American History of Business Journalism

Full width blog

Donec eget mauris at ipsum molestie bibendum. Praesent sed nisi sed orci tempus auctor. Fusce rutrum elit tristique velit eleifend tempus. Praesent ultrices purus ut urna pellentesque eleifend id quis metus curabitur diam velit.


In: Archives, SABEW 05 Apr 2013 0 comments

1975-1976
Ovid Abrams
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Community News Service
Last Position Held: Freelance Journalist/Writer

Scott Aiken
Before Bagehot: Foreign Correspondent, Cincinnati Inquirer
Last Position Held: Retired Freelance Journalist

Douglas Campbell
Before Bagehot: Suburban Reporter, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Last Position Held: General Assignment Reporter, Philadelphia Inquirer

Stephen Dunphy
Before Bagehot: General Assignment Reporter, Seattle Times
Last Position Held: Freelance Business and Communications Consultant/Writing for on-line service crosscut.com

James Elsener
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Chicago Tribune
Last Position Held: Manger of Business Development, Daily Herald Business Ledger

Robert Hagen
Before Bagehot: General Assignment Reporter, South Illinoisan
Last Position Held: Assistant Business Editor, Star Tribune.

John Holusha
Before Bagehot: Business/Economics Reporter, Washington Star
Last Position Held: Reporter, New York Times

Doreen Chu Jagoda
Before Bagehot: Producer/WriterNBC News, Today Show
Last Position Held: Freelance/Journalist

Philip Moeller
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Chicago Sun-Times
Last Position Held: Contributing Editor, U.S. News & World Report

Jerome S. Morgan
Before Bagehot: Real Estate Writer, Newsday
Last Position Held: Freelance Journalist

1976-1977

Terry Atlas
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, The Charlotte Observer
Last Position Held: Editor, Defense & Foreign, Bloomberg News Washington Bureau

Dennis Chase
Before Bagehot: Business & Financial Reporting, McGraw-Hill World News
Last Position Held: Consultant, The Dilenschneider Group

David T. Cook
Before Bagehot: Financial Reporter for Christian Science Monitor
Last Position Held: Senior Editor & Washington Bureau Chief, Christian Science Monitor

Alan Gersten *
Before Bagehot: Business Repporter, Miami News
Last Position Held: Latin American Reporter Project Finance International, Thomson Reuters

Rita Palmer Golden
Before Bagehot: Consumer Reporter, Detroit free Press
Last Position Held: Efford Cottage, ENGLAND

Trudy Lieberman
Before Bagehot: Consumer Writer, Detroit Free Press
Last Position Held: Contributing Editor for Columbia Journalism Review

Andrew R. McGill
Before Bagehot: Business Editor, Miami Herald.
Last Position Held: Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan

Peggy Printz
Before Bagehot: Consumer/Economics Reporter and News Producer at WJAR-TV in Providence
Last Position Held: Founder “Study in the USA” Magazine (www.studyusa.com)

Deborah Rankin
Before Bagehot: Economics Editor, Consumer Reports
Last Position Held: Freelance Journalist

Harvey D. Shapiro
Before Bagehot: Contributing Editor for Institutional Investor Magazine/Freelance Journalist
Last Position Held: Contribution Editor for Institutional Investor Magazine/Freelance Journalist

1977-1978

Janet Bodnar
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, The Home News (New Brunswick, NJ)
Last Position Held: Editor, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

John Collins
Before Bagehot: US News & World Report, Copy Editor
Last Position Held: Managing Director of Media Relations, Public Communications Dept. Media
Spokesperson, Investment Company Institute, Trade Association of the US Mutual Fund

Nigel Cushing
Before Bagehot: Associate Editor, The Weekly & Seattle Correspondent, Newsweek
Last Position Held: Investor/Stay-at-home Dad

Caroline Donnelly
Before Bagehot: Freelance Journalist
Last Position Held: Freelance Journalist

William Glasgall
Before Bagehot: Business News Supervisor, Associated Press
Last Position Held: Editor-at-Large, Bloomberg News

Robert L. Kearns
Before Bagehot: Columnist, Reuters Ltd.
Last Position Held: State Street Global Advisors

Michelle Osborn
Before Bagehot: Director, Public Information & Editor, Bryn Mawr Now (Bryn Mawr College)
Last Position Held:

Thomas Richman
Before Bagehot: Broadcast Journalist, New Hampshire Network; Columnist, Yankee, Inc.
Last Position Held: Freelance Writer

Jonathan Williams
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Last Position Held: Principal, Jonathan Williams Public Relations/Public Affairs

Jacob Wortham
Before Bagehot: Contributor, New York Magazine & The Village Voice
Last Position Held: Assignment Editor, Money Section

1978-1979

Lisa Bergson-Riddle
Before Bagehot: Investigative Reporter, WRFM Radio
Last Position Held: President & CEO, Tiger Optics, LLC; Meeco Inc.
Debora (Greene) Modra
Before Bagehot: Editorial, Syracuse Post-Standard
Last Position Held: Director of Global Sourcing, Modern Arts Packaging

Kathryn Harris
Before Bagehot: Newsfeatures, St. Petersburg Times
Last Position Held: Freelance Writer & Editor

Thomas C. Hayes
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, Cincinnati Enquirer
Last Position Held: Senior Vice President, RLM Finsbury

Jared Kopel
Before Bagehot: Reporter, New York Post
Last Position Held: Attorney, Kopel Law

Andrew Leckey *
Before Bagehot: State Capital Reporter, The Phoenix Gazette
Last Position Held: Director, Donald Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism
Arizona State University

Dave Lindorff
Before Bagehot: Investigative Reporter/producer, KCET-TV “28-Tonight” News Program
Last Position Held: Freelance writer/reporter and founding editor of ThisCantBeHappening.net

Robert A. Rankin
Before Bagehot: Research/Writer, Congressional Quarterly, Inc.
Last Position Held: Government-Politics Editor, McClatchy Newspapers

Dennis Smith
Before Bagehot: Director of Probe, half-hour weekly documentary in WLBT-TV
Last Position Held: News Director, WLBT-TV (retiring in two weeks)

James A. White
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, United Press International, New York
Last Position Held: News editor, Wall Street Journal, New York

1979-1980

Peter F. Bird, Jr.
Before Bagehot: Business news editor, the Nashville Banner
Last Position Held: President, The Frist Foundation

