Scott Higham: Difference between revisions
Mollifiednow (talk | contribs) Added content. Tags: Visual edit Mobile edit Mobile web edit Advanced mobile edit |
mNo edit summary |
||
(47 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown) | |||
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Infobox person |
|||
'''Scott Higham''' is a [[Pulitzer Prize]]-winning member of ''[[The Washington Post]]'s'' investigations unit. He graduated from [[Stony Brook University]], with a B.A. In history and has a M.S. from the [[Columbia Graduate School of Journalism]]. Higham also earned his A.S. in criminal justice at [[Suffolk County Community College]]. <ref name=":0" /> |
|||
| name = Scott Higham |
|||
| image = Scott Higham Headshot.jpg |
|||
| birth_name = |
|||
| birth_date = |
|||
| birth_place = Queens, New York |
|||
| death_date = |
|||
| death_place = |
|||
| death_cause = |
|||
| awards = Two Pulitzer Prizes |
|||
| occupation = Investigative Reporter |
|||
| title = |
|||
| education = Stony Brook University, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism |
|||
| spouse = |
|||
| partner = |
|||
| children = |
|||
| relations = |
|||
| website = |
|||
| footnotes = |
|||
| employer = 60 Minutes |
|||
}} |
|||
'''Scott Higham''' is an American investigative journalist and author who documented the corporate and political forces that fueled the opioid epidemic, in addition to conducting other major investigations. He is a five-time [[Pulitzer Prize]] finalist and won the Pulitzer twice with his colleagues at [[The Washington Post]]. After a 24-year career with The Post, he is now producing investigative projects for Bill Whitaker at 60 Minutes. He is also coauthor of two books. |
|||
in 2004, Higham conducted numerous investigations for ''The Washington Post'', including an examination of abuse at the [[Abu Ghraib prison]], and waste and fraud in [[Homeland Security]] contracting.<ref>{{Cite web|title=More Photos, Allegations of Abuse at Abu Ghraib|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1905283|access-date=2020-09-16|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Higham|first=Dana Priest Scott|title=CIA facility inside Guantanamo prison|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/cia-facility-inside-guantanamo-prison-1.1170504|access-date=2020-09-16|website=The Irish Times|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://work.colum.edu/~amiller/moreabu.htm|access-date=2020-09-16|website=work.colum.edu}}</ref> The [[Abu Ghraib investigation]] was a finalist for the [[Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting]], and the series on contracting won the [[Investigative Reporters and Editors Award]] for large newspapers. He has also conducted investigations into spending at [[Guantanamo Bay]] and conflicts of interests on [[Capitol Hill]]. |
|||
== Early life == |
|||
Higham, won numerous awards in 2018, with the staff of ''The Washington Post'' and ''60 Minutes'' for a series of investigations into the causes of the [[opioid epidemic]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=November 21|first=Miyako Yerick on|last2=2019|title=Opioid Overdose Epidemic with Dr. Magdalena Cerdá|url=https://dc.alumni.columbia.edu/opioid_addiction_epidemic|access-date=2020-09-16|website=Columbia University Club of Washington, D.C.|language=en}}</ref> |
|||
Born in Queens, New York, Higham grew up on Long Island. He is the son of a New York City homicide detective stationed in the Fort Apache precinct in the South Bronx and an airline secretary and homemaker from Winthrop, Mass. He graduated from [[Stony Brook University]] with a B.A. in history and an M.S. from the [[Columbia Graduate School of Journalism]]. Higham also earned an A.S. in criminal justice at [[Suffolk County Community College]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=Scott Higham |language=en |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/scott-higham/ |access-date=2020-09-16}}</ref> |
|||
== Career == |
|||
⚫ | Higham and [[Sari Horwitz]] co-authored the book ''[[Finding Chandra: A True Washington Murder Mystery]]''. The non-fiction book chronicles the 2001 disappearance of Washington, DC intern [[Chandra Levy]], whose remains were found one year later in an isolated area of the city's |
||
Higham began his journalism career as the editor of his college newspaper, The Stony Brook Press. He then worked as a news clerk for ''[[Newsday]]'' and as a stringer and copyboy for ''[[The New York Times]]''. After graduating from Columbia, he worked at the Allentown Morning Call, the ''[[Miami Herald]]'' and ''[[The Baltimore Sun]]''.<ref name=":0" /> |
