Debbie Cenziper
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Debbie Cenziper is a
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-winning American
investigative journalist Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years rese ...
and nonfiction author. she writes for ''ProPublica'' and is the director of the Medill Investigative Lab at
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
. She spent more than a decade as an investigative reporter at ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', and has written two nonfiction books.


Early life and education

Cenziper grew up in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and graduated from the
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
, in 1992.


Career

She worked as a reporter for the ''
Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...
'', ''
The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...
'', and the South Florida ''
Sun-Sentinel The ''Sun Sentinel'' (also known as the ''South Florida Sun Sentinel'', known until 2008 as the ''Sun-Sentinel'', and stylized on its masthead as ''SunSentinel'') is the main daily newspaper of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, as well as surrounding Br ...
''. She won a 2007
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
for a series of articles exposing corruption and waste in the
Miami-Dade Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...
Housing Agency, which the ''Miami Herald'' published in 2006. She was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2006 for a series of stories on breakdowns in the nation's hurricane-forecasting system. She spent more than a decade as an investigative reporter at ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''. During her time there, she was one of the lead authors of "The Pandora Papers", an award-winning 2021 international investigation about the covert movement of money around the world, co-published with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. In April 2019 she was named the director of The Medill Investigative Lab
Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...
's
Medill School of Journalism The Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications is a constituent school of Northwestern University that offers both undergraduate and graduate programs. It frequently ranks as the top school of journalism in the Unite ...
. Cenziper writes for ''ProPublica''.


Books

She is the co-author of the nonfiction book ''Love Wins: The Lovers and Lawyers Who Fought the Landmark Case for Marriage Equality''. The book, published in 2016 by William Morrow, tells the story behind the landmark ''
Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protect ...
'' Supreme Court case which ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples. The book received a starred review by ''
Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...
'' and was named a notable book of 2016 by ''The Washington Post''. Her second nonfiction book, ''Citizen 865: The Hunt for Hitler's Hidden Soldiers in America'', was published on November 12, 2019, by
Hachette Books Hachette Books, formerly Hyperion Books, is a general-interest book imprint of the Perseus Books Group, which is a division of Hachette Book Group and ultimately a part of Lagardère Group. Established in 1990, Hachette publishes general-intere ...
. In a review in ''The Washington Post'',
Jonathan Kirsch Jonathan Kirsch is an American attorney, writer, and a columnist for the ''Los Angeles Times''. He is a bestselling author of books on religion, the Bible, and Judaism. Biography Life Kirsch earned a B.A. degree in Russian and Jewish history fr ...
wrote, "Cenziper brought her investigative skills to bear on the challenge of retrieving the hard facts, but she also possesses the gift of a storyteller.... 'Citizen 865'' isa highly significant work of investigation that is eye-opening and heartbreaking. She compels us to confront the crimes of the
Trawniki Trawniki is a village in Świdnik County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the present-day gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Trawniki. It lies approximately south-east of Świdnik and south-east of the regio ...
men in a way that burns itself into both memory and history."


Recognition

She is a frequent speaker at universities, national writing conferences, book clubs and festivals. She has been a guest on dozens of television and radio shows, including CNN, MSNBC and NPR’s Talk of the Nation. She and her stories at the ''Miami Herald'' were featured in a national PBS documentary on investigative reporting; her work at ''The Washington Post'' was featured in an award-winning, full-length documentary film, released nationwide in 2013. In June 2017, she was named in a question on the game show ''
Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
'' Host Alex Trebec asked contestants, "Like Bob Woodward at The Washington Post, Debbie Cenziper is this type of reporter, from the Latin for 'to track.'"


Awards

*
Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...
, Gene Miller Award for Investigative Reporting, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 * Investigative Reporters and Editors Award, winner, 2004, finalist, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2013 * Florida Society of Newspaper Editors, gold medal for public service, 2005, 2006, 2007 *
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
finalist, explanatory reporting, 2006 * Pulitzer Prize, local reporting, 2007 *
Sigma Delta Chi Award The Sigma Delta Chi Awards are presented annually by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) (formerly Sigma Delta Chi) for excellence in journalism. The SPJ states the purpose of the award is to promote "the free flow of information vital ...
for investigative reporting, 2007 * Harry Chapin award for reporting on hunger and poverty, 2007 *
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
's Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting, grand prize, 2009, finalist, 2007 *
University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...
, Outstanding Young Alumni Award, 2008 *
George Polk Award The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the award ...
for Metropolitan Reporting, 2008 * Maryland Press and Virginia Press awards, 2008, 2009, 2011 * Heywood Broun award for substantial distinction, 2009, finalist 2014 *
American Society of Newspaper Editors The American Society of News Editors (ASNE) was a membership organization for editors, producers or directors in charge of journalistic organizations or departments, deans or faculty at university journalism schools, and leaders and faculty of ...
, local accountability award, 2014 *
Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award, was created by the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial in 1984, now known as the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights to honour individuals around the world who have shown great courage and have made a significant contr ...
, 2014 * Book award finalist,
Investigative Reporters and Editors Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the quality of journalism, in particular investigative journalism. Formed in 1975, it presents the IRE Awards and holds conferences and training ...
(IRE), 2019 * 2021 (for Pandora Papers): Scripps Howard Award, national/international investigative reporting; Scripps Howard Award, impact award; Overseas Press Club, Malcolm Forbes Award; White House Correspondents Association, Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability


Works

* *


References


External links


"House of Lies"
''
The Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a city in western Miami-Dade County and the Miami metropolitan area, several miles west of Downtown Miami.Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting winners George Polk Award recipients The Washington Post people Miami Herald people University of Florida alumni American women journalists 21st-century American women