Brian Ross
— -- Brian Ross is one of the most honored and respected journalists in the country. As ABC News Chief Investigative Correspondent, he reports extensively for "World News with Charles Gibson," "Nightline," "Good Morning America," "20/20" and "Primetime," as well as for ABC News Radio and ABCNews.com. Ross joined ABC News in July 1994.
Through his investigative reports, Ross has exposed corruption at all levels of government, changed domestic laws and prompted reforms abroad. Among his recent work is a three-part series on the existence of secret CIA prisons in Eastern Europe where top al Qaeda figures were held. The exclusive investigation, which aired on "World News Tonight" and "Nightline," garnered a 2005 George Polk Award, the fifth time he has won the award in his career.
Ross was also honored with the 2005 Outstanding International Investigative Reporting Award by the Center for Public Integrity for his "20/20" story that revealed sexual misconduct by U.N. peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Ross' noted investigation into whether American authorities could stop a shipment of radioactive material from entering the country earned him his third duPont Award, one of the most prestigious honors in journalism.
During the 2004 political season, Ross' award-winning "Money Trail" series investigated the nexus of corporate money and politics, focusing on the corporate presence at the 2004 Democratic and Republican National Conventions.He also launched a "Primetime" investigation, "War Wounded," into the financial troubles faced by injured soldiers returning home from the Iraq War. Confronted with the facts in that report, a top Pentagon official admitted to errors in the system and promised that changes would be made immediately.
Following Sept.11, 2001, Ross and the Investigative Unit broke numerous stories about the investigation into the terrorist attacks and anthrax letters. Among several exclusive reports, Ross was the first reporter to name Mohammed Atta and describe him as the ringleader of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. He was also the first to report on Zacarias Moussaoui's alleged role in the attacks and his questioning by the FBI prior to Sept. 11, 2001. Ross' "Primetime Thursday" story about the hijacking of United Airlines Flight 93 featured the first airing of transmissions between the plane's cockpit and air traffic controllers.
Ross also files daily reports for ABC News Radio, which are available to 2,500 affiliates around the country. The series, "Brian Ross Investigates," focuses on a wide range of investigative topics, including terrorism, business corruption, criminal fraud and political scandals.
Ross' investigative reports have won four duPont awards, four Peabody awards, five awards from the Overseas Press Club and nine Emmys.
Prior to joining ABC News, Ross worked for 20 years at NBC News, reporting for the "NBC Nightly News" and "Dateline NBC."
In an award-winning two-part report for "Dateline NBC" in 1992, Ross exposed WalMart's use of child labor in overseas sweatshops to provide clothing for their "Buy American" campaign. Ross also broke stories on the French Intelligence spying on American businessmen and was the first reporter to track down the fugitive Marc Rich at his Saint Moritz hideaway.
Ross solidified his reputation for investigative reporting by breaking stories such as the 1980 ABSCAM story, for which he was honored with a National Headliner Award. His exclusive report in March 1990 about Iraq trying to buy trigger mechanisms for nuclear weapons just months before the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait made headlines worldwide.
His five-part "NBC Nightly News" series on the Teamsters Union won the 1976 Sigma Delta Chi Award and a National Headliner Award. In 1977, he won a National Headliner Award for a five-part study of organized crime in the United States.
Ross began his professional career in 1971 as a reporter at KWWL-TV in Waterloo, Iowa. He later worked at WCKT-TV in Miami and WKYC-TV in Cleveland. He is a graduate of the University of Iowa.