Neill Borowski
Before Bagehot: Money Desk Editor/Copy Editor, The Times-Union (Rochester, NY)
Last Position Held: Executive Editor/Content Director, The Press of Atlantic City

Mathis Chazanov
Before Bagehot: Foreign Correspondent, United Press International
Last Position Held: Nation & World Editor, Orange County Register

David Kinney
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Winston-Salem Journal
Last Position Held: Editor in Chief, Business North Carolina

Marianna Ohe
Before Bagehot: UPI
Last Position Held: Retired from Speechwriter to the Chairman of Export/Import Bank

Pavan Sahgal
Before Bagehot: Editor, India Abroad, Inc.
Last Position Held: Editor-in-Chief, Technology and Global Investment Magazine

Mike Sheridan
Before Bagehot: Reporter, The Hartford Courant
Last Position Held: Freelance Editor, Parsippany, NJ
Charles J. Stein
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Concord Monitor (Concord, NH)
Last Position Held: Reporter, Bloomberg News

John Wang
Before Bagehot: Economic Development, Chinese-American Planning Council
Last Position Held: President, Asian-American Business Development Center

Leslie Wayne
Before Bagehot: Reporter, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Last Position Held: Adjunct business professor at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and NYU

1980-81

Michael Connor
Before Bagehot: Desk Editor, Reuters (in NY)
Last Position Held: Correspondent, Reuters

Barbara J. French
Before Bagehot: Reporter, San Jose Mercury
Last Position Held: Associate Vice Chancelor of University Relations, University of California

J. Peter Gonigam
Before Bagehot: Reporting/Producing, WBRE-TV
Last Position Held: Publisher, The First Electric Newspaper

Dedra Hauser
Before Bagehot: Freelance Business Journalist
Last Position Held: Self-Employed Landscape Designer in Palo Alto, CA

Steven L. Hershberger
Before Bagehot: Business Reporting, Electronic News
Last Position Held: Principal & Co-Founder, ComBlu.com

Bob Porterfield
Before Bagehot: Business/Financial Writer, Boston Globe
Last Position Held: Director, World Press Institute

Bob Raissman
Before Bagehot: Labor/Business Reporter, Winston-Salem Journal
Last Position Held: Sports Columnist, New York Daily News

Linda Sandler
Before Bagehot: Money Market weekly column, Financial Post
Last Position Held: Bloomberg News

Terri Thompson
Before Bagehot: News Editor, Purchasing Magazine
Last Position Held: Director, Knight-Bagehot Program, Columbia University

David Wessel *
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Hartford Courant & Stringer, Electrical Week
Last Position Held: Economics Editor & Columnist, The Wall Street Journal

1981-1982

Charles G. Blaine, Jr.
Before Bagehot: Business writer, the Idaho Statesman
Last Position Held: Markets columnist, MSN Money, Redmond, VA

Gail Collins
Before Bagehot: Reporter, United Press International
Last Position Held: Editorial Page Editor, The New York Times

Gail Gregg
Before Bagehot: Economic Reporter for Congressional Quarterly Magazine
Last Position Held: Freelance Journalist

Udayan Gupta
Before Bagehot: Freelance Writer
Last Position Held: Vice President, Bayeux USA

Ellen L. James Martin
Before Bagehot: Consumer Affairs/Regulatory Reporter, Baltimore Evening Sun
Last Position Held: Syndicated Columnist, Universal Press Syndicate

Cynthia Kasabian Blickenstaff
Before Bagehot: Business & Economics Reporter, San Francisco Examiner
Last Position Held: Managing Director, CKB Consultants, Inc.

Kevin Lahart
Before Bagehot: Specialist Editor, Newsday
Last Position Held: Freelance

Joshua Levine
Before Bagehot: Associate Editor, Advertising Age
Last Position Held: Freelance Writer, Paris, France

Floyd Norris
Before Bagehot: Business Writer, Associated Press
Last Position Held: Chief Financial Correspondent, New York Times

Jaye Robinson Scholl
Before Bagehot: Business Editor for the Trenton Times (New Jersey)
Last Position Held: President for Hedgecomm Inc.

1982-1983

Christine Bockelmann
Before Bagehot: News Editor in Business Section, The Chicago Sun-Times
Last Position Held: Freelance Editor

Aly Colón
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, Oakland Press (Pontiac, MI)
Last Position Held: Director of Standards and Practices, NBC News

Peter M. Gianotti
Before Bagehot: Business & Financial Reporter, Newsday
Last Position Held: Restaurant/Wine Critic, Newsday

Peter Christian Hall
Before Bagehot: Freelance Writer
Last Position Held: President, Big Bad Productions, Inc.

Jan Hopkins
Before Bagehot: Reporter, WLWT (Cincinatti, OH, NBC-Affiliate)
Last Position Held: President, The Jan Hopkins Group/Economic Club of New York

Elliot D. Lee
Before Bagehot: Editor and writer of business, economic and political features, Black Enterprise
Magazine

Last Position Held: Vice President, Northeast Region Community Relations, JP Morgan Chase & Co.

Blanca Riemer
Before Bagehot: Reporter in Bogota, Colombia, McGraw-Hill World News
Last Position Held: France Senior Correspondent, Merger Market

John Saunders
Before Bagehot: Reporter, The Gazette, Montreal
Last Position Held: Retired – Reporter-Editor, CBC Online, Canadian Broadcast Corp

Lawrence J. Tell
Before Bagehot: Staff Reporter, The National Law Journal
Last Position Held: President, InterSource International Inc.

Mary Williams Walsh
Before Bagehot: Assistant Editor, Progressive
Last Position Held: Financial Writer, The New York Times

1983-1984

Victoria Rea Gits
Before Bagehot: Associate Editor for CableVision Magazine
Last Position Held: Freelance Writer

Peter G. Gosselin
Before Bagehot: Labor Reporter, Providence Journal-Bulletin (North Adams, MA)
Last Position Held: Senior Health Policy Analyst, Bloomberg Government
Stephen J. Govoni
Before Bagehot: Business Writer at The Record
Last Position Held: Senior Financial Writer/Market Analyst at Lord Abbett.

