Lowell Bergman
Encyclopedia
Lowell A. Bergman is an American investigative reporter
with The New York Times
and a producer/correspondent for the PBS
documentary series Frontline. Bergman is also the Reva and David Logan Distinguished Professor at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
, where he has taught a seminar dedicated to investigative reporting for over 15 years.
He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
, with Honors, in Sociology and History, and was a graduate fellow in philosophy at the University of California, San Diego
, where he studied under Herbert Marcuse
. By 1969 he co-founded San Diego Free Press
(later San Diego Street Journal), an alternative newspaper, with several fellow students. Bergman and fellow student Richard "Black Dick" Blackburn instigated the probe which later toppled the San Diego financial empire of financier and Nixon crony C. Arnholt Smith, President and CEO of U.S. National Bank in San Diego. Bergman went on to contribute to Ramparts and San Francisco Examiner. He later worked as an associate editor at Rolling Stone
.
In 1977, Bergman helped found the Center for Investigative Reporting
. He was part of the reporting team that continued the work of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles
, who was assassinated in 1976 while investigating land fraud committed by organized crime
.
. He was one of the original producers of 20/20. In 1983, Bergman joined CBS News
as a producer for the weekly newsmagazine 60 Minutes
, where over the course of 14 years he produced more than 50 stories, from organized crime, international arms dealing and drug trafficking
to the Iran-Iraq and Persian Gulf
wars. He also produced the first U.S. television interviews with Lebanon's Hezbollah leadership.
The story of Bergman's investigation of the tobacco industry for 60 Minutes was chronicled in the 1999 feature film The Insider
, in which Bergman was played by Al Pacino
. The controversial success surrounding The Insider and its allegedly negative characterization of 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace
and producer Don Hewitt
, led to Bergman's virtual blacklisting from the show, according to Bergman himself.
; the rise of Islamic fundamentalism
; the roots of 9/11; the credit card and gold industries; the post-9/11 hunt for "sleeper cells" in America; and Al Qaeda's
recent attacks in Europe
. It also yielded a number of award-winning projects—all with print, broadcast, and online components. Extensive web sites prepared in large part by students in Bergman's seminar have accompanied many of these projects, i.e.: "Secret History of the Credit Card", "Al Qaeda's New Front", "The Enemy Within", and "News War". Drawing on more than 80 interviews with key figures in the print, broadcast and electronic media, and with unequaled, behind-the-scenes access to some of today's most important news organizations, "News War" examined the challenges facing the mainstream news media and the media's reaction. The Poynter Institute
has called these sites a “prime example of what many who touted "convergence journalism" hoped might happen—journalism that leverages the strengths of each media to tell a more complete story than any one media could tell on its own.”
Collaborating with other New York Times reporters, Bergman helped produce a series of in-depth articles detailing the financial arrangements between Vice President Dick Cheney
and Halliburton
, both before and after his retirement as C.E.O. of that firm to re-enter politics.
with David Barstow
. The series, “A Dangerous Business,” detailed a record of egregious worker safety violations coupled with the systematic violation of environmental laws in the iron sewer and water pipe industry. That story, which appeared as both a print series and a documentary, is the only winner of the Pulitzer Prize also to be acknowledged with every major award in broadcasting.
He is also the recipient of numerous Emmys and other honors, including five Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University silver and golden awards, three Peabodys
, a Writers Guild Award
, the National Press Club's Consumer Journalism Award for Television, a George Polk Award
, a Sidney Hillman
award for labor reporting, and the James Madison Freedom of Information Award
for Career Achievement from the Society of Professional Journalists
.
, and 60 Minutes II
; and in print, where students have been the primary authors or contributors of stories that have appeared in the pages of The New York Times, Los Angeles Times
, and San Francisco Chronicle, as well as a wide variety of magazines and international and local newspapers. This work, especially in recent years, demonstrated that investigative reporting written and produced by students – and guided by veteran reporters – can help raise the standards of journalism nationally.
Bergman also helps in securing financial support from both private donors and foundations for travel and research expenses that facilitate the students’ work.
In 2007, Bergman spearheaded the effort to establish three annual Fellowships in Investigative Reporting at UC Berkeley. This year-long program is without peer at any academic institution in the nation and is designed to nurture young journalists who want to pursue a career in in-depth public service reporting by providing them with a salary, benefits and editorial guidance.