|||
Higham joined ''[[The Washington Post]]'' in 2000<ref name=":0" /> and has conducted numerous investigations for the news organization, including an examination of the D.C. foster care system, abuse at the [[Abu Ghraib prison]] and waste and fraud in [[Homeland Security]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=2002-06-01 |title=Newspaper Guild Award Banquet Honors Crusading Journalists |url=https://cwa-union.org/news/entry/newspaper_guild_award_banquet_honors_crusading_journalists |access-date=2020-09-17 |website=Communications Workers of America |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=The Pulitzer Prizes |title=1994 Pulitzer Prizes Journalism |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/1994 |access-date=2020-09-16 |website=www.pulitzer.org |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title="Winners Named in 2001 IRE Awards" - Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. The IRE Journal, Vol. 25, Issue 3, May/June 2002 |url=https://www.questia.com/magazine/1P3-121974822/winners-named-in-2001-ire-awards}}{{dead link|date=July 2021}}</ref> contracting. The foster care series with [[Sari Horwitz]] and [[Sarah Cohen (journalist)|Sarah Cohen]] won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting]] in 2002.<ref name=":4" /> The [[Abu Ghraib investigation]] was a finalist for the 2005 [[Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting]],<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=The Pulitzer Prizes |title=2002 Pulitzer Prizes Journalism |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2002 |access-date=2020-09-16 |website=www.pulitzer.org |language=en}}</ref> and the series on contracting with Robert O’Harrow Jr. won the [[Investigative Reporters and Editors Award]]<ref name=":3" /> for large newspapers. Higham has also investigated the [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo Bay Detention camp]] and conflicts of interest on [[Capitol Hill]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=2005 IRE Awards winners |url=https://www.ire.org/awards/ire-awards/winners/2005-ire-awards-winners |access-date=2020-10-18 |website=IRE |language=en-US}}</ref> |
|||
⚫ | |||
Higham spent six years examining the opioid epidemic as a lead reporter for ''[[The Washington Post]]''. The first series revealed the corporate influences behind the opioid epidemic and was a finalist for the [[Pulitzer Prize for Public Service]] in 2020<ref>{{Cite web |title=2020 Pulitzer Prizes, JOURNALISM |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2020 }}</ref> for its “unprecedented insight into America’s deadly opioid epidemic.” A second series on the rise of fentanyl was a finalist for the [[Pulitzer Prize for Public Service]] in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 Pulitzer Prizes, JOURNALISM |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2023}}</ref> The Pulitzer Board called that project an “exhaustive investigation” that exposed “the government’s failure to address the epidemic of addiction.” He won numerous awards with Lenny Bernstein of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and [[Bill Whitaker (journalist)|Bill Whitaker]], Ira Rosen and Sam Hornblower of ''[[60 Minutes]]'' for investigations into the causes of the [[opioid epidemic]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=The Pulitzer Prizes |title=2005 Pulitzer Prizes Journalism |url=https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2005 |access-date=2020-09-16 |website=www.pulitzer.org |language=en}}</ref> He began working for 60 Minutes in June 2024. |
|||
* 1993 Finalist Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Reporting, with the staff of [[Miami Herald|Miami ''Herald'']] <ref>{{Cite web|last=The Pulitzer Prizes|first=|date=|title=The 1993 Pulitzer Prizes Journalism|url=https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/1993|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-09-16|website=www.pulitzer.org|language=en}}</ref> |
|||
* 1994 Finalist Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing, with the staff of ''The Miami Herald'' <ref>{{Cite web|last=The Pulitzer Prizes|first=|date=|title=1994 Pulitzer Prizes Journalism|url=https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/1994|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-09-16|website=www.pulitzer.org|language=en}}</ref> |
|||
