Brian Ross (journalist)
Encyclopedia
Brian Elliot Ross is an American investigative correspondent for ABC News
. He has been with ABC News since July 1994. From 1974 until 1994, Ross was a correspondent for NBC News
.
of sweatshop
s in Saipan
, the capital of the Mariana Islands
, where the women were forced to have abortion
s. 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 from ABC News, The Washington Post
, and The New York Times
. It is unclear exactly how the government was tracking the targeted journalists.
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".
On September 6, 2006, 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." Pakistan denied the report.
On September 29, 2006, Ross reported that Florida Rep. Mark Foley
(R) sent underage male Congressional aides sexually explicit internet messages. This led to Foley's resignation from Congress.
. 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.
given annually by Long Island University
to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting.
In 2007, 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.
and others for a series of stories which linked Iraq and the 2001 anthrax attacks
in the United States. These reports were based upon anonymous "high level" sources and were both denied by the Administration and subsequently shown by other reports to be false. It is claimed that Ross unwittingly helped build support for the invasion of Iraq via his high profile erroneous reporting. Dan Froomkin
asked on August 5, 2008 in the Washington Post "So who told ABC the powder looked Iraqi?"
The NY Sun reported that Ross was ordered by a federal judge to reveal his sources. In response, an ABC News spokesperson said that the organization was going to protect its sources.
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". 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."
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
. He has been with ABC News since July 1994. From 1974 until 1994, Ross was a correspondent for NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
.
Major scoops
In 1998, Ross broke the story on ABC's PrimetimePrimetime (TV series)
Primetime is an American news magazine show which debuted on ABC in 1989 with co-hosts Sam Donaldson and Diane Sawyer and originally had the title Primetime Live.-Early history:...
of sweatshop
Sweatshop
Sweatshop is a negatively connoted term for any working environment considered to be unacceptably difficult or dangerous. Sweatshop workers often work long hours for very low pay, regardless of laws mandating overtime pay or a minimum wage. Child labour laws may be violated. Sweatshops may have...
s in Saipan
Saipan
Saipan is the largest island of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , a chain of 15 tropical islands belonging to the Marianas archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean with a total area of . The 2000 census population was 62,392...
, the capital of the Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, where the women were forced to have abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s. Lobbyist Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...
, who was later convicted for fraud
Fraud
In criminal law, a fraud is an intentional deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual; the related adjective is fraudulent. The specific legal definition varies by legal jurisdiction. Fraud is a crime, and also a civil law violation...
, represented some of the owners of the sweatshops. In 2005, Ross reported that Abramoff funded an all expense-paid trip by Tom DeLay
Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale "Tom" DeLay is a former member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1984 until 2006. He was Republican Party House Majority Leader from 2003 to 2005, when he resigned because of criminal money laundering charges in...
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 from ABC News, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, and 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...
. It is unclear exactly how the government was tracking the targeted journalists.
On May 24, 2006, Ross reported on the lead story for ABC World News Tonight that the Justice Department
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
was investigating Speaker of the House
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
, Dennis Hastert
Dennis Hastert
John Dennis "Denny" Hastert was the 59th Speaker of the House serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented as a Republican for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history...
, for possible connections to the Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff
Jack Abramoff is an American former lobbyist and businessman. Convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy, he was at the heart of an extensive corruption investigation that led to the conviction of White House officials J. Steven Griles and David Safavian, U.S. Representative Bob Ney, and nine...
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".
On September 6, 2006, Ross reported that Pakistan has decided not to seek the capture of Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, so long as bin Laden acts "like a peaceful citizen." Pakistan denied the report.
On September 29, 2006, Ross reported that Florida Rep. Mark Foley
Mark Foley
Mark Adam Foley is a former member of the United States House of Representatives. He served from 1995 until 2006, representing the 16th District of Florida as a member of the Republican Party....
(R) sent underage male Congressional aides sexually explicit internet messages. This led to Foley's resignation from Congress.