Jim Jubak
Before Bagehot: Editor/Writer, Environmental Action
Last Position Held: Founder, Editor-in-Chief, JubakPicks.com

Kathleen Stauder Pender
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram
Last Position Held: Financial Columnist, San Francisco Chronicle

Susan Sachs
Before Bagehot: Staff Writer, The Miami Herald
Last Position Held: Freelance writer, editor and correspondent in Paris for The Globe and Mail, The
Christian Science Monitor and other publications & Journalism Professor, Sciences Po

Robin Schatz
Before Bagehot: Business Writer, Atlanta Constitution
Last Position Held: Editor & TV Producer, Bloomberg News Culture Team & Adjunct Professor,
Columbia School of Journalism

Janice Simpson
Before Bagehot: Correspondent, TIME Magazine
Last Position Held: Co-Director of the Arts and Culture Program, CUNY Graduate School of
Journalism

Eileen White Read
Before Bagehot: Reporter/Editor, Editorial Projects in Ed.
Last Position Held: Associate Director for Press Relations, Enough, the Project to End Genocide and
Crimes Against Humanity, Center for American Progress

Jack Willoughby
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Last Position Held: Senior Editor, Barron’s

1984-1985

Penelope Muse Abernathy
Before Bagehot: General Assignment Editor, Metro Desk, Dallas Times-Herald
Last Position Held: Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics, UNC at Chapel Hill

Lee Cearnal
Before Bagehot: Projects Editor, Jackson Clarion Ledger
Last Position Held: Special Projects Editor, Houston Chronicle

Frances Whittelsey
Before Bagehot: Freelance Writer
Last Position Held: Freelance writer, Adjunct Professor of Journalism, Hofstra University
TheEqualizerFCW.blogspot.com

Barbara Demick
Before Bagehot: Business Writer, Philadelphia Inquirer
Last Position Held: Beijing Bureau Chief, Los Angeles Times

Susan Feyder
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Last Position Held: Economic development reporter, Minneapolis Star Tribune South Metro Bureau

Carolyn Friday
Before Bagehot: Researcher/reporter, Newsweek
Last Position Held: French Teacher, Ridgefield, CT

1985-1986

Gus Hedberg
Before Bagehot: Senior Editor, Money Magazine
Last Position Held: English and Journalism Teacher, The Lawrenceville School

Vesta Kimble
Before Bagehot: Consumer Affairs Reporter, The News-American (Baltimore, MD)
Last Position Held: Deputy Executive Director, Department of Human Resources, State of Maryland

Bob Lowe
Before Bagehot: Investigative Reporter, Miami Herald
Last Position Held: Freelance Journalist

Craig Miller
Before Bagehot: Money Reporter, KDKA-TV (CBS), Pittsburgh
Last Position Held: Science Editor, KQED (NPR/PBS), San Francisco

Rosa Morales
Before Bagehot: Producer/Writer/Moderator, WKAR TV 23
Last Position Held: Freelance Writer

Paul Sweeney
Before Bagehot: Freelance Journalist
Last Position Held: Senior Contributing Writer, Institutional Investor

1986-1987

Mark Clifford
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Forbes, NYC
Last Position Held: Executive Director, Asia Business Council, Hong Kong

Yee Mee Fah
Before Bagehot: General Reporting, Political News and Features, Economics, Business News and
Features, New Straits Time Press
Last Position Held: Strategist, Mae Public Relations (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

John Gallagher
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, Syracuse Post-Standard
Last Position Held: Staff Writer & Architecture Critic, Detroit Free Press

Pamela Luecke
Before Bagehot: Business Editor, Courier-Journal & Times
Last Position Held: Donald W. Reynolds Professor of Business Journalism, Washington & Lee
University

Debra Silimeo
Before Bagehot: WTOP Radio, Washington, DC – reporter/anchor
Last Position Held: Executive Vice President, Hager Sharp, Inc.

Elyse Tanouye
Before Bagehot: Editor, Hawaii Business Magazine
Last Position Held: Deputy Managing Editor for Standards and Ethics, The Wall Street Journal

Ann Scott Tyson
Before Bagehot: Correspondent – Peking, United Press International
Last Position Held: Military & Pentagon Correspondent, The Washington Post

1987-1988

Geoffrey Foisie
Before Bagehot: Journalist, Broadcasting and Cable Magazine
Last Position Held: Investment Advisor, Shawbrook Publishing

P. Gunasegaram
Before Bagehot: Specialist Writer, Business Times
Last Position Held: Freelance, Selangor, Malaysia

Mel Laytner
Before Bagehot: Middle East Radio Correspondent, NBC News
Last Position Held: Freelance Journalist

Julia C. Martinez
Before Bagehot: News Reporting, The Associated Press
Last Position Held: Strategic Policy Advisor, Colorado Dept. of Human Resources

Stanley Reed
Before Bagehot: Middle East Editor, International Reports/Freelance Journalist
Last Position Held: London Bureau Chief, Business Week

Valerie Reitman
Before Bagehot: Business Reporting, The Charlotte Observer
Last Position Held: Freelance, Los Angeles, CA

Leah Beth Ward
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Albequerque Journal
Last Position Held: Assistant City Editor, Yakima Herald-Republic (A Seattle Times company)

1988-1989

S. Jayasankaran
Before Bagehot: Journalist, Financial Publications
Last Position Held: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Sarah E. Kidwell
Before Bagehot: Personal Finance News and Producer, “Your Money”
Last Position Held: Director of Marketing Communication, Cate School

Mara Liasson
Before Bagehot: General Assignment Reporter/Newscaster, NPR
Last Position Held: National Political Correspondent, NPR

Elizabeth A. Obenshain
Before Bagehot: Business Editor, The Roanoke Times
Last Position Held: Executive Director, New River Land Trust

Stewart Taggart
Before Bagehot: Newsman, Associated Press
Last Position Held: Principal, Grenatec

Pauline Tai
Before Bagehot: Editor/Writer/Reporter & Author, Money Magazine
Last Position Held: Editorial Consultant and author

Craig Torres
Before Bagehot: Chief Credit Market Reporter, Knight-Ridder Financial News
Last Position Held: Reporter, Bloomberg News

Sam Zuckerman
Before Bagehot: Freelance Journalist, Lima, Peru
Last Position Held: Senior Speechwriter and Editor, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

1989-1990

Judith Burns
Before Bagehot: NY Bureau Chief, Commodity World News
Last Position Held: Reporter, Dow Jones Newswires

Linda Corman
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Boston Business Journalism
Last Position Held: Editorial Consultant, New York, NY

Lisa Dietrich
Before Bagehot: Producer, “Your Money”, CNN
Last Position Held: International Producer, CNN World Business

Micheline Maynard
Before Bagehot: Detroit Bureau Chief, Reuters
Last Position Held: Reynolds Visiting Professor of Business Journalism, Central Michigan
University

Hannah Moore
Before Bagehot: Correspondent, Journal of Commerce
Last Position Held: Grants Manager, AHC Inc.