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
with The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and a producer/correspondent for the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
documentary series Frontline. Bergman is also the Reva and David Logan Distinguished Professor at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism
The UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism is a graduate professional school on the campus of University of California, Berkeley. It is among the top graduate journalism schools in the United States, and is designed to produce journalists with a two-year Master of Journalism degree.The program...
, where he has taught a seminar dedicated to investigative reporting for over 15 years.
Early history
Bergman's grandmother was the first secretary-treasurer of the ILGWU local in New York; his grandfather was also a founder. His parents were both eastern European Jewish immigrants; his father coming from Hungary to Cuba to the United States. His mother was a member of the Paola Zionist.He graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
, with Honors, in Sociology and History, and was a graduate fellow in philosophy at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
, where he studied under Herbert Marcuse
Herbert Marcuse
Herbert Marcuse was a German Jewish philosopher, sociologist and political theorist, associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory...
. By 1969 he co-founded San Diego Free Press
San Diego Free Press
The San Diego Free Press was an underground newspaper founded by philosophy students of Herbert Marcuse at the University of California, San Diego in November 1968, and published under that title biweekly until December 1969, when it became the weekly Street Journal starting with its 29th issue...
(later San Diego Street Journal), an alternative newspaper, with several fellow students. Bergman and fellow student Richard "Black Dick" Blackburn instigated the probe which later toppled the San Diego financial empire of financier and Nixon crony C. Arnholt Smith, President and CEO of U.S. National Bank in San Diego. Bergman went on to contribute to Ramparts and San Francisco Examiner. He later worked as an associate editor at Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
.
In 1977, Bergman helped found the Center for Investigative Reporting
Center for Investigative Reporting
The Center for Investigative Reporting is a non-profit journalism organization located in Berkeley, California. It was founded in 1977 by Lowell Bergman, , and David Weir to reveal injustice and abuse of power through the tools of journalism....
. He was part of the reporting team that continued the work of Arizona Republic reporter Don Bolles
Don Bolles
Don Bolles was an American investigative reporter whose murder in a bombing is linked to the Mafia.-Biography:...
, who was assassinated in 1976 while investigating land fraud committed by organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
.
Television career
From 1978 until 1983, Bergman was a producer, reporter and then executive in charge of investigative reporting at ABC NewsABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
. He was one of the original producers of 20/20. In 1983, Bergman joined CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
as a producer for the weekly newsmagazine 60 Minutes
60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, where over the course of 14 years he produced more than 50 stories, from organized crime, international arms dealing and drug trafficking
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
to the Iran-Iraq and Persian Gulf
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
wars. He also produced the first U.S. television interviews with Lebanon's Hezbollah leadership.
The story of Bergman's investigation of the tobacco industry for 60 Minutes was chronicled in the 1999 feature film The Insider
The Insider (film)
The Insider is a 1999 film based on the true story of a 60 Minutes television series segment, as seen through the eyes of a real tobacco executive, Jeffrey Wigand. The 60 Minutes story originally aired in November 1995 in an altered form because of objections by CBS’ then-owner, Laurence Tisch, who...
, in which Bergman was played by Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
. The controversial success surrounding The Insider and its allegedly negative characterization of 60 Minutes correspondent Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
and producer Don Hewitt
Don Hewitt
Donald Shepard "Don" Hewitt was an American television news producer and executive, best known for creating 60 Minutes, the CBS television news magazine, in 1968, which at the time of his death, was the longest-running prime-time broadcast on American television...
, led to Bergman's virtual blacklisting from the show, according to Bergman himself.
Reporting across multiple platforms
An early adopter and advocate of the multimedia model, Bergman forged an alliance between The New York Times and Frontline after leaving network news in the late 1990s. The collaboration resulted in a series of stories including California's energy crisis; the country's war on drugsWar on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
; the rise of Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
; the roots of 9/11; the credit card and gold industries; the post-9/11 hunt for "sleeper cells" in America; and Al Qaeda's
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
recent attacks in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. It also yielded a number of award-winning projects—all with print, broadcast, and online components. Extensive web sites prepared in large part by students in Bergman's seminar have accompanied many of these projects, i.e.: "Secret History of the Credit Card", "Al Qaeda's New Front", "The Enemy Within", and "News War". Drawing on more than 80 interviews with key figures in the print, broadcast and electronic media, and with unequaled, behind-the-scenes access to some of today's most important news organizations, "News War" examined the challenges facing the mainstream news media and the media's reaction. The Poynter Institute
Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute is a non-profit school for journalism located in St. Petersburg, Florida. The school's mission statement says that "The Poynter Institute is a school dedicated to teaching and inspiring journalists and media leaders. It promotes excellence and integrity in the practice of...
has called these sites a “prime example of what many who touted "convergence journalism" hoped might happen—journalism that leverages the strengths of each media to tell a more complete story than any one media could tell on its own.”
