: 2006 Fellowship Award, St. John’s College, University of Durham, Durham, UK; 2007 Holgate Fellowship Award, Durham University, UK.
He is an Executive Producer of the documentary film, “In Shifting Sands: The Truth About the Disarming of Iraq”
Currently, he is an Anchor and Sr. Producer, “Diplomatically Incorrect”/Film Annex