Ahmad A. Talib
Before Bagehot: News Editor, Berita Harian SDN BHD
Last Position Held: Group Editor, New Straits Times (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Fred Vogelstein
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, New Haven Register
Last Position Held: Contributing Editor, Wired Magazine

1990-1991

Steve Askin
Before Bagehot: Africa Correspondent, National Catholic Reporter and freelance from Africa for
Business Week and the Chronicle for Higher Education
Last Position Held: Research Director, Good Jobs LA

Max Cacas
Before Bagehot: News/Business Producer, National Public Radio, Washington, DC
Last Position Held: Defense Editor/Writer, SIGNAL Magazine/AFCEA International, Washington,
DC

Howard Gold
Before Bagehot: Associate Editor, Miami Review
Last Position Held: Executive Editor, MoneyShow.com

Yoshikazu Mikami
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Agence France-Presse
Last Position Held: Associate Professor, Mejiro University of Tokyo

Susan Scherreik
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Dow Jones Capital Markets Report
Last Position Held: Director, The Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Stillman School of Business,
Seton Hall University

Pamela Sharif
Before Bagehot: Copy Editor, The New York Times
Last Position Held: Group Publisher, National Society of Black Engineers Magazines

Mary Speck
Before Bagehot: Freelance Reporter
Last Position Held: Editor, Foreign Desk, The Washington Post

Robin L. Updike
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, The Seattle Times
Last Position Held: Content Manager, Winebid.com

1991-1992

Ira Breskin *
Before Bagehot: Aviation/Editor, Journal of Commerce
Last Position Held: Freelance Writer, Great Neck, NY

Laura Castaneda
Before Bagehot: Associated Press, Correspondent, Monterrey, Mexico
Last Position Held: Associated Director, Professor of Professional Practice, USC Annenberg School
of Journalism

David Evans
Before Bagehot: Executive Editor, Canadian Business Magazine
Last Position Held: Vice President, Gerson Lehrman Group

Fredlintaz Igbeare (bad phone #)
Before Bagehot: Managing Editor, Black Ivory
Last Position Held: Freelance, Middle Island, NY

Tom Lowry
Before Bagehot: Morning Call (Allentown, PA), Special Projects Writer
Last Position Held: formerly of The Daily which ceased publication on 12/15/12

Leslie Scism
Before Bagehot: Staff Writer, Philadelphia Daily News
Last Position Held: News Editor, The Wall Street Journal

Mark Suchecki
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Capital Newspapers
Last Position Held: New York, NY

Gerri Willis
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, The Virginian Pilot and Ledger Star (Norfolk, VA)
Last Position Held: Host, “The Willis Report”, FOX Business News

1992-1993

Barbara Belejack
Before Bagehot: Freelance/Regular Stringer for Newsweek and CBS Radio
Last Position Held: Editor, The Texas Observer

Jer Jeng Chiu
Before Bagehot: Executive Producer, CTS News Magazine
Last Position Held: Chinese Television System

James Grimaldi
Before Bagehot: General-Assignment Reporter, The Orange County Register
Last Position Held: Senior Writer, The Wall Street Journal

Babatunde Harrison
Before Bagehot: Associate Editor, African Times
Last Position Held: Project Coordinator, Global Information Network

Noriko Ito
Before Bagehot: Newscaster, Fuji Television Network, Inc.
Last Position Held: Announcer, Fuji Television Network, Inc.

Janet Moore
Before Bagehot: Editor/Reporter, The Express-Times
Last Position Held: Medical Technology Reporter, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Mary Beth Sheridan
Before Bagehot: Foreign Correspondent, Associated Press in Italy
Last Position Held: Nieman Fellow at Harvard (presently on leave from the Washington Post)

John Swenson
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, Journal American
Last Position Held: Writer, Windows Team, Microsoft Corp.

1993-1994

Sandra Block
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Dow Jones News Service
Last Position Held: Personal Finance Reporter, USA Today

Michael DuVally
Before Bagehot: Beat Reporter for Knight-Ridder Financial News
Present Managing Director, Media Relations, Goldman Sachs

Dawn Gilbertson
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, The Phoenix Gazette
Last Position Held: Senior Business Reporter, Arizona Republic

Michael Gonzalez
Before Bagehot: Foreign Correspondent, AFB (based in Hong Kong)
Last Position Held: Vice President-Communications, The Heritage Foundation

Mike Hughlett
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, The Times-Picayune
Last Position Held: Reporter, Chicago Tribune

Patrick McGeehan
Before Bagehot: Reporter, The Bergen Record (Hackensack, NJ)
Last Position Held: Reporter for the Metro Section of The New York Times

Steve Schifferes
Before Bagehot: Business Producer, BBC News
Last Position Held: Marjorie Deane Professor of Financial Journalism, City University London

David Turner
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Philadelphia Inquirer
Last Position Held: Writer, Lincoln Financial Distributors

1994-1995

Eleanor Barnes
Before Bagehot: Producer, CNN Business News (“Business Day”, ½ hour daily business news show)
Last Position Held: Director of Alumnae Relations, The Ethel Walker School.

