Michael Kirk | |
|---|---|
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| Born | Denver, Colorado, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Film director,writer,producer |
Michael Kirk is adocumentary filmmaker and the original senior producer[1] ofFrontline, PBS' flagship documentary series, from its inception in 1983 until the fall of 1987, when he created his own production company: the Kirk Documentary Group.[2] He is a formerNieman Fellow in Journalism atHarvard University[3] and has produced more than 200 national television programs covering salient stories in America's history for just over 4 decades.
Kirk was born inDenver, Colorado and later grew up inBoise, Idaho where he attendedBishop Kelly High School. He received a degree in journalism from theUniversity of Idaho in 1971 and was aHarvard UniversityNieman Fellow in 1980.
Kirk was born inDenver and later moved toBoise, Idaho, where he attendedBishop Kelly High School.[citation needed]
He received a degree in journalism from theUniversity of Idaho in 1971 and was aHarvard UniversityNieman Fellow in 1980.[4]
Kirk's history with PBS'sFRONTLINE dates back to its inception and debut in 1983. He has since continued to produce a series of films through his own production company, Kirk Documentary Group. Kirk has produced more than 200 national television programs, winning every major award in broadcast journalism, including sixPeabody Awards, fourduPont-Columbia Awards, twoGeorge Polk awards, 17Emmy Awards, 13Writers Guild of America Awards, and aCronkite Award. He has directed and written more than 100 hours ofFRONTLINE - including five installments of "The Choice," the acclaimed election-year series profiling the two major-party presidential candidates.[5]
Some of his award-winning documentaries includeClarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power, and the Supreme Court[6]Money, Power and Wall Street,League of Denial: The NFL's Concussion Crisis,[7][8]United States of Secrets,[9][10]Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA,[11]The Choice 2016,Trump's Takeover, andPutin's Revenge.[12][13] He produced films about the2008 financial crisis,Inside the Meltdown;Bush's War,[14] about the Iraq War underGeorge W. Bush; andThe Way the Music Died, about the dire straits of the record industry.[15]
Kirk has made upwards of 20 films on theObama andTrump presidencies, includingTrump's Comeback,The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump,The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden,Supreme Revenge,Zero Tolerance,Trump's Takeover,Divided States of America,The Choice 2016,United States of Secrets,Putin's Revenge,The Choice 2012,The Warning and many others.[16] Kirk's most recent films--Democracy on Trial,The Choice 2024: Harris vs. Trump, andBiden's Decision—were the top three most streamedFRONTLINE documentaries in 2024.[17]
Kirk was inducted into the University of Idaho Alumni Hall of Fame in 2000 and given an honorary degree in 2013.[4] He is a former Nieman Fellow in Journalism atHarvard University.[13]
Since 1984, Kirk has notably received every major award in broadcast journalism: sixPeabody Awards, fourduPont-Columbia Awards, twoGeorge Polk awards, 17Emmy Awards, 13Writers Guild of America Awards. More recently, in 2023 and 2024, Kirk won a Peabody Award[18] and an Emmy Award forClarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court.[6] Kirk's 2019 filmPutin's Revenge shared a Gold Baton from the duPont-Columbia Awards.[12] That same year, Kirk and Mike Wiser then won a Writers Guild Award in the Documentary Scripts – Current Events category, forTrump's Takeover.[19] In 2015, 2016, and 2017, Kirk had consecutive Emmy wins forUnited States of Secrets,[20]Gunned Down: The Power of the NRA,[21] andThe Choice 2016.[22]
Michael Kirk's body of work has been widely acknowledged throughout his career. Philip Kennicott described Kirk's documentary style inThe Washington Post as "rigorous, even obsessive about getting the chronology straight" and added "if newspapers do the rough draft of history, Kirk does a very smooth and fascinating second draft."[23]
As reported by critic Robert Lloyd inThe Los Angeles Times, Kirk's multi-award-winning film,United States of Secrets is "nuanced" and "compelling".[24]Variety's Sonia Saraiya wrote that his four-hour mini-seriesDivided States of America "may well be the most important piece of journalism about this tumultuous era of identity politics and populist backlash."[25]