Collaborating with other New York Times reporters, Bergman helped produce a series of in-depth articles detailing the financial arrangements between Vice President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
and Halliburton
Halliburton
Halliburton is the world's second largest oilfield services corporation with operations in more than 70 countries. It has hundreds of subsidiaries, affiliates, branches, brands and divisions worldwide and employs over 50,000 people....
, both before and after his retirement as C.E.O. of that firm to re-enter politics.
Awards and honors
Bergman has received top honors in both print and broadcasting. In 2004, he shared the Pulitzer Prize for Public ServicePulitzer Prize for Public Service
The Pulitzer Prize for Public Service has been awarded since 1918 for a distinguished example of meritorious public service by a newspaper or news site through the use of its journalistic resources. Those resources, as well as reporting, may include editorials, cartoons, photographs, graphics,...
with David Barstow
David Barstow
-Life:Born in Boston, he received a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 1986. Barstow has worked for The New York Times since 1999, and has been an investigative reporter there since 2002.He worked for The St...
. The series, “A Dangerous Business,” detailed a record of egregious worker safety violations coupled with the systematic violation of environmental laws in the iron sewer and water pipe industry. That story, which appeared as both a print series and a documentary, is the only winner of the Pulitzer Prize also to be acknowledged with every major award in broadcasting.
He is also the recipient of numerous Emmys and other honors, including five Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University silver and golden awards, three Peabodys
Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
, a Writers Guild Award
Writers Guild of America
The Writers Guild of America is a generic term referring to the joint efforts of two different US labor unions:* The Writers Guild of America, East , representing TV and film writers East of the Mississippi....
, the National Press Club's Consumer Journalism Award for Television, a George Polk Award
George Polk Awards
The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States.-History:...
, a Sidney Hillman
Sidney Hillman
Sidney Hillman was an American labor leader. Head of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, he was a key figure in the founding of the Congress of Industrial Organizations and in marshaling labor's support for Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the Democratic Party.-Early years:Sidney Hillman was...
award for labor reporting, and the James Madison Freedom of Information Award
James Madison Freedom of Information Award
The James Madison Freedom of Information Award is a San Francisco Bay Area honor given to individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the advancement of freedom of expression, particularly freedom of information .The award is intended to reflect the spirit of former U.S...
for Career Achievement from the Society of Professional Journalists
Society of Professional Journalists
The Society of Professional Journalists , formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is one of the oldest organizations representing journalists in the United States. It was established in April 1909 at DePauw University, and its charter was designed by William Meharry Glenn. The ten founding members of...
.
Academic highlights
In addition to being a mentor to upcoming journalists from around the world, working with and directing them on major investigations, he also serves as the conduit between student projects and their publication in some of the country’s top media outlets. Projects produced out of Mr. Bergman’s investigative reporting seminars at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley have reached substantial audiences with significant impact, appearing on national television, including PBS' Frontline and Frontline/World, as well as ABC's Nightline, CBS Evening NewsCBS Evening News
CBS Evening News is the flagship nightly television news program of the American television network CBS. The network has broadcast this program since 1948, and has used the CBS Evening News title since 1963....
, and 60 Minutes II
60 Minutes II
60 Minutes II was a weekly primetime news magazine television program that was intended to replicate the "signature style, journalistic quality and integrity" of the original 60 Minutes series.It aired on CBS on Wednesdays, then later moved to Fridays at 8 p.m...
; and in print, where students have been the primary authors or contributors of stories that have appeared in the pages of The New York Times, Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, and San Francisco Chronicle, as well as a wide variety of magazines and international and local newspapers. This work, especially in recent years, demonstrated that investigative reporting written and produced by students – and guided by veteran reporters – can help raise the standards of journalism nationally.