Michael Brush
Before Bagehot: Writer for the Economist Group
Last Position Held: Columnist, MSN Money

John Finotti
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, Florida Times-Union
Last Position Held: Vice President, Tucker-Hall

Quentin Hardy
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Wall Street Journal
Last Position Held: Deputy Tech Editor, New York Times

Peter Alan Harper
Before Bagehot: National Business Writer, The Associated Press
Last Position Held: National Business Writer, The Associated Press

Doreen Hemlock
Before Bagehot: Reporter with the San Juan Star Newspaper in Puerto Rico
Last Position Held: Senior Writer with the South Florida SunSentinal Newspaper, Fort Lauderdale,
FL

Cynthia Mayer
Before Bagehot: Regional Writer Midwest Bureau Chief, Philadelphia Inquirer
Last Position Held: Vice President, Merrill Lynch

Martha Moore
Before Bagehot: USA TODAY Money Reporter
Last Position Held: USA TODAY Political Reporter

1995-1996

Paul Davies
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Last Position Held: Freelance Journalist

Jon Hilsenrath
Before Bagehot: Senior Forex Correspondent, Knight-Ridder Inc.
Last Position Held: Chief Economics Correspondent, The Wall Street Journal

Sharon King
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Bond Buyer
Last Position Held: Freelance Journalist

Barbara Presley Noble
Before Bagehot: Editor/Writer, New York Times
Last Position Held: Freelance Journalist

Kim Norris
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, The Times
Last Position Held: Senior Financial Writer/Market Analyst, Lord, Abbett & Co., LLC

Mark Piesanen
Before Bagehot: Producer, CBC TV Current Affairs
Last Position Held: Director, Strategic Partner Development, Google

Joseph B. Treaster
Before Bagehot: Reporter, The New York Times
Last Position Held: Knight Chair for Cross-Cultural Communications, University of Miami

Ann Wozencraft (call back at 6 p.m.)
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, Contra Costa Times
Last Position Held: Senior Vice President, Aon Global

1996-1997

Greg Farrell
Before Bagehot: Editor-at-large, Adweek Magazine
Last Position Held: Reporter, Bloomberg

Deirdre Fretz
Before Bagehot: Managing Editor, Emerging Markets Letter, Institutional Investor Newsletter Group
Last Position Held: Editor working on developing new titles, Bloomberg Briefs

Pia Hinckle
Before Bagehot: Managing Editor, San Francisco Bay Guardian
Last Position Held: Publisher, The Fruit Guys

Faith Keenan Arner
Before Bagehot: Vietnam Bureau Chief, Far Easter Economic Review
Last Position Held: Retired

Iraki Peter Kibiriti
Before Bagehot: Acting Business Editor, The Weekly Review Magazine
Last Position Held: Chief Executive Officer, Corporate Africa Ltd.

Phillip Longman
Before Bagehot: Senior Editor, Florida Trend
Last Position Held: Senior Fellow, New America Foundation

John Oslund
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Last Position Held: Business Research Editor, Minneapolis Star-Tribune

Anne Tergesen
Before Bagehot: The Bergen Record
Last Position Held: Staff Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

1997-1998

Sarah Bachman
Before Bagehot: Editorial Writer, San Jose Mercury News
Last Position Held: Freelance Writer and Researcher

Jacalyn Carfagno
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, Lexington Herald-Leader
Last Position Held: Editorial Writer, Lexington Herald-Leader

Karl Taro Greenfeld (Bad #)
Before Bagehot: Managing Editor, Tokyo Journal
Last Position Held: Correspondent, Conde Nast Portfolio

Michael Molinski
Before Bagehot: Writer/Editor, Bloomberg
Last Position Held: Personal Finance Editor, Fidelity Investments (Boston, MA)

Bolaji Ojo
Before Bagehot: Africa Bureau Chief/Correspondent, Asia, Inc. (Hong Kong)
Last Position Held: Business Editor, EETimes

Claire Serant
Before Bagehot: General Assignment Report, Queens Bureau, New York Daily News
Last Position Held: Professor, York College, CUNY

Colin Stewart
Before Bagehot: Business Editor, The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA)
Last Position Held: Editor & Publisher, www.76crimes.com

Lawrence C. Strauss
Before Bagehot: Editor of the Hartford Business Journal
Last Position Held: Senior Editor at Barron’s

1998-1999

Julia Angwin
Before Bagehot: Technology Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle
Last Position Held: Senior Technology Editor, WSJ.com Wall Street Journal

Charles J. Butler
Before Bagehot: Editor-in-Chief, Sales & Marketing Magazine
Last Position Held: Deputy Editor, Runner’s World Magazine

John J. Doran
Before Bagehot: Editor-in-Charge, Reuters
Last Position Held: Senior Assignment Editor, Multi Media, Thomson Reuters

Stephen Hirsch
Before Bagehot: Reporter, The Record
Last Position Held: Vice President, Corporate Planning, The New York Times Co.

Shirleen Holt
Before Bagehot: Managing Editor, Oregon Business Magazine
Last Position Held: Senior Editor, Providence Health & Services

Vincent Nwanma
Before Bagehot: Freelance Correspondent, Dow Jones
Last Position Held: Stringer, Dow Jones Newswires (Lagos, Nigeria)

Donna Rosato
Before Bagehot: Reporter, USA Today
Last Position Held: Senior Writer, MONEY Magazine

Donna Shaw-Bielski
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, Philadelphia Inquirer covering pharmaceutical and biotech
industries
Last Position Held: Associate Professor and Coordinator of Journalism and Professional Writing
(JPW), at The College of New Jersey

Terry Williams
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Pensions and Investments
Last Position Held: Vice President, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

1999-2000

John Authers
Before Bagehot: New York Correspondent, Financial Times
Last Position Held: Investment Editor, Financial Times

Daniel Bases
Before Bagehot: Reuters, Wall Street and Pharmaceuticals Reporter
Last Position Held: Reuters, Global Investment Correspondent

Geraldine Fabrikant
Before Bagehot: Senior Writer, New York Times
Last Position Held: Senior Reporter, The New York Times

Julie Forster
Before Bagehot: Staff Writer, Corporate Report
Last Position Held: Business Reporter, St. Paul Pioneer Press

Bruce Melzer
Before Bagehot: Business Producer, ABCNews.com
Last Position Held: Senior Program Manager, PECI

Mark S. Murphy *
Before Bagehot: Associate Editor, Business; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Last Position Held: Editor, Providence Business News

Anya Schiffrin
Before Bagehot: Bureau Chief, Dow Jones Newswire (Hanoi)
Last Position Held: Acting Director, International Media & Communications Concentration, SIPA,
Columbia University

Kimberly Seals-Allers
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Fortune Magazine
Last Position Held: Founder, The Mocha Manual Company

Sara Silver
Before Bagehot: International Desk Editor, The Associated Press (New York, NY)
Last Position Held: Staff Writer, Telecommunications, New York Technology Group, The Wall
Street Journal

Michael J. Weiss
Before Bagehot: Freelance Journalist (Contributing Editor of The Washingtonian Ladies’ Home
Journal
and author of three books on Marketing)
Last Position Held: Vice President of Marketing, Environics Analytics

2000-2001

Khawaja Anwar
Before Bagehot: Sub-Editor Cum Reporter, Dawn Newspaper
Last Position Held: Reporter, Corporate Finance, Bloomberg News (Dubai, UAE)

Rachel M. Beck *
Before Bagehot: National Retail/Internet Reporter, Associated Press
Last Position Held: Business Columnist, Associated Press

Tim Gray
Before Bagehot: Senior Editor, Business North Carolina magazine
Last Position Held: Freelance writer and editor; part-time professor, Boston College

Barry Henderson
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Claremont Courier
Last Position Held: Analyst, T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.

