Brian Ross (journalist)

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For other persons named Brian Ross, see Brian Ross (disambiguation).

Brian Elliot Ross (born October 23, 1948)[1] is the chief investigative correspondent of ABC News. He has been with ABC News since July 1994. From 1974 until 1994, Ross was a correspondent for NBC News.

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[edit] Major scoops

In 1998, Ross broke the story on ABC's Primetime of sweatshops in Saipan, the capital of the Mariana Islands, where the women were forced to have abortions. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was later convicted for fraud, represented some of the owners of the sweatshops. In 2005, Ross reported that Abramoff funded an all expense paid trip by Tom DeLay to Saipan, to benefit the sweatshop owners.

On May 15, 2006 Ross reported that the federal government was monitoring journalists' telephone records in an effort to track down leaks. Allegedly, the CIA was tracking reporters for ABC News, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. It is unclear exactly how the government was tracking the targeted journalists.[1]

On May 24, 2006 Ross reported on the lead story for ABC World News Tonight that the Justice Department was investigating Speaker of the House, Dennis 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. Ross did say that the investigation may eventually "wash out and be nothing" [2].

On September 6, 2006, Brian Ross reported that Pakistan has decided not to seek the capture of Osama bin Laden, so long as bin Laden acts "like a peaceful citizen." [3]. Pakistan denied the report [4].

On September 29, 2006, Brian Ross reported that Florida Rep. Mark Foley (R) sent underage male Congressional aides sexually explicit internet messages.[5] This led to Foley's resignation from Congress.

[edit] Awards

In 2003, Brian Ross received the George Polk Award given annually by Long Island University to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting.[2]
In 2007, Brian Ross and the ABC News Investigative Team won a Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Political Journalism, for breaking the story of Mark Foley's inappropriate contact with Congressional pages, ultimately changing the course of the election.

[edit] Controversy

Brian Ross has been criticized by a blog on Salon for his role as the exclusive, driving force behind unsourced stories strongly suggesting that Iraq and Saddam Hussein were responsible for the anthrax attacks on the U.S. Although these stories were later shown to be fraudulent, they helped build support for invading Iraq.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Brian Ross Biography (1948-)
  2. ^ George Polk Awards for Journalism press release. Long Island University. Retrieved on November 15, 2006.

[edit] External links

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