* 2001 Winner Investigative Reporters and Editors Award with the staff of ''The Washington Post,'' for exploring the deaths of children in D.C. <ref>{{Cite web|title="Winners Named in 2001 IRE Awards" - Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. The IRE Journal, Vol. 25, Issue 3, May/June 2002 {{!}} Online Research Library: Questia|url=https://www.questia.com/magazine/1P3-121974822/winners-named-in-2001-ire-awards|access-date=2020-09-16|website=www.questia.com}}</ref> |
|||
⚫ | * 2002 |
||
* 2002 Winner Heywood Broun Award <ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Scott Higham|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/scott-higham/|access-date=2020-09-16|website=Washington Post|language=en}}</ref> |
|||
* 2002 Winner Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award (Grand Prize and Domestic Print), with the staff of ''The Washington Post,'' for "The District's Lost Children" <ref>{{Cite web|title=Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award - Wikipedia|url=https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_F._Kennedy_Journalism_Award#2000%E2%80%932009|access-date=2020-09-16|website=en.m.wikipedia.org|language=en}}</ref> |
|||
⚫ | |||
* 2005 Finalist Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, with the staff of ''The Washington Post'' <ref>{{Cite web|last=The Pulitzer Prizes|first=|date=|title=2005 Pulitzer Prizes Journalism|url=https://www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2005|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-09-16|website=www.pulitzer.org|language=en}}</ref> |
|||
⚫ | |||
* 2012 Winner The Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, with the staff of ''The Washington Post,'' for "Capitol Assets" <ref>{{Cite web|title=Sigma Delta Chi Awards - Society of Professional Journalists|url=https://www.spj.org/sdxa12.asp|access-date=2020-09-16|website=www.spj.org}}</ref> |
|||
* 2012 Winner Everett Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress, with the staff of ''The Washington Post'' <ref>{{Cite web|title=John Wilke|url=https://nationalpress.org/award-winner/john-wilke/|access-date=2020-09-16|website=National Press Foundation|language=en-US}}</ref> |
|||
⚫ | * 2016 |
||
* 2016 Winner The Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, with the staff of ''The Washington Post,'' for their investigative reporting on the DEA’s lax regulation on opioid distribution <ref>{{Cite news|last=WashPostPR|title=Post journalists honored with 2016 Sigma Delta Chi Awards|language=en-US|work=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/pr/wp/2017/05/02/post-journalists-honored-with-2016-sigma-delta-chi-awards/|access-date=2020-09-16|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> |
|||
⚫ | * |
||
* 2017 Winner George Polk Award, with the staff of ''The Washington Post,'' for "uncovering connections between [[Donald Trump|Trump]] campaign officials and well-connected Russians" <ref>{{Cite web|last=Relations|first=LIU Public|title=LIU Announces Winners of 69th Annual George Polk Awards in Journalism|url=https://headlines.liu.edu/?p=1314|access-date=2020-09-16|language=en-US}}</ref> |
|||
== Books == |
|||
* 2018 Winner Edward R. Murrow Award for Investigative Reporting, with CBS News 60 Minutes, for "Too Big to Prosecute" <ref>{{Cite web|title=2018 National Edward R. Murrow Award Winners|url=https://www.rtdna.org/content/2018_national_edward_r_murrow_award_winners|access-date=2020-09-16|website=www.rtdna.org|language=en}}</ref> |
|||
⚫ | Higham and [[Sari Horwitz]] co-authored the book ''[[Finding Chandra: A True Washington Murder Mystery]]''. The non-fiction book chronicles the 2001 disappearance of Washington, DC intern [[Chandra Levy]], whose remains were found one year later in an isolated area of the city's 2,800-acre (11 km<sup>2</sup>) [[Rock Creek Park]]. The book was a 2011 finalist for an [[Edgar Award]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=Edgar Awards |url=https://edgarawards.com/}}</ref> sponsored by [[Mystery Writers of America]]. |
||
* 2018 Winner News and Documentary Emmy Award, with the staff of ''The Washington Post'' and CBS News 60 Minutes, for "The Whistleblower”, a joint investigation into how the drug industry triumphed over the DEA in its effort to combat the nation’s opioid crisis, the deadliest drug epidemic in U.S. history <ref>{{Cite news|last=WashPostPR|title=The Washington Post and “60 Minutes” win Emmy Award for “The Whistleblower”|language=en-US|work=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/pr/2018/10/02/washington-post-minutes-win-emmy-award-whistleblower/|access-date=2020-09-16|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> |
