James V. Grimaldi is an American
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
, investigative reporter, and Senior Writer with 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 ...
''.
He has been awarded the
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 ...
, twice, for
investigative reporting
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 res ...
in 1996, with the staff of the ''
Orange County Register
''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...
,'' and in 2006, for his work on the
Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal The Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal was a United States political scandal exposed in 2005; it related to fraud perpetrated by political lobbyists Jack Abramoff, Ralph E. Reed Jr., Grover Norquist and Michael Scanlon on Native American tribes ...
while working for ''
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 ...
''.
Education
Grimaldi graduated with his bachelor's degree from the
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...
in 1984.
He received his master's degree, in 1993, at the Graduate School of Journalism at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, as a Knight-Bagehot fellow in business and economics journalism.
As an educator
Grimaldi has addressed the topic of investigative reporting and the use of the
Freedom of Information Act (United States)
The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), , is the U.S. federal freedom of information law that requires the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased or uncirculated information and documents controlled by the United States government, s ...
, as a lecturer at
George Washington University
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, established =
, type = Private federally chartered research university
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, endowment = $2.8 billion (2022)
, preside ...
,
Boston College
Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifie ...
, the
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...
,
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
, and
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
.
He has also been a Ferris Professor at
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
.
Background and career
Grimaldi's work has focused on accountability stories about Congress, politicians, presidential campaigns, D.C. public schools, the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
, the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
, the National Zoo, and many other areas. He has won several awards during his career and is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
His work with the staff of ''The Washington Post'' on "The Hidden Life of Guns" series, won him the Freedom of Information medal.
Grimaldi began his career in journalism after graduation; his first job was writing about the police and the border patrol for the ''
San Diego Tribune
''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868.
Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...
,'' in 1984.
He left after three years, to work for the ''Orange County Register,'' in California, where he worked on a series of stories about a women's prison and contributed to the Pulitzer prize-winning series about the scandal at a University of California hospital fertility clinic.
Grimaldi left the ''Register'', to join an accelerated study program, after winning a Knight-Bagehot fellowship, earning his master's degree through the program.
After graduation, he returned to the ''Register'' and in 1996 he moved to Washington, D.C. to work as bureau chief.
In 1998, Grimaldi went to work for ''
The Seattle Times
''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...
.''
His work at the ''Times'' included coverage of
Boeing
The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...
and the antitrust lawsuit against
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
.
In 2000, he left to begin what would become a 12-year career with ''The Washington Post,'' where he continued coverage of Microsoft.
Grimaldi, with other staff members, won the Pulitzer prize for a series of stories covering the
Jack Abramoff
Jack Allan Abramoff (; born February 28, 1959) is an American lobbyist, businessman, film producer, writer, and convicted felon. He was at the center of an extensive corruption investigation led by Earl Devaney that resulted in his conviction ...
scandals, as well as stories about presidential and congressional elections.
He contributed to the book, "Deadlock: The Inside Story of America's Closest Election," as well as wrote about the ballot dispute during the
2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida. Grimaldi also wrote about the
September 11
Events Pre-1600
* 9 – The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends: The Roman Empire suffers the greatest defeat of its history and the Rhine is established as the border between the Empire and the so-called barbarians for the next four hu ...
attacks.
In 2012, Grimaldi left the ''Post'' to join ''The Wall Street Journal'', where he is currently working as a Senior Editor.
Grimaldi has served as a board member, and president with the
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 ...
and on the steering committee of the
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that provides pro bono legal services and resources to and on behalf of journalists. The organization pursues litigation, offers direct ...
.
Awards
* 1996 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, for contributions with the staff of the ''Orange County Register'', for a series of stories reporting uncovering fraud and unethical practices at a research university hospital
* 1998 Best of Knight-Bagehot Business Journalism Award for best story by a former fellow, for a series of stories about lawsuits against Microsoft while working at ''The Seattle Times''
* 1999 Washington Correspondence Award from the
National Press Club
Organizations
A press club is an organization for journalists and others professionally engaged in the production and dissemination of news. A press club whose membership is defined by the press of a given country may be known as a National Press ...
, for a series of stories about lawsuits against Microsoft while working at ''The Seattle Times''
* 1999 Robin Goldstein Award from the National Press Club, for local coverage of the
District of Columbia
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
area
* 2005
Worth Bingham Prize
The Worth Bingham Prize, also referred to as the Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Reporting, is an annual journalism award which honors: "newspaper or magazine investigative reporting of stories of national significance where the public inter ...
for Investigative Reporting, with Susan Schmidt and R. Jeffrey Smith, for their series of stories on Jack Abramoff, with ''The Washington Post''
* 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting, with the staff of ''The Washington Post'', for their series of stories about congressional corruption and lobbyist Jack Abramoff that exposed congressional corruption
* 2006
Seldon Ring Award for Investigative Reporting, with the staff of ''The Washington Post,'' for their series of stories on Jack Abramoff
* 2008
Casey Medal for Meritorious Service, for his work on the D.C. public school system
* 2010 Freedom of Information Medal from Investigative Reporters and Editors for "The Hidden Life of Guns," a series about gun ownership in the U.S., with the staff of ''The Washington Post''.
*
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimaldi, James V.
Living people
American male journalists
Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting winners
Year of birth missing (living people)