Bergman also helps in securing financial support from both private donors and foundations for travel and research expenses that facilitate the students’ work.
In 2007, Bergman spearheaded the effort to establish three annual Fellowships in Investigative Reporting at UC Berkeley. This year-long program is without peer at any academic institution in the nation and is designed to nurture young journalists who want to pursue a career in in-depth public service reporting by providing them with a salary, benefits and editorial guidance.
Interviews
- "Smoke In The Eye: a Talk With Lowell Bergman", PBS Frontline (1999). "There's a major difference between All The President's Men and The Insider", Lowell Bergman has said of the comparison between the 1976 film on Watergate and Hollywood's new version of the events depicted in Frontlines report, "Smoke in the Eye". "In All the President's Men, the editors and reporters are heroes. That's not the case here."
- A "Long March through the Institution" of Television Journalism; Conversation with Lowell Bergman. Part of the "Conversations with History" series, Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley with Harry Kreisler, (2001)
- On September 27, 2006, Bergman appeared on The Colbert Report.
- On February 27, 2007, Bergman was interviewed by Terry Gross of WHYY's Fresh AirFresh AirFresh Air is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States. The show is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its longtime host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 450 stations and claimed 4.5 million listeners. The show...
about the Frontline documentary "News War: Secrets, Spin and the Future of the News." The four-part series, which Bergman co-produced, is about the mainstream news media and the political, legal and economic forces acting on it. The third installment looks at how the pressure for profits and shifting advertising dollars are affecting the news business. - On February 27, 2007 Bergman was interviewed by MarketplaceMarketplace (radio program)Marketplace is a radio program that focuses on business, the economy, and events that influence them. Hosted by Kai Ryssdal, the show is produced and distributed by American Public Media, in association with the University of Southern California...
s Kai Ryssdal about how the Internet has changed journalism.http://www.publicradio.org/tools/media/player/marketplace/2007/02/27_mpp? - On June 11, 2007, Bergman was interviewed by George StroumboulopoulosGeorge StroumboulopoulosGeorge Mark Paul Stroumboulopoulos is a Canadian television and radio personality, best known as the host of CBC Television's George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight and being a VJ for Canadian music television channel MuchMusic...
for CBC TelevisionCBC TelevisionCBC Television is a Canadian television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster.Although the CBC is supported by public funding, the television network supplements this funding with commercial advertising revenue, in contrast to CBC Radio which are...
's news magazine, The Hour. - On January 26, 2009 Bergman discussed Halliburton's record $560 million settlement with the Justice Department and the SEC for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act with NPR's All Things Considered. Bergman's documentary on bribery in international commerce will air on PBS "Frontline" http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/bribe/ April 7, 2009.
External links
- In May 2006, "Lowell Bergman named distinguished professor", UC Berkeley press office.
- "2004 Pulitzer Prize Winners". Winning entries at: http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2004/public-service/works/
- Lowell Bergman's home page at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
- May 2003, speech at the International Reporting Project, The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University.
- Bergman and former Attorney General John Ashcroft talk about the government's investigation of terrorism and national security since 9/11, The Charlie Brennan Show, KMOX, (October 10, 2006).
- CNN on The Insider, (November 1999).
- A chronology of the 60 Minutes decision not to air the tobacco industry exposé. (1999).
- (May 5, 2007) Lowell Bergman joins The New York Times Tim Wiener, CIA chief historian David Robarge, former FBI espionage chief Mike Rochford, former CIA veterans Norb Garrett and Milt Bearden and Eric Roth, screenwriter of The Good Shepherd to discuss the myths and reality of intelligence and counterintelligence. Sibley Auditorium, UC Berkeley.
- In May 2007, Mr. Bergman and the Investigative Reporting Program announce a competition for three year-long investigative reporting fellowships at The Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, the first of their kind in the nation. "With the economics of major news organizations deteriorating," said Lowell Bergman, the professor in charge of the Investigative Reporting Program, "this kind of public interest journalism involving time-consuming investigative work is endangered as never before. These fellowships will provide both a refuge and a base of operations for a new generation of investigative reporters."
- May 24, 2007, Mr. Bergman's keynote address "More Than Five Years After 9/11, What Is The True Threat Of Al Qaeda?" at the fourth Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Toronto.