Martin Bashir is a co-anchor of "Nightline" for ABC News.
Martin Bashir was named co-anchor of ABC News' "Nightline" in October 2005 and is based in New York. He joined ABC's newsmagazine "20/20" in September 2004 and continues to report for both programs.
Bashir is best known for making landmark documentaries including "Living With Michael Jackson," which 27 million American viewers tuned in to watch in 2003 and prompted an extensive police investigation of the singer. He also conducted an exclusive interview with the Princess Diana, which remains the only television interview with her.
In May 2008, Bashir anchored a documentary on the Sistine Chapel for "20/20," which marked the 500th year since Michelangelo began painting the ceiling frescoes.
Additionally, his contributions to "Nightline" include an exclusive interview with a soldier in a prison cell in Kuwait. The soldier has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of Iraqi civilians.
Bashir also provided the most authoritative account of the Queens shooting in New York, including exclusive interviews with a victim and a witness. In Queens, police fired 50 shots at three unarmed men, killing Sean Bell who was due to be married the next day.
Since joining ABC News in September 2004, Bashir has anchored a number of high-profile documentaries. His first, which featured evidence of steroid abuse by Olympic athletes and included an exclusive interview with BALCO president Victor Conte, provoked the Senate to investigate the use of performance-enhancing substances by baseball players and other American athletes. The BALCO documentary won an award at the 2007 Chicago TV and Film Festival.
Before joining ABC News, Bashir reported for Britain's ITV. His reports included: "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire: A Major Fraud," a documentary about a couple found guilty of cheating their way to the top prize in the British version of the game. It achieved the biggest audience for any factual program in the United Kingdom since 1997.
In addition, he launched a new current affairs program "Tonight," with a film about five youths suspected of murdering a black teenager. The film won the Royal Television Society's Program of the Year Award. He also conducted the only interview with Louise Woodward, the au pair found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in Boston.
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