Fort Hood Shootings coverage
In November 2009, Ross co-wrote an article titled "Officials: Army Told of Hasan's Contacts with al Qaeda" which claimed that Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan had made attempts to "make contact with people associated with al Qaeda". He made the same claims on Good Morning AmericaGood Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
. Other reporters said that Nidal's contact was limited to emails to his former imam, Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki
Anwar al-Awlaki was an American and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training. According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda...
, who had also been the imam of two of the September 11 terrorists.
Awards
In 2003, Ross received the George Polk AwardGeorge 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:...
given annually by Long Island University
Long Island University
Long Island University is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution of higher education in the U.S. state of New York.-History:...
to honor contributions to journalistic integrity and investigative reporting.
In 2007, 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.
False Iraq-US Anthrax scare reports
Ross has been criticized by Glenn GreenwaldGlenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald is an American lawyer, columnist, blogger, and author. Greenwald worked as a constitutional and civil rights litigator before becoming a contributor to Salon.com, where he focuses on political and legal topics...
and others for a series of stories which linked Iraq and the 2001 anthrax attacks
2001 anthrax attacks
The 2001 anthrax attacks in the United States, also known as Amerithrax from its Federal Bureau of Investigation case name, occurred over the course of several weeks beginning on Tuesday, September 18, 2001, one week after the September 11 attacks. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to...
in the United States. These reports were based upon anonymous "high level" sources and were both denied by the Administration and subsequently shown by other reports to be false. It is claimed that Ross unwittingly helped build support for the invasion of Iraq via his high profile erroneous reporting. Dan Froomkin
Dan Froomkin
Dan Froomkin is the Senior Washington Correspondent for the Huffington Post. His work is now collected . He previously wrote a column for the online version of The Washington Post called White House Watch....
asked on August 5, 2008 in the Washington Post "So who told ABC the powder looked Iraqi?"
The NY Sun reported that Ross was ordered by a federal judge to reveal his sources. In response, an ABC News spokesperson said that the organization was going to protect its sources.
Exposé on Toyota
In a broadcast entitled "Expert: Electronic Design Flaw Linked to Runaway Toyotas" which aired the night before a Congressional Panel began investigating the issue of unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles, Ross claimed that the problem was caused by a defect in the electronic system. Toyota pointed out that the expert used by Ross was paid by the defense attorneys, and the video footage by Ross showing a tachometer shooting from 1,000 to 6,200 RPM was staged because the vehicle was actually sitting in a parking lot with the transmission firmly in Park. Toyota has demanded a public retraction and formal apology from Ross and ABC News.Bachmann presidential campaign incident
On July 19, 2011, according to the presidential campaignMichele Bachmann presidential campaign, 2012
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota began a campaign for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for president of the United States in June 2011. Bachmann announced she was running for president during the CNN Republican primary debate held June 13, 2011, and made her formal announcement two...
of Michele Bachmann
Michele Bachmann
Michele Marie Bachmann is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing , a post she has held since 2007. The district includes several of the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities, such as Woodbury, and Blaine as well as Stillwater and St. Cloud.She is currently a...
, when attempting to question Bachmann about her migraines, Ross "rushed toward" Bachmann and her staff and "disregarded repeated requests to stay back". According to Michael Crowley
Michael Crowley
Michael Crowley is a senior correspondent and deputy Washington bureau chief for . From 2000 to 2010 he was a writer for The New Republic. His work has also been published in The New York Times, The Atlantic, GQ, New York and Slate. Michael Crichton allegedly based a minor character on him in his...
, a reporter for Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
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
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
people."
External links
- Biography at ABC NewsABC NewsABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
- Brian Ross interviewed on Conversations from Penn State
- Brian Ross interview by Amy GoodmanAmy GoodmanAmy Goodman is an American progressive broadcast journalist, syndicated columnist, investigative reporter and author. Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, an independent global news program broadcast daily on radio, television and the internet.-Early life:Goodman was born in Bay Shore, New York...
of Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
about the forced abortions in the Mariana Islands. (January 4, 2006) - Brian Ross breaks United States Department of Justice Grants Scandal