Hollis Jefferson "Jeff" Nesmith Jr. (June 28, 1940), was born in Hillsborough County, Florida.
He is an American journalist and author. In 1998 while at the ''
Dayton Daily News
The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately ...
'', he won the
Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting
This Pulitzer Prize has been awarded since 1942 for a distinguished example of reporting on national affairs in the United States. In its first six years (1942–1947), it was called the Pulitzer Prize for Telegraphic Reporting – National.
Li ...
with
Russell Carollo for uncovering mismanagement in military healthcare.
Nesmith graduated with his bachelor's degree from the
University of Florida School of Journalism in 1963.
He is the author of ''No Higher Honor,'' published in 1999, a history of the
USS Yorktown
USS ''Yorktown'' may refer to the following ships of the United States Navy:
* , a 16-gun sloop-of-war
In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen ...
, frequently referred to as "Uncle Joe's boat." Nesmith served on 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 ...
steering committee from 1999 through 2002.
Career
After graduation, Nesmith worked as a part-time reporter with the ''Plant City Courier'' in Florida and then taught 12th grade at Howey Academy, in Florida from 1963 to 1964.
His first full-time job in the news business was as an obituary writer for the ''
Atlanta Constitution
''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the Atlanta metropolitan area, metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Con ...
'', he continued with the ''Constitution'', as a reporter covering the police, city government and, state politics. By 1968, Nesmith was the assistant city editor at the ''Constitution''.
He briefly worked at the
''Philadelphia Evening Bulletin'', before the paper "crumbled," returning to work with
Cox News Service
CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company pri ...
, at the Washington D.C. bureau.
Nesmith worked on projects with the ''
Dayton Daily News
The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately ...
'', one of three Ohio newspapers owned by Cox.
In his last position with Cox, he served as Correspondent for Health and Science.
Nesmith was a finalist for the Pulitzer for national reporting in 1996, with Carol Hernandez, Russell Carollo and Cheryl Reed, for his contributions on two articles, "Military Secrets" and "Prisoners on the Payroll."
1998: Unnecessary Danger series
While working in Spokane, Washington, fellow colleague, Russell Carollo, heard about a doctor in the military who had been accused of a crime, and subsequently, that military doctors do not need to be certified in the state where they practice. Jeff Nesmith, (already a part of Cox Enterprises, owners of the ''Dayton Daily News'') joined with Carollo, and they began a year-long investigation
into the military healthcare system, concerned that a standard that low, "would result in hurting a lot of people," and "attract doctors with problems practicing in a civilian system." Carollo, discovered his concerns were not unfounded.
In the fall of 1997, the ''Dayton Daily News'', published a series of seven stories, titled, "Unnecessary Danger," written by Nesmith and Carollo, reporting on flaws in the military's health care system and protections that specifically protected the military from lawsuits over medical malpractice such as the 1950
Feres doctrine
''Feres v. United States'', 340 U.S. 135 (1950), combined three pending federal cases for a hearing in certiorari in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the United States is not liable under the Federal Tort Claims Act for in ...
and the 1943 Military Claims Act.
The first article in the series explained, "Congress in 1986 passed a law prohibiting the release of any information about the quality of military doctors. Many states have similar laws, intended to encourage open discussions among doctors. But the military uses the federal law to protect the same types of information
state medical boards release every day."
During the year-long investigation, Carollo and Nesmith found 200 doctors that were "linked to incompetence and
malpractice
In the law of torts, malpractice, also known as professional negligence, is an "instance of negligence or incompetence on the part of a professional".Malpractice definition,
Professionals who may become the subject of malpractice actions inc ...
," including one doctor accused of malpractice 15 times over 14-years. The doctor had been installed as the hospital commander in Germany.
The reports outlined how the military system failed to meet the same standards and safeguards enjoyed by the civilian population to include allowing military doctors to practice healthcare without state medical licences; these flaws sometimes led to injury and death. The first article in the series was published on October 5, 1997. The series of stories is listed below.
* ''Flawed and Sometimes Deadly'', October 5, 1997.
* ''The Needle went Wrong'', October 6, 1997.
* ''Too Many Patients Too Little Time'', October 7, 1997.
* ''Special Licences for Some Doctors'', October 8, 1997.
* ''Double Standards of Care'', October 9, 1997.
* ''The Man in the White Coat was no Doctor'', October 10, 1997.
* ''Laws and Rulings Shield Doctors'', October 11, 1997.
The project won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting.
The ''
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
'', reported on April 14, 1998, that "after the series was published, the military promised Congress it would make more than a dozen changes to its medical system, and the Pentagon announced the creation of a civilian board to review malpractice cases."
Personal
Hollis Jefferson Nesmith Jr., was born to parents, Hollis Jefferson and Thetis Jefferson.
He used his full name early in his career, while writing for the ''Atlanta Constitution'', choosing to use "Jeff," some time after 1968.
Nesmith married Achsah (Posey) Nesmith, in 1966;
they have two children: Susannah Nesmith, a reporter and media specialist based in Miami FL, and Jeff Nesmith, a designer and filmmaker based in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and Washington, DC. His wife, Achsah, is a former journalist and wrote speeches for former president
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
. Nesmith and his wife reside in
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...
.
Awards and recognition
* 1995 Winner, Investigative Reporters and Editors Medal, (with
Russell Carollo and Carol Hernandez) ''Dayton Daily News'', "Military Secrets"
* 1996 Finalist, Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, (with
Carol Hernandez, Russell Carollo and
Cheryl Reed) ''Dayton Daily News'', "Military Secrets" and "Prisoners on the Payroll", investigations into handling misconduct cases in the military
* 1996 Winner, Harvard University's
Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting
The Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting is an award for journalists administered by the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. The program was launched in 1991, with the goal of exposing examples of ...
, (with Carol Hernandez, Russell Carollo and Cheryl Reed) ''Dayton Daily News'', "Military Secrets" and "Prisoners on the Payroll"
* 1998 Winner, Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting, (with Russell Carollo) ''Dayton Daily News''
* 2001 Winner, the Thomas L. Stokes Award for Best Energy and Environmental Writing
* 2002 Winner, the Society of Environmental Journalists Award for Reporting on the Environment
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nesmith, Jeff
University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications alumni
Writers from Dayton, Ohio
Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting winners
Living people
Dayton Daily News
Journalists from Ohio
1940 births