In the mid 1970s, while reporting for WKYC-TV in Cleveland, Ross reported on Jackie Presser and corruption in the Teamsters union and interviewed mobster Danny Greene.[4] He continued to report on the Teamsters after being hired by NBC News. His reporting on the Teamsters won him a Sigma Delta Chi Award in 1976 and a National Headliner award in 1977.[5] Ross broke the FBI Abscam story while at NBC.[6]
His undercover investigation of nuclear smuggling, which questioned whether American authorities could stop a shipment of radioactive material from entering the country, received the duPont Award in 2004.[10]
On May 24, 2006, Ross first reported that the Justice Department was investigating Speaker of the HouseDennis Hastert for possible connections to the Jack Abramoff corruption scandal. Both the Justice Department and Dennis Hastert issued denials, but Ross insisted the story was correct.[11] He did say that the investigation might eventually "wash out and be nothing".[12]
On September 6, 2006, Ross reported that Pakistan had decided not to seek the capture of Osama bin Laden so long as bin Laden acted "like a peaceful citizen".[13] Pakistan denied the report.[14] The report was based on a telephone interview in which ABC quoted the Pakistani General as saying, "Q. ABC News: If bin Laden or Zawahiri were there, they could stay? A. Gen. Sultan: No one of that kind can stay. If someone is there he will have to surrender, he will have to live like a good citizen, his whereabouts, exit travel would be known to the authorities."[15]
Ross received the 2007 Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting for a two-part "20/20" undercover investigation into retail pharmacy errors, focusing on large drugstore chains, including CVS and Walgreens.[23] He also received a 2007 Business Emmy for his work in exposing conflicts of interest of some West Virginia State Supreme Court justices.[24]
When the Madoff investment scandal broke in December 2008, Ross covered Madoff, his family and associates and reported on how the scam had been perpetrated over the years. His reporting on the subject led to his first book, The Madoff Chronicles: Inside the Secret World of Bernie and Ruth, published in 2009.[25]
In November 2009, Ross co-wrote an article titled "Officials: Army Told of Hasan's Contacts with al Qaeda", which claimed that Fort Hood shooterNidal Hasan had made attempts to "make contact with people associated with al Qaeda".[26][27] He made the same claims on Good Morning America.[28] Other reporters said that Nidal's contact was limited to emails to his former imam, Anwar al-Awlaki, who had also been the imam of two of the September 11 terrorists.[29]
In 2010, Ross received his seventh duPont-Columbia Award for the “20/20” investigation “The Coach’s Secret”, which exposed a scandal in youth swimming.[30] This report also earned him a 2011 CINE Golden Eagle Award.[31] Ross's investigation, “Taking on Toyota”, which prompted one of the largest automobile recalls in history, was awarded the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association in 2011.[32] This report was publicly disputed by Toyota, which demonstrated that the "Toyota Death Ride" was largely fabricated by experts that were working for several trial lawyers with litigation pending against Toyota.
