Adam Clay "A.C." Thompson (born c.1972 Robinson, Eugene S.
"THE PUNK ROCK JOURNALIST MAKING REAL NEWS AT THE SOURCE"
''ozy.com'', OCTOBER 31, 2017) is an investigative journalist, producer, and staff reporter with ''

ProPublica ProPublica (), legally Pro Publica, Inc., is a nonprofit investigative journalism organization based in New York City. ProPublica's investigations are conducted by its staff of full-time reporters, and the resulting stories are distributed to ne ...

''. His work has appeared on the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

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.

Career

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 has traveled to Afghanistan, where he was reporting for a book written with

Trevor Paglen Trevor Paglen (born 1974) is an American artist, geographer, and author whose work covers mass surveillance and data collection. In 2016, Paglen won the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize and he has also won The Cultural Award from the ...

, then a Ph.D graduate student at

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

. Thompson has been a reporter for the ''

San Francisco Bay Guardian The ''San Francisco Bay Guardian'' was a free alternative newspaper published weekly in San Francisco, California. The paper was shut down on October 14, 2014. Parts of the paper were relaunched online in February 2016. History The ''Bay Guar ...

'', ''

SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' is an online music publication and formerly alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper ha ...

'', and the

Center for Investigative Reporting The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) is a nonprofit news organization based in San Francisco, California. CIR was founded in 1977 as the nation’s first nonprofit investigative journalism organization. It subsequently grew into a multi ...

."Investigative Ace A.C. Thompson Moves to SF Weekly"
''The Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN)'' press release, June 8, 2006. He has also been faculty at

New College of California New College of California was a college founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1971 by former Gonzaga University President John Leary. It ceased operations in early 2008. New College's main campus was housed in several buildings in the Mission ...

, an instructor in the Media Studies Graduate Program, and taught at the ''Raising Our Voices'' program, to train street reporters.

Selected documentaries

Awards

*2005

George Polk Award The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the awar ...

for Local Reporting for his series “Forgotten City,” about San Francisco's public housing *2011

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

nominee for "Law & Disorder" *2011 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence *2012

nominee for "Child Cases" *2013

Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award The Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award is presented annually by Colby College to a member of the newspaper profession who has contributed to the country's journalistic achievement. The award is named for Elijah Parish Lovejoy, and established in 1952. ...

for investigative journalism in connection with the shooting of civilians by police after

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

."Thompson to receive 2013 Lovejoy Award"
Colby College News & Events, 2013 *2013 Honorary Doctorate from

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine, United States. Founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, it was renamed Waterville College in 1821. The donations of Christian philanthropist Gardner ...

*2016

nominee for "Terror in Little Saigon" *2019

winner for "Documenting Hate" *2019 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellent in Television Political Journalism for "Documenting Hate" *2021

Peabody Award The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Foster Peabody, George Peabody, honor what are described as the most powerful, enlightening, and in ...

nominee for News Coverage his work co-producing the "American Insurrection" *2022

nominee for Best Documentary and Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary for co-producing the "American Insurrection" *2024

nominee for his work co-producing, reporting and writing "America's Dangerous Trucks"

Publications with others

*'' Torture Taxi.'' Co-authored with

. Brooklyn, NY: Melville House Publishing, 2006. . **Icon, 2007. .

References

External links

A.C. Thompson profile at FRONTLINE

A.C. Thompson profile at ProPublicaTerror in Little Saigon: New Doc Ties US-Allied Kill Squad to Unsolved Murders of Vietnamese Journos In US
''

Democracy Now! ''Democracy Now!'' is an hour-long TV, radio, and Internet news program based in Manhattan and hosted by journalists Amy Goodman (who also acts as the show's executive producer), Juan González, and Nermeen Shaikh. The show, which airs live ...

'' November 11, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Adam Clay American investigative journalists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people George Polk Award recipients New College of California faculty Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award recipients