Donald L. Barlett | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Donald Leon Barlett (1936-07-17)July 17, 1936 DuBois, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | October 5, 2024(2024-10-05) (aged 88) |
| Alma mater | Pennsylvania State University |
| Occupations |
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| Spouse | Nancy Barlett |
| Website | http://barlettandsteele.com/ |
Donald Leon Barlett (July 17, 1936 – October 5, 2024) was an Americaninvestigative journalist and author writing forThe Inquirer,Time Inc., andVanity Fair Magazine. Barlett partnered withJames B. Steele, with whom he won twoPulitzer Prizes, twoNational Magazine Awards, and sixGeorge Polk Awards.[1] 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.[2] The duo worked together for over 40 years and are frequently referred to asBarlett and Steele.
Donald Leon Barlett was born on July 17, 1936 inDuBois, Pennsylvania, to James and Mary (née Wineberg) Barlett.[3][4] He grew up inJohnstown, Pennsylvania, and attendedPenn State University from 1954 to 1955.[3][5]
After Penn State, Barlett served as a special agent with theU.S. ArmyCounter Intelligence Corps for three years until 1956, when he began his journalistic career as a reporter for theReading (Pennsylvania) Times. Nine years later he became an investigative journalist forThe Plain Dealer, and later took similar jobs withThe Chicago Daily News andThe Philadelphia Inquirer, where he met his collaborator James B. Steele.[4] In 1997, Barlett and Steele became editors-at-large forTime.[4] In 2006, they moved toVanity Fair as contributing editors. Over the years, Barlett and Steele wrote about diverse topics including crime, economics, politics, and health care.[4]
Barlett and Steele won two Pulitzers and were recognized for their contributions to American journalism for their work atThe Philadelphia Inquirer.[4] In 1973, during one of their earliest collaborations forThe Inquirer, Barlett and Steele pioneered the use of computers for the analysis of data on violent crimes.[6] 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."[6] Barlett and Steele won their firstPulitzer Prize for National Reporting and theGerald Loeb Special Award[7][8] in 1975 for a series called "Auditing the Internal Revenue Service" published byThe Inquirer.[9] They won their second Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting and theGerald Loeb Award for Large Newspapers[7] in 1989 at theInquirer for their coverage of temporary tax breaks embedded in the Tax Reform Act of 1986.[10] Their 1991Inquirer seriesAmerica: What Went Wrong? was named by theNew York University department of journalism as 51st on its list of the 100 best pieces of journalism of the 20th century.[11] Rewritten as a book it became a No. 1New York Times bestseller. It is one of seven books Barlett and Steele have published, five of which were written while atThe Inquirer.[4]
After 26 years as a team forThe Inquirer, Barlett and Steele left to pursue investigative reporting atTime.[12] It was while they were atTime 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.[13]
After leavingTime over monetary issues, Barlett and Steele were hired byVanity Fair to be contributing editors under the agreement that they would contribute two articles in their signature long-form style each year.[14][15] In 2007, Barlett and Steele, while still working for Vanity Fair, were featured in the PBS documentary seriesExposé: 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?"[16]
Barlett died at his home inChestnut Hill, Philadelphia on October 5, 2024. He was 88 years old.[5]
Barlett and Steele are used as examples in investigative reporting textbooks as a model of technique and excellence injournalism. As career investigative journalists, Barlett and Steele have become well known for their teamwork,[17] "documents state of mind,"[18] consistent accuracy,[19] "replicability" for revealing their sources,[20] and ability to make their work relevant to ordinary people, such as in "America: What Went Wrong?". Their employers, especiallyGene Roberts atThe Inquirer,[21] 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."[19]
Both Pulitzer Prize Awards illustrate the auditing function of investigative journalism, whereby the press as "TheFourth Estate" watches over government. In 1975, they audited theInternal Revenue Service. In 1989, they acted as watchdogs over the HouseWays and Means Committee ChairDan Rostenkowski and the insertion by Democrats and Republicans of temporary tax breaks in theTax Reform Act of 1986.[4]
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.[22]
