Jake Bernstein (journalist)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
, and the secret world of offshore accounts and money laundering. 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 The Panama Papers ( es, Papeles de Panamá) are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) that were published beginning on April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 ...
, 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 Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's direc ...
. Bernstein received an
executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
credit on the film.Firm at Center of Panama Papers Sues Netflix Over 'The Laundromat
''New York Times'' October 16, 2019


Career

Bernstein speaks Spanish and began his journalism career in
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
as a freelancer. After a brief stint at ''The
Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...
Citizen'', Bernstein joined ''
Miami New Times The ''Miami New Times'' is a newspaper published in Miami, Florida, United States, and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami area and is headquartered in Miami's Wynwood Art District. Overview It was acquired by Village Voic ...
'' 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 The Everglades is a natural region of tropical climate, tropical wetlands in the southern portion of the U.S. state of Florida, comprising the southern half of a large drainage basin within the Neotropical realm. The system begins near Orland ...
restoration and the 2000 presidential recount.


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 Thomas Dale DeLay (; born April 8, 1947) is an American author and retired politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1985 until 2006. He was Republic ...
's money laundering legislative takeover and the demographic shift in Texas. Under his leadership, ''
Utne Reader ''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne'') ( ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...
'' named '' The Texas Observer'', Best Political Magazine of 2005.


ProPublica

Bernstein joined ProPublica in 2008, shortly after its founding, where he worked as a business reporter. In 2011, he and a colleague won the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for coverage of
Wall Street Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for t ...
in the lead up to the financial crisis. In 2014, Bernstein broke the story of the secret tapes of
Carmen Segarra Carmen Segarra was a US New York Federal Reserve–appointed regulator to Goldman Sachs for seven months from October 2011. She discovered that Goldman Sachs did not have any policy on conflict of interest when it advised El Paso Corporation on se ...
, a
whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
bank examiner with the
Federal Reserve Bank of New York The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is one of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks of the United States. It is responsible for the Second District of the Federal Reserve System, which encompasses the State of New York, the 12 northern counties of New ...
. The story prompted a U.S. Senate hearing.


Panama Papers

Bernstein worked as senior reporter as part of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on the
Panama Papers The Panama Papers ( es, Papeles de Panamá) are 11.5 million leaked documents (or 2.6 terabytes of data) that were published beginning on April 3, 2016. The papers detail financial and attorney–client information for more than 214,488 ...
. In addition to sharing a byline on the main story, 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.


Bibliography

* ''VICE: Dick Cheney and the Hijacking of the American Presidency,'' by Lou Dubose and Jake Bernstein.
Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
, 2006. *''Secrecy World: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money Networks and the Global Elite,'' by Jake Bernstein. Macmillan Audio, 2017.


Awards


External links


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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernstein, Jake Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people American investigative journalists American non-fiction writers Jewish American journalists Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting winners 21st-century American Jews