Jake Bernstein (journalist)
{{Short description|American investigative journalist and author}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
Jake Bernstein is an American investigative journalist and author. He previously worked with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. During a 25-year career, he has reported on the civil war in Central America, industrial pollution in Texas, political corruption in Miami, system-crashing greed on Wall Street, and the secret world of offshore accounts and money laundering.{{Cite web|url=http://jakebernstein.net/bio/|title=Bio – Jake Bernstein|website=jakebernstein.net|access-date=October 18, 2019}} He has written travel pieces, reviewed movies and books, and has appeared as a radio and TV journalist.
His 2017 book, Secrecy World: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite, takes an in-depth look at the evolution of offshore financial assets, as seen through the Panama Papers, and the journalists and investigators who tried to break through its secrecy. The book was made into a feature film titled The Laundromat, directed by Steven Soderbergh. Bernstein received an executive producer credit on the film.[https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/movies/panama-papers-laundromat-netflix.html Firm at Center of Panama Papers Sues Netflix Over 'The Laundromat{{' "}}] New York Times October 16, 2019
Early life
Bernstein is the son of actress Judith Braun and Walter Bernstein, an Academy Award-nominated screenwriter.[http://www.amc.com/shows/fear-the-walking-dead/cast-crew/andrew-bernstein-co-executive-producer-director Fear the Walking Dead Cast and Crew: "Andrew Bernstein – Co-Executive Producer / Director"] retrieved July 22, 2017 His brother is director Andrew Bernstein.{{cite news |last=Foundas|first=Scott|url=https://variety.com/2014/film/features/screenwriter-walter-bernstein-at-95-still-front-and-center-1201289059/|title=Screenwriter Walter Bernstein at 95: Still Front and Center|work=Variety|date=August 26, 2014}}
Career
Bernstein speaks Spanish and began his journalism career in Latin America as a freelancer. After a brief stint at The Pasadena Citizen, Bernstein joined the Miami New Times as a staff writer and reporter (1997–2002), where he covered political corruption and media and the environment with stories including the fight over Elián González, Everglades restoration and the 2000 presidential recount.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}
= The Texas Observer =
In mid-2002, Bernstein joined The Texas Observer as a reporter and editor, and became executive editor in 2004, serving through 2008. During his tenure at the Observer, Bernstein covered stories on government surveillance, Tom DeLay's money laundering legislative takeover and the demographic shift in Texas. Under his leadership, Utne Reader named The Texas Observer, Best Political Magazine of 2005.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}
= ProPublica =
Bernstein joined ProPublica in 2008, shortly after its founding, where he worked as a business reporter.{{Cite web|url=https://www.propublica.org/site/author/jake_bernstein|title=Jake Bernstein – ProPublica|website=ProPublica|date=March 25, 2015 |access-date=April 29, 2016}} In 2011, he and a colleague won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for coverage of Wall Street in the lead up to the financial crisis. In 2014, Bernstein broke the story of the secret tapes of Carmen Segarra, a whistleblower bank examiner with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The story prompted a U.S. Senate hearing.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thisamericanlife.org/536/the-secret-recordings-of-carmen-segarra|title=The Secret Recordings of Carmen Segarra|date=September 26, 2014|website=This American Life|access-date=October 19, 2019}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thisamericanlife.org/405/inside-job|title=Inside Job|date=April 9, 2010|website=This American Life|access-date=October 19, 2019}}
= Panama Papers =
Bernstein worked as senior reporter as part of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on the Panama Papers. In addition to sharing a byline on the main story,{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2016/04/04/panama-papers-published-bernstein-interview.cnn/video/playlists/panama-papers/|title=Denials, outrage after 'Panama Papers' published – CNN Video|website=CNN|date=April 4, 2016 |access-date=May 2, 2016}} Bernstein also authored the consortium's piece on the Russian findings in All Putin's Men: Secret Records Reveal Money Network Tied to Russian Leader and the story on The Art of Secrecy in the offshore world. The project won the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting and was a Pulitzer finalist for International Reporting.
Bernstein signed with United Talent Agency (UTA) to sell the book for film and television.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bookmark/hot-panama-papers-project-shopped-886212|title=Hot Panama Papers Project Shopped for Film and TV Amid Book Deal|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=April 20, 2016 |access-date=May 2, 2016}}
Bibliography
- VICE: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency, by Lou Dubose and Jake Bernstein. Random House, 2006. {{ISBN|1400065763|978-1400065769}}
- Secrecy World: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite, by Jake Bernstein. Macmillan Audio, 2017. {{ISBN|1427290792|978-1427290793}}
Awards
class="wikitable"
!Year !Award !Organization !Work !Result |
2017
|Explanatory Reporting |"Panama Papers" |Won |
2017
|International Reporting |"Panama Papers" |Finalist |
2017
|Financial Reporting |"Panama Papers" |Won |
2011
|National Reporting |"The Wall Street Money Machine" |Won |
2011
|Goldsmith Award{{Cite web|url=http://shorensteincenter.org/prizes-lectures/goldsmith-awards-program/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413043656/http://shorensteincenter.org/prizes-lectures/goldsmith-awards-program/|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 13, 2014|title=Goldsmith Awards Program – Shorenstein Center – Shorenstein Center|date=April 13, 2014|access-date=October 19, 2019}} |Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting |"The Wall Street Money Machine" |Finalist |
2011
|Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. | |Finalist |
2012
|Best Business Writing | |Awarded |
2013
|Best Business Writing |Columbia University | |Awarded |
External links
- [https://jakebernstein.net/ Jake Bernstein's website]
See also
- International Consortium of Investigative Journalists
- List of people named in the Panama Papers
- The Laundromat — 2019 film, with screenplay based on Secrecy World
References
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{{PulitzerPrize National Reporting}}
{{Portal bar|Economics|Journalism|Panama}}
{{Panama Papers leak}}
{{Authority control}}
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:21st-century American Jews
Category:21st-century American journalists
Category:21st-century American male writers
Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers
Category:American investigative journalists
Category:American male journalists
Category:American male non-fiction writers
Category:Jewish American journalists
Category:Jewish American non-fiction writers