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A. C. Thompson

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thompson at the ProPublica offices in 2015.

Adam Clay "A.C." Thompson (born c.1972 [1]) is an investigative journalist, producer, and staff reporter with ProPublica.[2] His work has appeared on the PBS series Frontline. His stories, many of which examine the criminal justice system, have helped lead to the exoneration of two innocent San Francisco men sentenced to life in prison and the prosecution of seven New Orleans police officers.[2]

Career

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Before going into journalism, Thompson held many jobs, including pharmaceutical study test subject, trash collector, bike messenger, punk band roadie, and a martial arts fighter. He was in Afghanistan, where he was reporting for a book written with Trevor Paglen, a Ph.D graduate student at UC Berkeley.[3]

Thompson was a reporter for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, SF Weekly, and the Center for Investigative Reporting.[3]

He was faculty at New College of California, an instructor in the Media Studies Graduate Program, and teaches at the Raising Our Voices program, to train street reporters.[4]

Selected documentaries

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Frontline/ProPublica Documentaries
Year Air Date(s) Title Summary
2010 August 16 and 25 Law and Disorder An investigation, in collaboration with The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate, into charges and the cover up of illegal use of force by the New Orleans Police Department against citizens
2012 February 21, June 28 The Child Cases An investigation, in collaboration with NPR, into deaths of children, for which people were wrongly convicted or imprisoned based on unreliable or wrong medical evidence
2013 July 30, September 24 Life and Death in Assisted Living An investigation into Emeritus Senior Living, the largest assisted-living company in the United States
2015 August 15, November 3 Terror in Little Saigon An investigation into unsolved murders of Vietnamese-American journalists
2018 August 7 Documenting Hate: Charlottesville An investigation into the 2017 Unite the Right rally and the under-preparedness of the local law enforcement
2018 February 4, June 18, November 20 Documenting Hate: New American Nazis An investigation following the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, focusing on American white supremacist groups, specifically Atomwaffen Division
2021 April 13 American Insurrection (2021) An investigation, in collaboration with Berkeley Journalism's Investigative Reporting Program, into far-right extremist groups (e.g., the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers) following the 2017 Charlottesville car attack and rally
2022 January 4 American Insurrection (2022) An update of the original, including more recent events
2022 March 29 Plot to Overturn the Election An investigation into the misinformation and causes that led to the January 6 United States Capitol attack
2023 June 13 America's Dangerous Trucks An investigation into deadly accidents between passenger vehicles and large trucks (e.g., Semi-trailer truck)

Awards

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  • 2005 George Polk Award for Local Reporting[5] for his series “Forgotten City,” about San Francisco's public housing
  • 2011 Emmy nominee for "Law & Disorder"
  • 2011 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence
  • 2012 Emmy nominee for "Child Cases"
  • 2013 Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award for investigative journalism in connection with the shooting of civilians by police after Hurricane Katrina.[6]
  • 2013 Honorary Doctorate from Colby College[6]
  • 2016 Emmy nominee for "Terror in Little Saigon"
  • 2019 Emmy winner for "Documenting Hate"
  • 2019 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellent in Television Political Journalism for "Documenting Hate"
  • 2021 Nominated for 2021 Peabody Award for his work co-producing the American Insurrection news coverage.

Publications with others

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  • Torture Taxi. Co-authored with Trevor Paglen. Brooklyn, NY: Melville House Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-933633-09-3.

References

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  1. ^ Robinson, Eugene S., "THE PUNK ROCK JOURNALIST MAKING REAL NEWS AT THE SOURCE", ozy.com, OCTOBER 31, 2017
  2. ^ a b "A.C. Thompson - Reporter". ProPublica. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Investigative Ace A.C. Thompson Moves to SF Weekly", The Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN) press release, June 8, 2006.
  4. ^ Encyclopedia of homelessness, Volume 2 Editor David Levinson, SAGE, 2004, ISBN 978-0-7619-2751-8
  5. ^ "The George Polk Awards for Journalism". Long Island University. 2005. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  6. ^ a b "Thompson to receive 2013 Lovejoy Award", Colby College News & Events, 2013
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