Ward V.B. Lassoe
Before Bagehot: Segment Producer, CNBC Business News
Last Position Held: President, Evening Post Digital

Grainne McCarthy
Before Bagehot: Bureau Chief, Dow Jones
Last Position Held: Managing Editor, Dow Jones Newswire

Leslie Moore
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Latin Finance
Last Position Held: Program Development, The Deal

Brian J. O’Connor
Before Bagehot: Managing Editor, South Florida Business Journal
Last Position Held: Personal Finance Editor, Detroit News

Jeff Sommer
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Albany Knickerbocker News
Last Position Held: Assistant Business Editor, The New York Times

Teresa Tritch
Before Bagehot: Senior editor, Money magazine
Last Position Held: The New York Times Editorial Board (Member of the Board)

2001-2002

Porus Cooper
Before Bagehot: Dept. NJ Editor, Philadelphia Inquirer
Last Position Held: Assistant Editor, National/Foreign Desk, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Thomas Heath
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Washington Post
Last Position Held: Reporter, Washington Post

Samuel Loewenberg
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Legal Times
Last Position Held: Freelance Journalist and Filmmaker, Washington D.C.

Bruce Meyerson
Before Bagehot: Business Writer/Editor, The Associated Press
Last Position Held: Deputy Technology Editor, Business Week Online

Lori Nitschke
Before Bagehot: Senior Writer, Congressional Quarterly
Last Position Held: Director of Web Marketing, Watson Wyatt Worldwide

Laura Petrecca
Before Bagehot: Deputy Bureau Chief/Senior Editor/Reporter at Advertising Age
Last Position Held: NYC Deputy Bureau Chief/Reporter at USA Today

Lida Poletz
Before Bagehot: Financial Correspondent, Reuters
Last Position Held: Senior Vice President, Weber Shandwick

Yasser Sobhi
Before Bagehot: Economic Reporter, Al-Ahram
Last Position Held: Economist, Macro-Fiscal Unit, Ministry of Finance (Cairo, Egypt)

Deborah Steinborn
Before Bagehot: Senior Reporter, Dow Jones & Co.
Last Position Held: Freelance Journalist

Geeta Sundaramoorthy
Before Bagehot: Associate Editor, Business News New Jersey
Last Position Held: Director, Operational Strategy, Reuters News/Thomson Reuters

2002-2003

Mickey Butts
Before Bagehot: Executive Editor, Industry Standard
Last Position Held: Freelance Editor & Writer, www.mickeybutts.com

Marilen Cawad
Before Bagehot: News Reporter, GMA-TV-Manila/CNN Contributor
Last Position Held: Managing Editor, TheStreet (NYC)

Lauren Coleman-Lochner
Before Bagehot: Retail Reporter, The Record (a.k.a. Bergen Record)
Last Position Held: Retail & Consumer Reporter, Bloomberg

Carleen Hawn
Before Bagehot: Associate Editor, Silicon Valley Bureau, Forbes
Last Position Held: Founder and Editor, Healthspottr.com

Tim Larimer
Before Bagehot: Tokyo Bureau Chief, Time Magazine
Last Position Held: Commnications Director, Ropes & Gray LLP

Leon Lazaroff
Before Bagehot: The Daily Deal, New York
Last Position Held: Bloomberg News, Emerging Markets Reporter

Emilie Lounsberry
Before Bagehot: Reporter, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Last Position Held: Reporter, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Raphael Minder
Before Bagehot: Paris correspondent of the Financial Times
Last Position Held: Spain and Portugal Correspondent of the International Herald Tribune, the global
edition of the New York Times

Amit Prakash
Before Bagehot: Senior Correspondent, Dow Jones Newswires (Singapore)
Last Position Held: Energy Team Leader, Bloomberg LP

Sakina Spruell
Before Bagehot: Senior Editor, Black Enterprise Magazine
Last Position Held: Editor at Large, Black Enterprise Magazine

2003-2004

Isabel Darrigrandi
Before Bagehot: Technology Editor, AmericaEconomia Magazine
Last Position Held: Senior Equity Research Analyst, BTG Pactual

Karen Donovan
Before Bagehot: Associate Editor, The National Law Journal
Last Position Held: Freelance, CondeNast Portfolio.com

Daniel Eisenberg
Before Bagehot: Staff Writer, Time Magazine
Last Position Held: Features Editor, Time.com, Time Magazine
Tom D. Fowler
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, Houston Chronicle
Last Position Held: Business Reporter, Houston Chronicle

Peter S. Green
Before Bagehot: New York Times Contract Writer Central and Eastern Europe
Last Position Held: Editor and Reporter, Business News.

Reshma Kapadia
Before Bagehot: Internet/Media Correspondent, Reuters
Last Position Held: Staff Writer, SmartMoney Magazine

Pat Winters Lauro
Before Bagehot: Regular Freelance Columnist and Reporter, The New York Times
Last Position Held: Assistant Professor of Journalism, Kean University

David Lieberman
Before Bagehot: Reporter/Columnist, USA Today
Last Position Held: Senior Media Reporter, USA Today

Nick Pachetti
Before Bagehot: Writer, Money Magazine
Last Position Held: Executive Recruiter, Spencer Stuart

Mark Whitehouse
Before Bagehot: Managing Editor, Vedomosti, Dow Jones & Co.
Last Position Held: Deputy London Bureau Chief, The Wall Street Journal

2004-2005

Zhifang Cui
Before Bagehot: Producer & Editor-in-Chief, China Central Television
Last Position Held: Assistant President, CTR Market Research (Beijing China)

Eleena de Lisser
Before Bagehot: Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Last Position Held: Freelance, Madrid, Spain

Jake Keaveny
Before Bagehot: Correspondent, Reuters Plc
Last Position Held: Associate, Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP

Joshua Levitt
Before Bagehot: Correspondent, Interim Bureau Chief, Financial Times
Last Position Held: Freelance, Miami Beach, FL

