Donald L. Barlett

Donald Leon Barlett (July 17, 1936 – October 5, 2024) was an American investigative journalist and author writing for The Inquirer, Time Inc., and Vanity Fair Magazine. Barlett partnered with James B. Steele, with whom he won two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Magazine Awards, and six George Polk Awards. They were known for their reporting technique of delving deep into documents and then, after what could be a long investigative period, interviewing the necessary sources. The duo worked together for over 40 years and are frequently referred to as Barlett and Steele.

Early life and education

Donald Leon Barlett was born on July 17, 1936 in DuBois, Pennsylvania, to James and Mary () Barlett. He grew up in Johnston, Pennsylvania, and attended Penn State University from 1954 to 1955.

Career

After Penn State, Barlett served as a special agent with the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps for three years until 1956, when he began his journalistic career as a reporter for the ''Reading (Pennsylvania) Times''. Nine years later he became an investigative journalist for ''The Plain Dealer'', and later took similar jobs with '' The Chicago Daily News'' and ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', where he met his collaborator James B. Steele. In 1997, Barlett and Steele became editors-at-large for ''Time''. In 2006, they moved to '' Vanity Fair'' as contributing editors. Over the years, Barlett and Steele wrote about diverse topics including crime, economics, politics, and health care.

Barlett and Steele won two Pulitzers and were recognized for their contributions to American journalism for their work at ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. In 1973, during one of their earliest collaborations for ''The Inquirer'', Barlett and Steele pioneered the use of computers for the analysis of data on violent crimes. The project
was a seven-part series, titled "Crime and Injustice", and was blocked for a Pulitzer, according to Steele, because a Pulitzer juror had rejected data-driven reporting, stating: "Any story that uses a computer is going to win a Pulitzer over my dead body." Barlett and Steele won their first Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting and the Gerald Loeb Special Award in 1975 for a series called "Auditing the Internal Revenue Service" published by ''The Inquirer.'' They won their second Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting and the Gerald Loeb Award for Large Newspapers in 1989 at the ''Inquirer'' for their coverage of temporary tax breaks embedded in the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Their 1991 ''Inquirer'' series ''America: What Went Wrong?'' was named by the New York University department of journalism as 51st on its list of the 100 best pieces of journalism of the 20th century. Rewritten as a book it became a No. 1 ''New York Times'' bestseller. It is one of seven books Barlett and Steele have published, five of which were written while at ''The Inquirer.''

After 26 years as a team for ''The Inquirer'', Barlett and Steele left to pursue investigative reporting at ''Time''. It was while they were at ''Time'' that the investigative reporting team won their two National Magazine Awards, as well at their record breaking 6th George Polk Award, although this time for excellence in magazine journalism.

After leaving ''Time'' over monetary issues, Barlett and Steele were hired by '' Vanity Fair'' to be contributing editors under the agreement that they would contribute two articles in their signature long-form style each year. In 2007, Barlett and Steele, while still working for Vanity Fair, were featured in the PBS documentary series '' Exposé: America's Investigative Reports'' in an episode entitled "Friends In High Places," which was about government contracts. When asked on the program how they managed to work for so many years together, Barlett said, "We're both very boring. Who else reads the tax codes?"

Death

Barlett died at his home in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia on October 5, 2024. He was 88 years old.

Impact

Barlett and Steele are used as examples in investigative reporting textbooks as a model of technique and excellence in journalism. As career investigative journalists, Barlett and Steele have become well known for their teamwork, "documents state of mind," consistent accuracy, "replicability" for revealing their sources, and ability to make their work relevant to ordinary people, such as in "America: What Went Wrong?". Their employers, especially Gene Roberts at ''The Inquirer'', provided them with the opportunity to spend a long period of time reviewing documents in pursuit of journalism with depth and gave them the space to publish their work in lengthy articles in newspapers and magazines.

About Barlett and Steele, fellow investigative reporter Bob Woodward said, "They're an institution. They have kind of perfected a method of doing their work, and I have the highest regard for it. Systematic, comprehensive − they take a long time, and they don't mind saying what their conclusions are."

Both Pulitzer Prize Awards illustrate the auditing function of investigative journalism, whereby the press as "The Fourth Estate" watches over government. In 1975, they audited the Internal Revenue Service. In 1989, they acted as watchdogs over the House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dan Rostenkowski and the insertion by Democrats and Republicans of temporary tax breaks in the Tax Reform Act of 1986.

Barlett and Steele are recognized for their significant contributions to investigative business journalism over a career spanning four decades. Their work has garnered multiple awards, including two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Magazine Awards. In acknowledgment of their influence, the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism established the Barlett and Steele Awards in 2007, which honor excellence in print and online investigative business journalism.

Published works

Books

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References

External links

Don Barlett and Jim Steele's website

Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism


Terry Gross's interview about gambling on reservations with Barlett & Steele on NPR's Fresh Air
(December 16, 2002)

Terry Gross's interview "The Big Business of Health Care" with Barlett & Steele on NPR's Fresh Air
(October 6, 2004)


(July 2007)

Once There Were Giants
Columbia Journalism Review, May 18, 2006

Liberadio(!) Interview with Don Barlett
(February 12, 2007)
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''In Depth'' interview with Barlett and Steele, January 6, 2013

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barlett, Donald L.
1936 births
2024 deaths
American political writers
American male non-fiction writers
American investigative journalists
The Philadelphia Inquirer people
Time (magazine) people
Vanity Fair (magazine) people
Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting winners
Gerald Loeb Award winners for Large Newspapers
Gerald Loeb Special Award winners
20th-century American journalists
People from DuBois, Pennsylvania