T.R. Reid
Encyclopedia
T. R. Reid is an American
reporter, documentary film correspondent, and author. He is also a frequent guest on National Public Radio (NPR)'s Morning Edition
. He is married to attorney Margaret M. McMahon, with whom he has three children. Reid currently lives in Denver, Colorado.
major at Princeton University
, served as a naval officer, taught, and held various positions before working for The Washington Post
. At the Post, he covered congress and four Presidential election campaigns, and was chief of the Posts London and Tokyo bureaus. He has also taught at Princeton and the University of Michigan
. His experiences in Japan led him to write Confucius Lives Next Door: What Living in the East Teaches Us About Living in the West, which argued that Confucian
values of family
devotion, education
, and long-term relations, which still permeate East Asia
n societies, contributed to their social stability. He is now the Posts Rocky Mountain Bureau Chief. A 2007 Kaiser Family Foundation
media fellow in health, he is a member of the board of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
and the University of Colorado
Medical School.
Reid won an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship in 1982 writing about the U.S. semiconductor industry.
and Japan
, where he had previously lived, worked, and also received medical care. They were followed by Germany
, Taiwan
, and Switzerland
.
Frontline asked Reid to follow up with a companion documentary, Sick Around America, which aired March 31, 2009, on PBS
. However, Reid parted company with PBS before the film was finished when his conclusion, quoted by Russell Mokhiber
in CounterPunch
that "You can't allow a profit to be made on the basic package of health insurance," was omitted from the program. Instead, Reid argued that the film came off as supporting mandated private-insurance coverage. Reid was quoted as saying "...mandating for-profit insurance is not the lesson from other countries in the world. I said I'm not going to be in a film that contradicts my previous film and my book." PBS responded to these criticisms, stating that "Frontline takes a strongly different view of the characterization of its editorial disagreement with T. R. Reid as presented by Reid and Russell Mokhiber." It argued that Reid had misrepresented the role of a key respondent in the film, the extent of Reid's role in making the film, and the balance PBS had sought to present. Reid used his right of reply to challenge PBS's characterization of their and his own position.
His investigations into health care resulted in his New York Times bestselling
book The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper and Fairer Health Care.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
reporter, documentary film correspondent, and author. He is also a frequent guest on National Public Radio (NPR)'s Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
. He is married to attorney Margaret M. McMahon, with whom he has three children. Reid currently lives in Denver, Colorado.
Career
Reid, a ClassicsClassics
Classics is the branch of the Humanities comprising the languages, literature, philosophy, history, art, archaeology and other culture of the ancient Mediterranean world ; especially Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome during Classical Antiquity Classics (sometimes encompassing Classical Studies or...
major at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, served as a naval officer, taught, and held various positions before working for 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...
. At the Post, he covered congress and four Presidential election campaigns, and was chief of the Posts London and Tokyo bureaus. He has also taught at Princeton and the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
. His experiences in Japan led him to write Confucius Lives Next Door: What Living in the East Teaches Us About Living in the West, which argued that Confucian
Confucianism
Confucianism is a Chinese ethical and philosophical system developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . Confucianism originated as an "ethical-sociopolitical teaching" during the Spring and Autumn Period, but later developed metaphysical and cosmological elements in the Han...
values of family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
devotion, education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
, and long-term relations, which still permeate East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
n societies, contributed to their social stability. He is now the Posts Rocky Mountain Bureau Chief. A 2007 Kaiser Family Foundation
Kaiser Family Foundation
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation , or just Kaiser Family Foundation, is a U.S.-based non-profit, private operating foundation headquartered in Menlo Park, California. It focuses on the major health care issues facing the nation, as well as the U.S. role in global health policy...
media fellow in health, he is a member of the board of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless , established in 1984, is a 501 non-profit organization seeking to help end homelessness in Colorado...
and the University of Colorado
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
Medical School.
Reid won an Alicia Patterson Journalism Fellowship in 1982 writing about the U.S. semiconductor industry.
Frontline documentaries on health care
His 2008 documentary for the U.S. television series Frontline, Sick Around the World, looked at the comprehensive health care systems of five developed economies from around the world. The first two countries visited were the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where he had previously lived, worked, and also received medical care. They were followed by Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
.
Frontline asked Reid to follow up with a companion documentary, Sick Around America, which aired March 31, 2009, on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. However, Reid parted company with PBS before the film was finished when his conclusion, quoted by Russell Mokhiber
Russell Mokhiber
Russell Mokhiber is the editor of Corporate Crime Reporter, a legal newsweekly based in Washington, D.C. and founder of Single Payer Action.He is the author of Corporate Crime and Violence: Big Business Power and the Abuse of the Public Trust....
in CounterPunch
Counterpunch
Counterpunch can refer to:* Counterpunch , a punch in boxing* CounterPunch, a bi-weekly political newsletter* Counterpunch , a type of punch used in traditional typography* Punch-Counterpunch, a Transformers character...
that "You can't allow a profit to be made on the basic package of health insurance," was omitted from the program. Instead, Reid argued that the film came off as supporting mandated private-insurance coverage. Reid was quoted as saying "...mandating for-profit insurance is not the lesson from other countries in the world. I said I'm not going to be in a film that contradicts my previous film and my book." PBS responded to these criticisms, stating that "Frontline takes a strongly different view of the characterization of its editorial disagreement with T. R. Reid as presented by Reid and Russell Mokhiber." It argued that Reid had misrepresented the role of a key respondent in the film, the extent of Reid's role in making the film, and the balance PBS had sought to present. Reid used his right of reply to challenge PBS's characterization of their and his own position.
His investigations into health care resulted in his New York Times bestselling
New York Times Best Seller list
The New York Times Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States. It is published weekly in The New York Times Book Review magazine, which is published in the Sunday edition of The New York Times and as a stand-alone publication...
book The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper and Fairer Health Care.
External links
- Sick Around the World website
- http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13&prgDate=08-24-2009Interview of T.R. Reid by Terry GrossTerry GrossTerry Gross is the host and co-executive producer of Fresh Air, an interview format radio show produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and distributed throughout the United States by National Public Radio....
] on Fresh AirFresh AirFresh Air is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States. The show is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its longtime host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 450 stations and claimed 4.5 million listeners. The show... - Brian Lamb interviews T.R. Reid. Q & AQ & A (C-SPAN)Q&A is an American television series on the C-SPAN network. Each Q&A episode is a one-hour formal face-to-face interview with a notable person, hosted by C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb. Typical guests on the show include journalists, politicians, authors, doctors and other public figures...
. C-SpanC-SPANC-SPAN , an acronym for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is an American cable television network that offers coverage of federal government proceedings and other public affairs programming via its three television channels , one radio station and a group of websites that provide streaming...
. September 6, 2009. - "T.R. Reid addresses The Commonwealth Club of California" San Francisco, CA, Sept. 14, 2009
- Feature-length radio interview with KGNU Claudia Cragg on 'The Global Quest for Healthcare'