A. C. Thompson
American journalist
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A.C. Thompson (born c.1972[1]) is an investigative journalist, producer, and senior reporter with ProPublica[2] and a correspondent for the PBS series Frontline.
Career
Before going into journalism, Thompson held many jobs, including pharmaceutical study test subject, trash collector, bike messenger, punk band roadie, and a martial arts fighter. He has traveled to Afghanistan, where he was reporting for a book written with Trevor Paglen, then a Ph.D graduate student at UC Berkeley.[3]
Thompson has been a reporter for the San Francisco Bay Guardian, SF Weekly, and the Center for Investigative Reporting.[3]
He has also been faculty at New College of California, an instructor in the Media Studies Graduate Program, and taught at the Raising Our Voices program, to train street reporters.[4]
Selected documentaries
| Year | Air Date(s) | Title | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | August 16 and 25 | Law and Disorder | An investigation, in collaboration with The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate, into charges and the cover up of illegal use of force by the New Orleans Police Department against citizens. |
| 2012 | February 21, June 28 | The Child Cases | An investigation, in collaboration with NPR, into deaths of children, for which people were wrongly convicted or imprisoned based on unreliable or wrong medical evidence.[6] |
| 2013 | July 30, September 24 | Life and Death in Assisted Living | An investigation into Emeritus Senior Living, the largest assisted-living company in the United States.[7] |
| 2015 | August 15, November 3 | Terror in Little Saigon | An investigation into unsolved murders of Vietnamese-American journalists.[8] |
| 2018 | August 7 | Documenting Hate: Charlottesville | An investigation into the 2017 Unite the Right rally and the under-preparedness of the local law enforcement.[9] |
| 2018 | February 4, June 18, November 20 | Documenting Hate: New American Nazis | An investigation following the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, focusing on American white supremacist groups, specifically Atomwaffen Division.[10] |
| 2021 | April 13 | American Insurrection (2021) | An investigation, in collaboration with Berkeley Journalism's Investigative Reporting Program, into far-right extremist groups (e.g., the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers) following the 2017 Charlottesville car attack and rally.[11] |
| 2022 | January 4 | American Insurrection (2022) | An update of the original, including more recent events.[12] |
| 2022 | March 29 | Plot to Overturn the Election | An investigation into the misinformation and causes that led to the January 6 United States Capitol attack.[13] |
| 2023 | June 13 | America's Dangerous Trucks | An investigation into deadly accidents between passenger vehicles and large trucks (e.g., Semi-trailer truck).[14] |
Awards
- 2005 George Polk Award for Local Reporting[15] for his series “Forgotten City,” about San Francisco's public housing
- 2011 Emmy nominee for "Law & Disorder"
- 2011 I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence
- 2012 Emmy nominee for "Child Cases"
- 2013 Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award for investigative journalism in connection with the shooting of civilians by police after Hurricane Katrina.[16]
- 2013 Honorary Doctorate from Colby College[16]
- 2016 Emmy nominee for "Terror in Little Saigon"
- 2019 Emmy winner for "Documenting Hate"
- 2019 Walter Cronkite Award for Excellent in Television Political Journalism for "Documenting Hate"
- 2021 Peabody Award nominee for News Coverage his work co-producing the "American Insurrection"
- 2022 Emmy nominee for Best Documentary and Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary for co-producing the "American Insurrection"
- 2024 Emmy nominee for his work co-producing, reporting and writing "America's Dangerous Trucks"
Publications with others
- Torture Taxi. Co-authored with Trevor Paglen. Brooklyn, NY: Melville House Publishing, 2006. ISBN 1-933633-09-3.
- Icon, 2007. ISBN 9781840468304.