|||
* 2018 Winner the Hillman Prize for Broadcast Journalism, with the staff of ''The Washington Post'' and CBS News 60 Minutes, for "The Whistleblower" and "Too Big to Prosecute" <ref>{{Cite web|title=2018 Hillman Prizes|url=http://www.hillmanfoundation.org/hillman-prizes/2018|access-date=2020-09-16|website=Hillman Foundation|language=en}}</ref> |
|||
They also co-authored the critically acclaimed book, ''[https://www.amazon.com/American-Cartel-Inside-Battle-Industry/dp/1538737205/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= American Cartel: Inside the Battle to Bring Down the Opioid Industry].'' Bob Woodward called the book “an eye-opening, shocking and deeply documented investigation of the opioid crisis by two great reporters.”<ref>{{Cite book |last=Woodward |first=Bob |title=American Cartel Reviews |date=2022 |publisher=Grand Central |isbn=978-1538737200 }}</ref> |
|||
* 2018 Winner the Peabody Award, with the staff of ''The Washington Post'' and CBS News 60 Minutes, for "The Whistleblower" the joint investigation into how the Drug Enforcement Administration was hobbled in its attempts to hold Big Pharma accountable in the opioid epidemic <ref>{{Cite web|last=Ramos|first=Dino-Ray|last2=Ramos|first2=Dino-Ray|date=2018-04-24|title=Peabody Awards: ’60 Minutes’, CNN, NPR Among Winners In News, Radio And Public Service|url=https://deadline.com/2018/04/peabody-awards-winners-60-minutes-cnn-npr-news-radio-podcast-public-service-1202375021/|access-date=2020-09-16|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}</ref> |
|||
⚫ | |||
* 2023, [[Pulitzer Prize for Public Service|Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, Public Service]], with the staff of ''[[The Washington Post]]'', “for exposing “the government's failure to address the epidemic of addiction." |
|||
* 2020, [[Pulitzer Prize for Public Service|Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, Public Service]], for using “previously hidden government records and confidential company documents to provide unprecedented insight into America’s deadly opioid epidemic." |
|||
* 2019, [[Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=2019 duPont-Columbia Award Winners |url=https://dupont.org/2019winners }}</ref> joint investigation into the opioid epidemic with “[[60 Minutes]]." |
|||
* 2018, [[Emmy Awards|Emmy Award]], joint investigation with “[[60 Minutes]]."<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Washington Post and "60 Minutes" win Emmy Award for "The Whistleblower" |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/pr/2018/10/02/washington-post-minutes-win-emmy-award-whistleblower/ }}</ref> |
|||
⚫ | * 2018, [[Peabody Awards|Peabody Award]], with the staff of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and [[CBS News]] [[60 Minutes]], for "The Whistleblower" the joint investigation into how the Drug Enforcement Administration was hobbled in its attempts to hold Big Pharma accountable in the opioid epidemic."<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Whistleblower, CBS News 60 Minutes / The Washington Post |url=https://peabodyawards.com/award-profile/the-whistleblower/?awardsearch=type%3DWinner%26text%3Dwashington%2Bpost }}</ref> |
||
* 2018, The Hillman Prize for Broadcast Journalism,<ref>{{Cite web |title=2018 HILLMAN PRIZE FOR BROADCAST JOURNALISM |date=18 April 2018 |url=https://www.hillmanfoundation.org/hillman-prizes/2018-hillman-prize-broadcast-journalism }}</ref> with the staff of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' and [[CBS News]] [[60 Minutes]], for "The Whistleblower" and "Too Big to Prosecute" |
|||
* 2018, [[Society of Professional Journalists]], Sigma Delta Chi, Public Service, joint investigation with "[[60 Minutes]]." |
|||
* 2018, Loeb Award,<ref>{{Cite press release |title=2018 Gerald Loeb Awards Finalists, Career Achievement Honorees and Date of Awards Banquet in New York City Announced by UCLA Anderson |url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2018-gerald-loeb-awards-finalists-career-achievement-honorees-and-date-of-awards-banquet-in-new-york-city-announced-by-ucla-anderson-300650525.html }}</ref> Finalist, joint investigation with "[[60 Minutes]]." |
|||
* 2018, [[Edward R. Murrow Award (Radio Television Digital News Association)|Edward R. Murrow Award]], joint investigation with "[[60 Minutes]]." |
|||
* 2017, [[George Polk Awards|Polk Award]], Medical Reporting, with the staff of ''[[The Washington Post]]'', for tracing lax regulation of the distribution of narcotic painkillers by the Drug Enforcement Administration. |
