Cam Simpson is a London-based writer and journalist. He is currently the senior international correspondent for ''
Bloomberg Businessweek
''Bloomberg Businessweek'', previously known as ''BusinessWeek'', is an American weekly business magazine published fifty times a year. Since 2009, the magazine is owned by New York City-based Bloomberg L.P. The magazine debuted in New York City ...
'' in London, and ''
Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Televi ...
''. Previously, he worked for ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'', with posts in the Middle East and Washington.
and as a
foreign correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is usually a journalist or commentator for a magazine, or an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, locati ...
for the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' where he was responsible for covering
US foreign policy and investigative projects in Washington and overseas.
Early life and education
Simpson was raised in
St. Charles, Illinois. He obtained his degree in political science and journalism from
Eastern Illinois University
Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...
.
Career
In an interview with the Poynter Institute, Simpson said many of his investigative pieces for ''Businessweek'' focus on connecting people who pull the levers of power in the world with "the people who get caught in the gears." Several of Simpson’s investigative features for Businessweek have focused on the world’s technology giants. A 2014 piece detailed how Samsung tried to silence or thwart the families of young women who contracted rare cancers working on its assembly lines (the company issued an apology on South Korean television for its treatment of the families). After a 2013 story about the exploitation of foreign migrant workers who made iPhone cameras, Apple said it banned all forms of bonded labor from its supplier factories worldwide. A 2012 cover story exposed death and environmental destruction in the global supply chain for all smartphones and tablets, for which Apple also later acknowledged its role.
Beyond tech companies, Simpson's reporting also included a 2014 piece detailing the role of the largest-listed hedge fund on Wall Street in providing a $100 million cash infusion for Robert Mugabe’s government as he was rolling out a campaign of violence, torture and murder to hold onto power in Zimbabwe. Simpson also has done features for the magazine on the corporate structure and financial power of the Islamic State.
In September 2015, Publisher’s Marketplace announced that HarperCollins had signed Simpson to write a narrative non-fiction book about a trio of human rights lawyers and a journalist who unravel the mysterious murders of a dozen unlikely victims of the Iraq war, following a trail of profiteers from the Himalayas to Houston.
Previously, he worked for ''The Wall Street Journal'', with posts in the Middle East and Washington
and as a correspondent for the Chicago Tribune where he was responsible for covering US foreign policy and investigative projects in Washington and overseas.
He previously covered federal crime and organized crime for the Tribune in Chicago.
Before his time at the ''Tribune'', he worked for the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' covering federal and organized crime, the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
, and US courts. Simpson has also worked for ''
The Indianapolis Star
''The Indianapolis Star'' (also known as ''IndyStar'') is a morning daily newspaper that began publishing on June 6, 1903, in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It has been the only major daily paper in the city since 1999, when the ''Indianap ...
'', the ''
Evansville Courier
The ''Evansville Courier & Press'' is a daily newspaper based in Evansville, Indiana. It serves about 30,000 daily and 50,000 Sunday readers.
History
The ''Evansville Courier'' was founded in 1845 by William Newton, a young attorney. Its first ...
'', and ''The News-Gazette'' in
Champaign, Illinois
Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...
.
Awards
*2015 Overseas Press Club of America
*2014 Overseas Press Club of America (Joe and Laurie Dine Award for best reporting on human rights in any medium)
*2005 Overseas Press Club of America
*2003 Overseas Press Club of America (citation for human rights reporting)
*2014 Gerald Loeb Award for Magazine business journalism for "Stranded: An iPhone Tester Caught in Apple's Supply Chain"
*2005 George Polk Award, International Reporting
*2003 George Polk Award, National Reporting
*
Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award
The Robert F. Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism is a journalism award named after Robert F. Kennedy and awarded by the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights. The annual awards are issued in several categories and were est ...
, International Reporting
*
The Hillman Prize
The Hillman Prize is a journalism award given out annually by The Sidney Hillman Foundation, named for noted American labor leader Sidney Hillman. It is given to "journalists, writers and public figures who pursue social justice and public polic ...
*Foreign Press Association Media Awards (London)
*National Press Club Award
*Edward Scott Beck Award for Foreign Reporting
*2021
Gerald Loeb Award for Investigative business journalism for "Addicted to Profit", ''
Bloomberg News
Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg Televi ...
''
References
External links
"On EXPOSÉ: Human Trafficking to Military Bases" ''PBS'', September 19, 2007
"Journalists Cam Simpson and Flynn McRoberts" ''Fresh Air'', November 19, 2003
Appearance on the PBS NewshourNPR interview on the corporate structure of Islamic StateDocumentary short on the global supply chain for electronicsTV news story on the foreign migrant workers in Apple’s supply chainAcceptance speech for an Overseas Press Club award
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Cam
American male journalists
George Polk Award recipients
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
The Wall Street Journal people
Chicago Tribune people
Gerald Loeb Award winners for Investigative
Gerald Loeb Award winners for Magazines
People from St. Charles, Illinois
Journalists from Illinois
Eastern Illinois University alumni