Brett Murphy is an American journalist, best known as a
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
finalist in 2018 for his investigative reporting series on the exploitation of truckers in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
He was also a child actor in the early 2000s, appearing in films including ''
Fever Pitch''.
Murphy's article "Rigged", published by
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
and detailing the financial exploitation of port truckers
won plaudits including
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 polic ...
, the National Headliner Award for Investigative Reporting, the
Gerald Loeb Award
The Gerald Loeb Award, also referred to as the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, is a recognition of excellence in journalism, especially in the fields of business, finance and the economy. The award was estab ...
,
the Sidney Award
The Sidney Award is a monthly journalism award given out by The Sidney Hillman Foundation to "outstanding investigative journalism in service of the common good." The Sidney Award was launched in 2009.
The Foundation announces the monthly winner ...
and the Al McDowell Award. He was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize in National Reporting and the
ASNE Awards for Justice in Journalism. Murphy had previously been a finalist for the
IRE Awards
Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the quality of journalism, in particular investigative journalism. Formed in 1975, it presents the IRE Awards and holds conferences and training ...
in Investigation Innovation in 2016.
Before joining USA Today as an investigative reporter, Murphy worked for the ''
Naples Daily News'',
CBS Interactive
Paramount Streaming (formerly CBS Digital Media Group, CBS Interactive, ViacomCBS Streaming), a division of Paramount Global, oversees the company’s streaming technology and offers direct-to-consumer services, free, premium and pay. These incl ...
, and the magazine ''
Pitt Med'' . He has also contributed to the ''
Guardian
Guardian usually refers to:
* Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another
* ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper
(The) Guardian(s) may also refer to:
Places
* Guardian, West Virginia, Unite ...
'',
Univision
Univision () is an American Spanish-language free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the Latino public and includes ...
, ''
San Jose Mercury News'',
CNET
''CNET'' (short for "Computer Network") is an American media website that publishes reviews, news, articles, blogs, podcasts, and videos on technology and consumer electronics globally. ''CNET'' originally produced content for radio and televi ...
,
NPR, and
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
affiliate
KQED KQED may refer to:
* KQED (TV), a PBS member station in San Francisco
* KQED-FM
KQED-FM (88.5 MHz) is a NPR-member radio station in San Francisco, California. Its parent organization is KQED Inc., which also owns its television partners, both ...
.
Early life and acting career
Murphy was born October 4, 1991 in
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Englan ...
,
.
His early life included a child acting career spanning theater, commercials, films, and television shows. Murphy's acting career spanned 2003 until 2006. After performing in local youth theatre, Murphy appeared in commercials including for
Disney World,
Ocean Spray,
General Mills
General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational manufacturer and marketer of branded processed consumer foods sold through retail stores. Founded on the banks of the Mississippi River at Saint Anthony Falls in Minneapolis, the company orig ...
,
Campbell's
Campbell Soup Company, doing business as Campbell's, is an American processed food and snack company. The company is most closely associated with its flagship canned soup products; however, through mergers and acquisitions, it has grown to become ...
, The ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'', and
Papa Gino's. From 2003 until 2005, Murphy had a recurring role as Edwin in five episodes of the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
sitcom ''
Hope and Faith''. In 2005, Murphy had a role in the feature film ''
Fever Pitch'' as Ryan.
In 2005, Murphy appeared in the feature film ''Fever Pitch'' and an episode of ''Saturday Night Live''. Murphy's last professional acting credit was an appearance in the pilot ''Damages''.
Murphy attended
St. John's High School in
Shrewsbury
Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...
, Massachusetts.
Education
Murphy studied non-fiction writing at the
University of Pittsburgh
The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...
and graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
on Dec. 14, 2013,
summa cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
. He subsequently attended the
University of California, Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, graduating with a Master of Journalism in May 2016.
Journalism career
Brett Murphy currently works for the USA Today network in Florida as an investigative reporter.
His series “Rigged: Forced in Debt. Worked Past Exhaustion,” reporting on labor exploitation in the California trucking industry won him critical acclaim in 2018.
California passed legislation Senate Bill No. 1402 to hold labor violations more accountable after it
publication Murphy co-founded the weekly newsletter ''Local Matters'' with fellow journalists Joseph Cranney and Alexandra Glorioso in 2016, curating local investigative news from over 100 different newspapers.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murphy, Brett
1991 births
American male child actors
American male film actors
Living people
American male television actors
Male actors from Worcester, Massachusetts
21st-century American male actors
American investigative journalists