David Burnham (born 1933) is an American
investigative journalist and author based in
Washington, D.C. He rose to prominence in 1970 while writing a series of articles for
''The'' ''New York Times'' on police corruption, which inspired the 1973 film ''
Serpico''.
He is also known for writing a series of articles about labor union activist
Karen Silkwood, who mysteriously died while en route to meet Burnham to share evidence that the nuclear facility where she worked knew that its workers were exposed to unhealthy levels of plutonium.
He is currently the co-director of the
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a project of the
S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, commonly known as Newhouse School, is the communications and journalism school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY. It has programs in print and broadcast journalism; music business; graphic d ...
at
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
.
Awards and honors
* 1968:
George Polk Award for Community Service
* 1972: Newspaper Reporters Association of New York City Schaefer Gold Typewriter Award for Public Service
* 1987:
Alicia Patterson Foundation Fellowship
* 1990:
Investigative Reporters and Editors Award for Best Book: ''A Law Unto Itself: Power, Politics, and the IRS''
* 1992:
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
Fellowship in Bellagio, Italy
* 2003:
John Jay College of Criminal Justice Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humane Letters
* 2006: National Freedom of Information Act Hall of Fame Inductee
Bibliography
Books
* ''The Rise of the Computer State.'' New York: Random House, 1983.
* ''A Law Unto Itself: Power, Politics, and the IRS.'' New York: Random House, 1989.
* ''Above the Law: Secret Deals, Political Fixes, and Other Misadventures of the U.S. Department of Justice.'' New York: Scribner, 1996.
Selected articles
"Graft Paid to Police Here Said to Run Into Millions."''The New York Times'', April 25, 1970.
''The New York Times'', November 19, 1974.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnham, David
Living people
1933 births
American male journalists