On July 19, 2011, according to the presidential campaign of Michele Bachmann, when attempting to question Bachmann about her migraines, Ross "rushed toward" Bachmann and her staff and "disregarded repeated requests to stay back".[33] According to Michael Crowley, a reporter for Time who witnessed the resulting intervention by Bachmann staffers, the staffers "pounced on [Ross], grabbing and pushing him multiple times with what looked [...] like unusual force. In fact, [Crowley had] never seen a reporter treated so roughly at a campaign event, especially not a presidential one." Ross said he'd only been treated like that before "mostly by Mafia people."[34][35] Ross appeared on The View and various media outlets to discuss the incident.[36][37][38][39] The media also underscored 'concerns' regarding Bachmann's health.[40]
Over a 10-month period in 2011, Ross and Anna Schecter reported on the murder of a 24-year-old Peace Corps volunteer in West Africa. Ross and Schecter received the 2011 George Polk Award for Television Reporting for this series of reports.[41][42]
In 2012, Ross earned his sixth George Polk Award,[43] sixth Peabody Award[44] and second Emmy Award,[45][citation needed] including best investigation in a news magazine story for his “20/20” investigation “Peace Corps: A Trust Betrayed”, which exposed the cover-up of sexual abuse of Peace Corps volunteers and led to Congressional hearings and calls for new legislation.[46] He was also the recipient of a 2012 Gracie Award for the report.[47]
In 2013, Ross won the Hillman Prize and CINE Golden Eagle Award for his report Tragedy in Bangladesh[48][49] and "Outstanding Investigative Program or Feature" at the 2013 Gracie Awards for Undercover Granny: Medicare Fraud.[50]
Ross and his lead producer, Rhonda Schwartz, were suspended in the wake of his misreporting with regard to the Michael Flynn affair. They were transferred to Lincoln Square Productions upon their return. However, on July 2, 2018, ABC announced Ross and Schwartz were leaving the network.[51][52]
Law & Crime
In August 2018, Ross and his producer, Rhonda Scnwartz, was hired at the Law & Crime network which “covers trials and crime 24/7,” as a lead investigative reporter and also to host his own weekly show called “Brian Ross Investigates”.[53]
Controversies
In October 2001, Ross twice falsely linked Iraq to the anthrax attacks in the United States. Both reports, based on anonymous "high level" sources, were denied by the George W. Bush administration.[54] In November 2001, Ross "updated" the story, acknowledging that original reports of bentonite in the anthrax samples were incorrect.[55]Glenn Greenwald severely criticized Ross for this reporting, opining that Ross unwittingly helped build support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq as a result of his high-profile report.[56][57]Dan Froomkin asked in an August 5, 2008 column, in The Washington Post: "So who told ABC the powder looked Iraqi?"[58]The New York Sun reported that Ross was the sixth journalist ordered by a federal judge to reveal his sources for federal anthrax attack stories.[59]
On January 14, 2004, a report by Ross, Chris Vlasto, and Rhonda Schwartz on the eve of the Iowa caucus linked presidential candidate Howard Dean to a trooper who worked for him when he was Vermont's governor and who had “‘engaged in acts of domestic violence’”.[60] ABC News was criticized in the Columbia Journalism Review for the report because the report presented no evidence to show that Dean was aware of the abuse when he wrote a character reference for the employee in a custody dispute, and because there was evidence to suggest that Dean was unaware of the abuse at that time. The Columbia Journalism described the story as "little more than a smear."[61]
In 2006, Ross broadcast what he described as a "big scoop" asserting that an al-Qaeda terrorist with links to Bin Laden had been arrested in Pakistan. But the story was untrue. Matiur Rehman, the al-Qaeda explosives expert, was still a fugitive. The Pakistani government said the story was "fictitious." ABC ended up retracting the story.[62]
Ross and the ABC News Investigative Team were awarded the 2011 National Edward R. Murrow Award for “Video Continuing Coverage” for their exclusive investigation, “Taking On Toyota”, that revealed how the car company for years ignored complaints from hundreds of its owners about cars suddenly accelerating out of control. As a result, Toyota's market value and sales were driven down. However, Ross, as the correspondent, it was later disclosed, had staged the famous “death ride” in a Toyota set up to accelerate without driver input. Ross’ report featured a doctored shot of a tachometer suddenly racing to 6,000 rpm.[63][64][65][66]
During coverage of the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting, Ross suggested on the air a connection between a member of a Colorado Tea Party group and the shooting, based on the gunman's name, without any confirmed evidence. Describing Ross as one of the most controversial reporters in television journalism, Dylan Byers reported that Ross had come "under attack again" for his reporting.[67][68][69] Conservative website PJ Media called for his firing.[70] Ross and ABC News President Ben Sherwood apologized for the comment.[68][71]
On December 2, 2017, Ross was given a four-week suspension without pay after erroneously stating during a special report that Michael Flynn was preparing to testify that Donald Trump had directed him to make contact with Russian officials during his presidential campaign.
