Style

A Tour of Bill Whitaker’s High-Rise Living Room in Harlem

My Space

By STEVEN KURUTZ

Bill Whitaker, a “60 Minutes” correspondent, in his Harlem apartment overlooking Central Park. Nathan Bajar for The New York Times

Bill Whitaker

Age 66

Occupation Journalist; correspondent on “60 Minutes”

Location Harlem

His Favorite Room When Mr. Whitaker landed at “60 Minutes” in 2014, he and his wife, Terry, left Los Angeles after two decades and moved to a modern apartment overlooking Central Park. The transition has been made easier by the breathtaking views from the glass-walled living room, and by certain perks of high-rise living. “Not having to clean the gutters or rake the backyard has been nice,” Mr. Whitaker said.

“You can see all the way down to One World Trade Center,” Mr. Whitaker said. Nathan Bajar for The New York Times

I can see why you chose this apartment. I could stare out these windows all day.

I just never, ever tire of that. You can see all the way down to One World Trade Center. At night, it’s like a jewel box. You see all the lights flashing in Times Square. You’re part of it, but at a remove.

Mr. Whitaker bought this figure, modeled on Mexican wrestlers, from an artist in Los Angeles. Nathan Bajar for The New York Times

You were the CBS News Tokyo correspondent for four years. Is that where you bought the Asian furniture and art?

These are all things from my travels. I think my favorite piece is the one behind you. It’s a stair-step tansu. This one was used in a farmhouse. We got this in Tokyo in about ’91.

I love these African wood sculptures, and the antique Buddha head. You and your wife have a great eye.

It’s primarily my wife. Some things I have gotten. And there are other things that she has banished. My office has a lot of things that didn’t make the cut.

Mr. Whitaker’s favorite piece in his home is this stair-step tansu. He bought it in Tokyo in the early 1990s, when he was the Tokyo correspondent for CBS News. Nathan Bajar for The New York Times

My family’s Sunday routine is to have dinner together and watch “60 Minutes.” Do you do the same?

I can’t say it always happens, because life intrudes. But 99 percent of the time, I watch it live. You’ve seen it a million times at work, you’ve screened it, you’ve fine-tuned it. But there’s something different about watching it come back at you from the television screen. It has greater impact.

The framed print was made by Mr. Whitaker’s uncle, who was an artist and musician. “I’ve carried this around with me since college,” in the mid-1960s, he said. “It goes that far back.” Nathan Bajar for The New York Times

I’ve always marveled at how TV news people have to drop everything to cover the next natural disaster or terrorist attack. Does it change the definition of home life?

I can’t tell you how many dinner parties I missed, how many theater tickets I had to give to somebody else. I tried my darnedest to make sure I was there for all my kids’ performances and graduations and those things. But in order to do this you have to have the support of your spouse. “60 Minutes” isn’t so daily-news driven. The last time I did jump and run was the mass shooting in Las Vegas.

You got the call and then what?

I ran out the door to the airport.