Carlos Lozada
Before Bagehot: Managing Editor, Foreign Policy Magazine
Last Position Held: Deputy National Editor, The Washington Post

Aparna Mukherjee *
Before Bagehot: Producer, Bloomberg News Broadcast
Last Position Held: Freelance, New York, NY

Stephen Ohlemacher
Before Bagehot: Statehouse reporter, The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer
Last Position Held: Congressional Reporter, The Associated Press

Sally Sherry
Before Bagehot: News Reporter, KGTV ABC Affiliate in San Diego, CA
Last Position Held: Vice President, Abernathy MacGregor

Joanna Slater
Before Bagehot: Bureau Chief, India, Asian Wall Street Journal/Far Eastern Economic Review
Last Position Held: Staff Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Richard ten Wolde
Before Bagehot: Writer, SmartMoney
Last Position Held: Analyst, Glenrock Asset Management

2005-2006

Paul Braverman
Before Bagehot: Reporter, The American Lawyer
Last Position Held: Deputy Editor, The American Lawyer

Helen Burggraf
Before Bagehot: Magazine Editor, Deputy Editor, Zenith Int’l Publishing
Last Position Held: Senior Reporter, International Adviser

David Cho
Before Bagehot: Staff Writer, The Washington Post
Last Position Held: Staff Writer, Credit Crisis/Financial Market Investigations, The Washington Post

Ismaila Dieng
Before Bagehot: News Editor, Le Journal de l’Economie
Last Position Held: Writer, Le Journal de l’Economie

Gregg Fields
Before Bagehot: Economics Writer, Miami Herald
Last Position Held: Business Journalism, Professor Hong Kong Baptist University, China

Loren Fox
Before Bagehot: Assistant Managing Editor, Money-Media Inc.
Last Position Held: Senior Research Analyst, Strategic Insight

Bellamy Pailthorp
Before Bagehot: News Reporter, KPLU Public Radio, Business and Labor Beat
Last Position Held: News Reporter, KPLU Public Radio, Energy and Environment Beat

Chana Schoenberger *
Before Bagehot: Staff Writer, Forbes Magazine
Last Position Held: Associate Editor, Forbes Magazine

Jenny Strasburg
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, San Francisco Chronicle
Last Position Held: Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Carolyn Whelan
Before Bagehot: Freelance Correspondent
Last Position Held: Freelance Correspondent, Pleasantville, NY

2006-2007

Lynn Cook
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Houston Chronicle
Last Position Held: Assistant News Editor, Argus Media

Bryan Corliss
Before Bagehot: Business/aerospace reporter, The Daily Herald, Everett WA
Last Position Held: Communications Rep for District Lodge 751 of the International Association of
Machinists & Aerospace Workers

Howard Green
Before Bagehot: Anchor, Business News Network, Toronto & Independent Documentary maker
Last Position Held: Anchor, Business News Network Toronto, and author, “Banking on America:
How TD Bank Rose to the Top & Took on the USA”

Jennifer Hughes
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Financial Times
Last Position Held: Senior Markets Correspondent, Financial Times (London)

Neil Irwin
Before Bagehot: Staff Writer, The Washington Post
Last Position Held: Economics Reporter, The Washington Post

Susan Kitchens
Before Bagehot: Senior Reporter, Forbes
Last Position Held: Freelance, New York, NY

Julie MacIntosh
Before Bagehot: Mergers Correspondent, Reuters America
Last Position Held: Merger & Acquisitions Correspondent, Financial Time

Dwight Oestricher
Before Bagehot: Reporter/Editor, Dow Jones Newswires
Last Position Held: Copy Editor, Dow Jones Newswires

Ruifeng Pang
Before Bagehot: Senior Business Reporter, Southern Weekend
Last Position Held: Senior VP, Guerrilla Capital Management LLC

Lauren Weber
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Newsday
Last Position Held: Reporter, Wall Street Journal

2007-2008

Jeremy Caplan
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Time Magazine
Last Position Held: Director of Education, Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, CUNY

Jose Eduardo Costa
Before Bagehot: Managing Editor, VOCE S/A Magazine
Last Position Held: Managing Editor, VOCE S/A Magazine

Dimitra DeFotis
Before Bagehot: Staff Writer, Barron’s magazine
Last Position Held: Senior Editor, Barrons.com

Jim Edwards
Before Bagehot: Senior Editor, Brandweek
Last Position Held: Columnist, BNET/ Editor-at-Large, Brandweek

Allison Fass
Before Bagehot: Staff Writer, Forbes Magazine
Last Position Held: Hearst

Liza Featherstone
Before Bagehot: Adjunct Professor, Ph.D/M.A. Program in Political Science, Graduate Center, City
University of New York
Last Position Held: Freelance Writer/Adjunct Professor, CUNY and NYU

Paul Glader
Before Bagehot: Reporter, The Wall Street Journal
Last Position Held: Reporter, The Wall Street Journal

Greg Griffin
Before Bagehot: Reporter, The Denver Post
Last Position Held: Reporter, The Denver Post

Leoneda Inge
Before Bagehot: Changing Economy Reporter, North Carolina Public Radio
Last Position Held: Changing Economy Reporter, North Carolina Public Radio

Bryan Myers
Before Bagehot: Producer, PBS-TV, “NOW”
Last Position Held: Producer PBS-TV “Worldfocus”

2008-2009

Thomas M. Anderson
Before Bagehot: Associate Editor, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
Last Position Held: Freelance writer and editor

Elizabeth Harris
Before Bagehot: Staff Writer, Worth Magazine
Last Position Held: Freelance Writer, New York, NY

Brian Hindo
Before Bagehot: Department Editor, Corporate Strategies, BusinessWeek
Last Position Held: Consultant, Innosight, LLC

Megan Johnston
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Financial Week (Crain Communications)
Last Position Held: Associate, Standard & Poor’s

Richard G. Jones
Before Bagehot: Reporter, The New York Times
Last Position Held: Scripps Howard Doctoral Fellow, University of Maryland

Natalie Obiko Pearson
Before Bagehot: Energy and OPEC Reporter, Dow Jones Newswires
Last Position Held: Energy Reporter, Bloomberg (India)

Daniel Sorid
Before Bagehot: Editor, Money & Markets Extra, Associated Press
Last Position Held: Research Analyst, Deutsche Bank

Kyle Stock
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, The Post and Courier
Last Position Held: Reporter, Dow Jones

Stuart Washington
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, Sydney Morning Herald
Last Position Held: Senior Business Reporter, Sydney Morning Herald

Jim Wyss
Before Bagehot: Business Writer, The Miami Herald
Last Position Held: Staff Writer, The Miami Herald

2009-2010

Raul Gallegos
Before Bagehot: Correspondent, Dow Jones & Co.
Last Position Held: Latin America Columnist, Reuters Breakingviews/Thomson Reuters

Martha Graybow
Before Bagehot: Reuters News, Legal Correspondent
Last Position Held: Reuters News, Legal Editor

Jackson Hewett
Before Bagehot: Video Journalist, BBC
Last Position Held: Editor, BusinessSpectator.com

Roland Jones
Before Bagehot: NBC News
Last Position Held: NBC News

Amit Paley
Before Bagehot: Reporter, The Washington Post
Last Position Held: McKinsey & Co.