Ross issued a clarification on World News Tonight later that same day, explaining that Flynn had not been told to make contact with Russian officials until after the election, and that Trump had only asked Flynn and other advisors to "find ways to repair relations with Russia" during his campaign. Ross issued a clarification on World News Tonight later that same day, explaining that Flynn had not been told to make contact with Russian officials until after the election, and that Trump had only asked Flynn and other advisors to "find ways to repair relations with Russia."
"During a live Special Report, ABC News reported that a confidant of Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn said Flynn was prepared to testify that then-candidate Donald Trump instructed him to contact Russian officials during the campaign," the network's correction stated. "That source later clarified that during the campaign, Trump assigned Flynn and a small circle of other senior advisers to find ways to repair relations with Russia and other hot spots."
In early 2018, after Ross served a four-week unpaid suspension, he returned as a chief investigative correspondent, but with a separate unit of ABC, Lincoln Square Productions.[76] However, in July, ABC announced Ross was leaving the network.[51]
Awards
1974 – Peabody Award: WCKTV “A Superb Series of Investigative Reports Which Brought Considerable Response & Change”[77]
2014 – Gerald Loeb Award for Investigative Business Journalism: "Breathless and Burdened: Dying from Black Lung, Buried by Law and Medicine"[105]
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References
1 2 "People: Brian Ross", University of Iowa, School of Journalism, Professional Advisory Board Emeriti
↑ Brian Steinberg (2 July 2018). "Brian Ross, Who Aired Erroneous Trump Report, to Leave ABC News". Variety. Retrieved 3 July 2018. Brian Ross, the veteran ABC News investigative correspondent who embarrassed the network late last year with an on-air report suggesting former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn had been told by President Donald Trump to make contact with Russian officials during the 2016 campaign for the Oval Office, is leaving the network
↑ Roth, Zachary (January 15, 2004). "ABC: An Example of Abuse". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
↑ Paul Farhi (4 December 2017). "Brian Ross is an investigative reporting star. But he's made some staggering blunders". The Washington Post. Retrieved 3 July 2018. In 2006, ace ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross went on the air with a big scoop: Pakistani officials, he reported, had arrested Matiur Rehman, an al-Qaeda explosives expert who kept an "official" list of terrorist recruits. Ross suggested the arrest could lead to Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaeda leader who was a fugitive at the time. One problem: Rehman hadn't been arrested. A Pakistani foreign ministry official denied the story, calling it "fictitious." ABC retracted it.
1 2 3 4 "Awards Recipients". Overseas Press Club of America. The David Kaplan Award 1990; Brian Ross, Ira Silverman; NBC News: The Carl Spielvogel Award 1991; Brian Ross, Rhonda Schwartz; NBC: The Carl Spielvogel Award 1994; Brian Ross, Rhonda Schwartz, Brenda Breslauer, Jill Rackmill; Dateline NBC: The Eric & Amy Burger Award 1997; Brian Ross, Rhonda Schwartz, David Rummel, Phyllis Mcgrady; ABC News-Primetime Live
"Daniel Pearl Awards". International Consortium Investigative Journalists. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2019. Brian Ross, David Wilson Scott, and Rhonda Schwarts, ABC News 20/20, Peace at What Price: Investigating UN Misconduct in the Congo documented systematic sexual exploitation of girls and boys by UN peacekeepers and civilians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
↑ Gough, Paul J. (26 September 2006). "NBC News wins Emmy for Katrina coverage". The Today Show. NBC News. Retrieved 15 September 2019. winning for investigative journalism in a nightly newscast was the "Money Trail" series on ABC's "World News Tonight" about big money and politics.
↑ "RTDNA; 2007 Murrow National Winners". Radio Television Digital News Association. Investigative Reporting: ABC News Radio, Brian Ross Investigates: The Mark Foley Scandal
"RTDNA; 2008 Murrow National Winners". Radio Television Digital News Association. Investigative Reporting: ABC News, Brian Ross Investigates: Prescription for Error
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