IVOH Thought Leader: Roberta Baskin

Investigative journalist Roberta Baskin has won more than 75 journalism prizes, including three Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Awards, two George Foster Peabody Awards, the Investigative Reporters and Editors Award, the Radio-Television News Directors Edward R. Murrow Award, and numerous Emmys. But her proudest achievements are righting wrongs, changing laws, and transforming the way companies do business.

During her distinguished journalism career, Baskin has served as the Executive Director of the Center for Public Integrity, the senior Washington correspondent for "NOW with Bill Moyers," senior investigative producer for the ABC News magazine 20/20, chief investigative correspondent for the CBS News magazine 48 Hours, and contributed special reports to the CBS Evening News. Roberta began her career as an investigative reporter in Chicago and Washington D.C.

Roberta's most recent investigation of a chain of dental clinics for children doing unnecessary drilling for millions of dollars in Medicaid money also won a National Emmy and the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award. Many of her best known investigations have focussed on human rights and corporate misconduct. Roberta broke international stories on Nike's sweatshops in Vietnam and the world's soccer industry relying on child labor in Pakistan to stitch soccer balls. Both investigations led to sweeping changes. In the fall of 2008, Roberta was elected to the Board of Directors of the Journalism and Women's Symposium. She also began teaching a graduate school course, the Broadcast Investigative Reporting Project, at Georgetown University. Roberta has been honored with a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard University, and an Ethics Fellowship at the Poynter Institute. She's active in journalism organizations and has been a popular guest lecturer internationally from Baku to Budapest to Borneo. She served on the Board of Directors of the Fund for Investigative Journalism for thirteen years, was elected to a term on the Board of Directors for Investigative Reporters and Editors, and has served on the Nieman Fellows Selection Committee. Roberta now serves on the Executive Committee of the Nieman Foundation's Advisory Board and Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Journalism Committee. She's an avid scuba diver and likes to baskin' the sun whenever she can.

Roberta's recent work and related links: