1970s in investigative journalism

This article includes an overview of the major events in the 1970s in investigative journalism.

1970

Events

• Harold Eugene Martin of the Montgomery Advertiser and Alabama Journal won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing how Alabama state prisoners were used in a commercial drug experimentation scheme that also involved selling their plasma.

Deaths

• Ruben Salazar, a Los Angeles Times journalist who was known for his reporting on police misconduct and Chicano community issues, died on August 29 after a police officer fired a tear gas projectile that struck him in the head during coverage of the National Chicano Moratorium protest in East Los Angeles.

Births

• Matt Taibbi

1971

Events

• On June 13 The New York Times began publishing excerpts from the Pentagon Papers. The Washington Post followed days later. The Nixon administration tried to block further publication, but the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the newspapers affirming press freedoms.

Births

• Anabel Hernández
• Sacha Pfeiffer

Deaths

• Serajuddin Hossain Pakistani rulers then decided to kill all of the Bangladeshi intellectuals Serajuddin was the first victim

1972

Events

• Five men linked to President Nixon's re-election campaign were arrested after breaking into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein began investigating the incident and the connections to the White House.

• A team from The Boston Globe won the Pulitzer Prize for exposing corruption in the city government of Somerville, Massachusetts.

Births

• Michelle Shephard

Deaths

• Giovanni Spampinato
• Edgar Snow

1973

Events

• The Omaha Sun received a Pulitzer Prize for revealing the vast financial resources of Boys Town and causing reforms in how the charity solicited and spent public donations.

Births

• Jeffrey Scott Shapiro
• Mark Boal

1974

Events

• Seymour Hersh reported in The New York Times on December 22 that the CIA had conducted a massive illegal domestic spying operation against antiwar activists and other dissidents. The reports caused congressional investigations.

Publications

• All the President's Men was published on June 15

1975

Events

• A group of reporters formed Investigative Reporters and Editors to share techniques and raise standards for the field.

Births

• Jodi Kantor

1976

Events

• The staff of the Chicago Tribune won a Pulitzer Prize For uncovering abuses in Federal housing programs in Chicago and exposing bad conditions at two private Chicago hospitals.

Deaths

• Don Bolles, was killed on June 13, eleven days after a car bomb exploded beneath his vehicle in Phoenix, Arizona.

1977

Events

• The Lufkin Daily News in Texas earned a Pulitzer Prize for an investigation that began with the obituary of a local Marine recruit who died during training and grew into a broader exposé of abusive practices at a Marine boot camp which leading to reforms in military recruiting.
• The Center for Investigative Reporting was founded

Deaths

Rodolfo Walsh

1978

Events

• The Philadelphia Inquirer received a Pulitzer Prize for a series documenting police abuses of power within the city of Philadelphia.

• The Canadian Association of Journalists was founded.

1979

Events

• The Point Reyes Light, a small California weekly, won a Pulitzer Prize for its investigation of the Synanon organization, exposing its violent and cult-like practices.

Publications

• Vicious Circles: The Mafia in the Marketplace - Jonathan Kwitny

Births

• Carolyn Jarvis
• Connie Walker
• Eliot Higgins

See also

List of years in investigative journalism

References