|||
⚫ | |||
* 2016, [[Society of Professional Journalists|The Society of Professional Journalists]], Sigma Delta Chi, with the staff of ''[[The Washington Post]],'' for their investigative reporting on the DEA's lax regulation on opioid distribution. |
|||
* 2012, [[Society of Professional Journalists]], Sigma Delta Chi, with the staff of ''[[The Washington Post]],'' for "Capitol Assets." |
|||
* 2012, Everett Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress,<ref>{{Cite web |title=David S. Fallis, Scott Higham, Kimberly Kindy and Dan Keating |url=https://nationalpress.org/award-winner/david-s-fallis-scott-higham-kimberly-kindy-and-dan-keating/ }}</ref> with the staff of ''[[The Washington Post]].'' |
|||
* 2011, [[Edgar Awards|Edgar Award]], Mystery Writers of America, Finalist. |
|||
⚫ | |||
* 2005, [[Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting|Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, National Reporting]], with the staff of ''[[The Washington Post]], “for'' its relentless, unflinching chronicle of abuses by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.” |
|||
⚫ | * 2002, [[Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting]], with [[Sari Horwitz|Horwitz]] and [[Sarah Cohen (journalist)|Cohen]] of ''[[The Washington Post]],'' for a series that exposed the District of Columbia's role in the neglect and death of 229 children placed in protective care between 1993 and 2000, which prompted an overhaul of the city's child welfare system. |
||
* 2002, [[Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award]] (Grand Prize and Domestic Print), with [[Sari Horwitz|Horwitz]] and [[Sarah Cohen (journalist)|Cohen]] of ''[[The Washington Post]],'' for "The District's Lost Children." |
|||
* 2002, Investigative Reporters & Editors Inc., [[IRE Medal of Honor|IRE Medal]]. |
|||
⚫ | |||
* 2002, [[Heywood Broun Award]], with [[Sari Horwitz|Horwitz]] and [[Sarah Cohen (journalist)|Cohen]] of ''[[The Washington Post]],'' for "The District's Lost Children." |
|||
* 1998, Times Mirror Journalist of the Year. |
|||
* 1994, [[Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing|Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, Feature Writing]], with April Witt at ''[[Miami Herald|The Miami Herald]].'' |
|||
* 1993, [[Pulitzer Prize for Spot News Reporting|Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, Spot News Reporting]], with the staff of [[Miami Herald|Miami ''Herald'']]''.'' |
|||
Note: "The Whistleblower" and "Too Big to Prosecute" were also finalists for the Gerald Loeb Award and the Scripps Howard Journal Award.<ref name=":0" /> |
Note: "The Whistleblower" and "Too Big to Prosecute" were also finalists for the Gerald Loeb Award and the Scripps Howard Journal Award.<ref name=":0" /> |
||
Line 34: | Line 70: | ||
==References== |
==References== |
||
<references /> |
<references /> |
||
==External links== |
|||
*[http://www.findingchandra.com: The Official ''Finding Chandra'' Website] |
|||
* |
|||
* |
|||
*[http://www.sbindependent.org/node/2062: "Washington Post Investigative Reporter Scott Higham Returns to Stony Brook"] -- ''[[Stony Brook Independent]]'' |
|||
{{PulitzerPrize Investigative Reporting}} |
{{PulitzerPrize Investigative Reporting}} |
||
Line 47: | Line 77: | ||
[[Category:The Washington Post journalists]] |
[[Category:The Washington Post journalists]] |
||
[[Category:American male journalists]] |
[[Category:American male journalists]] |
||
[[Category:Living people]] |
[[Category:Living people]] |
||
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting winners]] |
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting winners]] |
||
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] |
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]] |
||
{{US-journalist-stub}} |
Revision as of 19:19, 9 July 2024
Scott Higham | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Born | Queens, New York |
Education | Stony Brook University, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism |
Occupation | Investigative Reporter |
Employer | 60 Minutes |
Awards | Two Pulitzer Prizes |
Scott Higham is an American investigative journalist and author who documented the corporate and political forces that fueled the opioid epidemic, in addition to conducting other major investigations. He is a five-time Pulitzer Prize finalist and won the Pulitzer twice with his colleagues at The Washington Post. After a 24-year career with The Post, he is now producing investigative projects for Bill Whitaker at 60 Minutes. He is also coauthor of two books.