Joellen Perry
Before Bagehot: Report, The Wall Street Journal
Last Position Held: Entrepreneur in Residence, Bertelsmann AG

Robert Wherry
Before Bagehot: Senior Editor, SmartMoney.com
Last Position Held: Mutual Fund Analyst, Morning Star Inc.

Nicole Wong
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, The Boston Globe
Last Position Held: Senior Manager of Leadership and Management Development, Yahoo!

Christine Young
Before Bagehot: Investigative, Multi-Media and Business Reporter, Columnist, Times Herald Record
Last Position Held: Communications Specialist, MYR Group

2010-2011

Jill Barshay
Before Bagehot: Part-time reporter for Marketplace, the public radio business show
Last Position Held: Contributing Editor at The Hechinger Report, a non-profit news service at
Columbia Teachers College

Peter Beller
Before Bagehot: Reporter, Forbes
Last Position Held: Director of Content, Ebyline.biz

Christian Berthelsen
Before Bagehot: Associate Editor, Los Angeles Daily Journal
Last Position Held: Staff Writer The Wall Street Journal

Drew DeSilver
Before Bagehot: Business Reporter, The Seattle Times
Last Position Held: Business Reporter, The Seattle Times

Seth Stevenson
Before Bagehot: Contributing Writer, Slate Magazine
Last Position Held: Contributing Writer, Slate Magazine

2011-2012

Lisa Chow
Before Bagehot: Reporter, WNYC
Last Position Held: Columbia Business School completing MBA

Thomas Gryta
Before Bagehot: Reporter/Editor, Dow Jones & Co.
Last Position Held: Reporter, Dow Jones

Noa Kolp
Before Bagehot: Correspondent, Channel 10 News, Globes Business Newspaper
Last Position Held: Freelance Journalist

Anora Mahmudova
Before Bagehot: Web Editor, Financial Times
Last Position Held: Markets reporter, Financial Times

Hajime Matsuura
Before Bagehot: Senior Columnist, The Sankei Shinbun
Last Position Held: Advisor to the Board of Directors/Senior Columnist, The Sankei Shinbun

David A. Michaels
Before Bagehot: Correspondent, The Dallas Morning News
Last Position Held: Reporter, Bloomberg

Karla Palomo
Before Bagehot: TV Anchor/Reporter, Bloomberg News
Last Position Held: Freelance Multimedia Journalist

Asher Price
Before Bagehot: Environmental Reporter, Austin American Statesman
Last Position Held: Environmental Reporter, Austin-Statesman

Andres Schipani
Before Bagehot: Miami Correspondent, Financial Times
Last Position Held: Andes Correspondent, Financial Times

Nicholas Tattersall
Before Bagehot: Chief Correspondent, Thomson Reuters
Last Position Held: Turkey Bureau Chief, Reuters

In: Archives, SABEW, TBJ 03 Apr 2013 0 comments
In: Essay 01 Apr 2013 0 comments
Morton Mintz

Morton Mintz

Born Jan. 26, 1922, was a reporter for 42 years, in St. Louis at the Star-Times and Globe-Democrat (1946-1958), and at the Washington Post (1958-1988).

The story of Dr. Frances O. Kelsey, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) medical officer, preventing the sale of thalidomide, changed my life profoundly.

It’s the primary reason why I received a Nieman Fellowship. It’s why I became a first-time author with a blurb from the great John Kenneth Galbraith on the dust jacket of the book I wrote while at Harvard. It’s why I won my first journalism prizes. And it’s why I came to devote much of my last quarter-century as a Washington Post reporter to corporate crime and grave misconduct.

The story dealt a lasting blow to the then widely-held notion that science and technology always or nearly always produce benign results. This excerpt sums it up:

“In September 1960, the U. S. licensee of the German investor and manufacturer of thalidomide — a sedative or tranquilizer, depending on dosage — applied for FDA approval to sell it in the United States. Not until April 1962 did it become widely known that in numerous other countries, the mothers of several thousand thalidomide children had taken the drug during the first trimester of pregnancy. I interviewed Dr. Kelsey three months later — on Friday, the 13th of July.

“Seventeen days later, a Senate subcommittee led by Hubert Humphrey held an FDA oversight hearing at which it came out that in a promotional stunt, the licensee, the William S. Merrell Co., had contrived to give away 2.5 million so-called ‘experimental’ thalidomide pills to physicians, causing 10 American infants to be born with seal-like flippers rather than arms and legs.

“The story transformed Capitol Hill. Suddenly, Congress became a tiger, rushing to toughen the drug law by passing with what came to be called the Kefauver-Harris Amendments of 1962.”

“From the mid-1960s through much of the 1980s” — I’m quoting a 2002 article in The American Prospect — “Congress played an integral role in drug safety. Lawmakers [principally the late Reps. L.H. Fountain and Ted Weiss, but also including Gaylord Nelson and Ted Kennedy in the Senate] meticulously probed the regulatory histories of dubious drugs, uncovered FDA weaknesses and ordered corrections.”

The writer was Daniel Sigelman, who, as an investigator for Weiss, found that Eli Lilly, in the case of the anti-arthritis drug Oraflex, and Hoechst AG, in the case of the antidepressant Merital, had known of but failed to report many deaths of patients on these drugs. Thanks to the Weiss subcommittee’s digging, Lilly and Hoechst were criminally prosecuted.

I was privileged to cover all or nearly all of those oversight hearings even if at the Fountain and Weiss hearings I was alone at the press table much of the time.