Bruce Ingersoll (1941 – December 1, 2001) was an American journalist who wrote for the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' and ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

''.

Life and career

Bruce was born and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. His father died when he was 11; at that point he and his sisters, Laura and Brenda, lived in the foster home of the Patricia and Robert Penshorn family and occasionally with his uncle Herbert L. Lewis, the editor of the

Saint Paul Pioneer Press The ''St. Paul Pioneer Press'' is a newspaper based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area. Circulation is heaviest in the east metro, including Ramsey, Dakota, and Washington counties, ...

. He graduated from the Saint Paul Academy, and earned a bachelor's degree in History from Carleton College. Ingersoll started his journalism career as a copy boy at the

City News Bureau of Chicago City News Bureau of Chicago (CNB), or City Press (1890-2005), was a news bureau that served as one of the first cooperative news agencies in the United States. It was founded in 1890 by the newspapers of Chicago to provide a common source of local ...

, in 1963. He went on to the

Minneapolis Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

, and then to be a journalist at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he spent 14 years, including 6 at the paper's Washington Bureau, in DC. He was the paper's first "environmental reporter". He then was hired by ''The Wall Street Journal'', where he spent the rest of his career. Among his noteworthy efforts were the coverage of allegations that led to charges against a former Secretary of Agriculture,

Mike Espy Alphonso Michael Espy (born November 30, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 25th United States Secretary of Agriculture from 1993 to 1994. He was both the first African American and first person from the Deep South to ...

, and an article about the continued Federal subsidy of

mohair Mohair (pronounced ) is a fabric or yarn made from the hair of the Angora goat. (This should not be confused with Angora wool, which is made from the fur of the Angora rabbit.) Both durable and resilient, mohair is notable for its high luster ...

for 35 years after the military stopped using it in uniforms in 1960, a scandal in which he targeted fellow journalist

Sam Donaldson Samuel Andrew Donaldson Jr. (born March 11, 1934) is an American former reporter and news anchor, serving with ABC News from 1967 to 2009. He is best known as the network's White House Correspondent (1977–1989 and 1998–99) and as a panelist ...

for receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars while "absentee" on his inherited ranch. His article, ''As Congress Considers Slashing Crop Subsidies, Affluent Urban Farmers Come Under Scrutiny'', was read into the Congressional Record. In 2001, Ingersoll died of

myelodysplastic syndrome A myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is one of a group of cancers in which immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature, and as a result, do not develop into healthy blood cells. Early on, no symptoms typically are seen. Later, symptoms may ...

after being irradiated while covering the Three Mile Island incident for the Chicago Sun Times.

Awards

During his career, Ingersoll was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, twice. He also was awarded: * Environmental Reporting

Edward J. Meeman Edward John Meeman (October 2, 1889 – November 15, 1966) was an American journalist and editor. Biography Meeman was born in Evansville, Indiana.Ed FrankEdward John Meeman Tennessee Encyclopedia. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War I, a ...

Award Grand Prize (1978) *

The Hillman Prize The Hillman Prize is a journalism award given out annually by The Sidney Hillman Foundation, named for noted American labor leader Sidney Hillman. It is given to "journalists, writers and public figures who pursue social justice and public poli ...

for a series on the working wounded (1978) * 2 Washington Correspondence Awards from the

National Press Club Organizations A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...

(1981) *

Worth Bingham Prize The Worth Bingham Prize, also referred to as the Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Reporting, is an annual journalism award which honors: "newspaper or magazine investigative reporting of stories of national significance where the public inter ...

for ''Defense Dilemmas'' (1982) * Raymond Clapper Award (1983) * National Association of Agricultural Journalists naaj.net ** 1st Prize, an article on lax government oversight of poultry processing (1991) ** 1st Prize for Feature Writing (1992) ** 1st Place, News Category, for his coverage of allegations leading to the indictment of Agriculture Secretary

(1998) * In 2003 the North American Agricultural Journalists launched th
Bruce Ingersoll Mentorship Award
a yearly cash prize awarded for excellence in agricultural journalism

References

4
Carlton Alumni Network
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingersoll, Bruce American male journalists 20th-century American journalists American environmentalists 1941 births 2001 deaths Deaths from myelodysplastic syndrome