Early life
Born in Queens, New York, Higham grew up on Long Island. He is the son of a New York City homicide detective stationed in the Fort Apache precinct in the South Bronx and an airline secretary and homemaker from Winthrop, Mass. He graduated from Stony Brook University with a B.A. in history and an M.S. from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Higham also earned an A.S. in criminal justice at Suffolk County Community College.[1]
Career
Higham began his journalism career as the editor of his college newspaper, The Stony Brook Press. He then worked as a news clerk for Newsday and as a stringer and copyboy for The New York Times. After graduating from Columbia, he worked at the Allentown Morning Call, the Miami Herald and The Baltimore Sun.[1]
Higham joined The Washington Post in 2000[1] and has conducted numerous investigations for the news organization, including an examination of the D.C. foster care system, abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison and waste and fraud in Homeland Security[2][3][4] contracting. The foster care series with Sari Horwitz and Sarah Cohen won the Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting in 2002.[5] The Abu Ghraib investigation was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting,[5] and the series on contracting with Robert O’Harrow Jr. won the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award[4] for large newspapers. Higham has also investigated the Guantanamo Bay Detention camp and conflicts of interest on Capitol Hill.[6]
Higham spent six years examining the opioid epidemic as a lead reporter for The Washington Post. The first series revealed the corporate influences behind the opioid epidemic and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2020[7] for its “unprecedented insight into America’s deadly opioid epidemic.” A second series on the rise of fentanyl was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2023.[8] The Pulitzer Board called that project an “exhaustive investigation” that exposed “the government’s failure to address the epidemic of addiction.” He won numerous awards with Lenny Bernstein of The Washington Post and Bill Whitaker, Ira Rosen and Sam Hornblower of 60 Minutes for investigations into the causes of the opioid epidemic.[9] He began working for 60 Minutes in June 2024.
Books
Higham and Sari Horwitz co-authored the book Finding Chandra: A True Washington Murder Mystery. The non-fiction book chronicles the 2001 disappearance of Washington, DC intern Chandra Levy, whose remains were found one year later in an isolated area of the city's 2,800-acre (11 km2) Rock Creek Park. The book was a 2011 finalist for an Edgar Award,[10] sponsored by Mystery Writers of America.
They also co-authored the critically acclaimed book, American Cartel: Inside the Battle to Bring Down the Opioid Industry. Bob Woodward called the book “an eye-opening, shocking and deeply documented investigation of the opioid crisis by two great reporters.”[11]
Awards and recognition
- 2023, Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, Public Service, with the staff of The Washington Post, “for exposing “the government's failure to address the epidemic of addiction."
- 2020, Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, Public Service, for using “previously hidden government records and confidential company documents to provide unprecedented insight into America’s deadly opioid epidemic."
- 2019, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award,[12] joint investigation into the opioid epidemic with “60 Minutes."
- 2018, Emmy Award, joint investigation with “60 Minutes."[13]
- 2018, Peabody Award, with the staff of The Washington Post and CBS News 60 Minutes, for "The Whistleblower" the joint investigation into how the Drug Enforcement Administration was hobbled in its attempts to hold Big Pharma accountable in the opioid epidemic."[14]
- 2018, The Hillman Prize for Broadcast Journalism,[15] with the staff of The Washington Post and CBS News 60 Minutes, for "The Whistleblower" and "Too Big to Prosecute"
- 2018, Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, Public Service, joint investigation with "60 Minutes."
- 2018, Loeb Award,[16] Finalist, joint investigation with "60 Minutes."
- 2018, Edward R. Murrow Award, joint investigation with "60 Minutes."
- 2017, Polk Award, Medical Reporting, with the staff of The Washington Post, for tracing lax regulation of the distribution of narcotic painkillers by the Drug Enforcement Administration.
- 2016, Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, with the staff of The Washington Post, for its revelatory initiative in creating and using a national database to illustrate how often and why the police shoot to kill and who the victims are most likely to be.
- 2016, The Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, with the staff of The Washington Post, for their investigative reporting on the DEA's lax regulation on opioid distribution.
- 2012, Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, with the staff of The Washington Post, for "Capitol Assets."
- 2012, Everett Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress,[17] with the staff of The Washington Post.
- 2011, Edgar Award, Mystery Writers of America, Finalist.
- 2005, Investigative Reporters & Editors Inc., First Place, Large Newspapers
- 2005, Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, National Reporting, with the staff of The Washington Post, “for its relentless, unflinching chronicle of abuses by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.”
- 2002, Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, with Horwitz and Cohen of The Washington Post, for a series that exposed the District of Columbia's role in the neglect and death of 229 children placed in protective care between 1993 and 2000, which prompted an overhaul of the city's child welfare system.
- 2002, Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award (Grand Prize and Domestic Print), with Horwitz and Cohen of The Washington Post, for "The District's Lost Children."
- 2002, Investigative Reporters & Editors Inc., IRE Medal.
- 2002, Associated Press Managing Editors Award.
- 2002, Heywood Broun Award, with Horwitz and Cohen of The Washington Post, for "The District's Lost Children."
- 1998, Times Mirror Journalist of the Year.
- 1994, Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, Feature Writing, with April Witt at The Miami Herald.
- 1993, Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, Spot News Reporting, with the staff of Miami Herald.
Note: "The Whistleblower" and "Too Big to Prosecute" were also finalists for the Gerald Loeb Award and the Scripps Howard Journal Award.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d "Scott Higham". Washington Post. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
- ^ "Newspaper Guild Award Banquet Honors Crusading Journalists". Communications Workers of America. 2002-06-01. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
- ^ The Pulitzer Prizes. "1994 Pulitzer Prizes Journalism". www.pulitzer.org. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
- ^ a b ""Winners Named in 2001 IRE Awards" - Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. The IRE Journal, Vol. 25, Issue 3, May/June 2002".[dead link]
- ^ a b The Pulitzer Prizes. "2002 Pulitzer Prizes Journalism". www.pulitzer.org. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
- ^ "2005 IRE Awards winners". IRE. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
- ^ "2020 Pulitzer Prizes, JOURNALISM".
- ^ "2023 Pulitzer Prizes, JOURNALISM".
- ^ The Pulitzer Prizes. "2005 Pulitzer Prizes Journalism". www.pulitzer.org. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
- ^ "Edgar Awards".
- ^ Woodward, Bob (2022). American Cartel Reviews. Grand Central. ISBN 978-1538737200.
- ^ "2019 duPont-Columbia Award Winners".
- ^ "The Washington Post and "60 Minutes" win Emmy Award for "The Whistleblower"". The Washington Post.
- ^ "The Whistleblower, CBS News 60 Minutes / The Washington Post".
- ^ "2018 HILLMAN PRIZE FOR BROADCAST JOURNALISM". 18 April 2018.
- ^ "2018 Gerald Loeb Awards Finalists, Career Achievement Honorees and Date of Awards Banquet in New York City Announced by UCLA Anderson" (Press release).
- ^ "David S. Fallis, Scott Higham, Kimberly Kindy and Dan Keating".