John Frank Stossel (born March 6, 1947) is an American
libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
television presenter, author, consumer journalist, and pundit. He is known for his career as a host on
ABC News
ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...
,
Fox Business Network
Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenu ...
, and
Reason TV
''Reason'' is an American libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 50,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the ''Chicago Tribune''.
History
''Reaso ...
.
Stossel's style combines reporting and commentary. It reflects a libertarian political philosophy and views on economics which are largely supportive of the
free market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
. He began his journalism career as a researcher for
KGW-TV, was a consumer reporter at
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station ...
in New York City, and then joined ABC News as a consumer editor and reporter on ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...
''. Stossel became an
ABC News
ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...
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, locat ...
, joining the weekly news magazine program ''
20/20
Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...
'', and later became a
co-anchor. In October 2009, Stossel left
ABC News
ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...
to join the
Fox Business Channel
Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenue ...
. He hosted a weekly news show on Fox Business, ''
Stossel Stoessel, Stössel, or Stossel may refer to:
* Albert Stoessel (1894–1943), American composer, violinist and conductor
* Anatoly Stessel (1848–1915), Russian baron, military leader, and general
* Johann Stössel (1524–1576), Lutheran reformer ...
'', from December 2009 to December 2016. In 2019, Stossel launched StosselTV, an online channel distributed on social media.
Stossel has received 19
Emmy Awards
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
and five awards 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 Pres ...
.
[Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity](_blank)
Fraser Institute
The Fraser Institute is a libertarian-conservative Canadian public policy think tank and registered charity. The institute describes itself as independent and non-partisan. It is headquartered in Vancouver, with additional offices in Calgary, Tor ...
. Posted July 3, 2006. Retrieved July 21, 2009. He has written three books: ''Give Me a Break'' in 2004, ''Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity'' in 2007, and '' No, They Can't: Why Government Fails – But Individuals Succeed'' in 2012.
Early life
John F. Stossel was born on March 6, 1947, in Chicago Heights, Illinois
Chicago Heights is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 27,480 at the 2020 census. In earlier years, Chicago Heights was nicknamed "The Crossroads of the Nation". Currently, it is nicknamed ...
, the younger of two sons,[Stossel, John (2004). ''Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media''. ]HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News C ...
. pp. 2–3 to Jewish parents who left Germany before Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
rose to power. The family joined a Congregationalist church in the U.S., and Stossel was raised Protestant.[Gonczi, Esther (March 4, 2001)]
"King David Society Praises Generosity"
. ''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 B ...
''. He grew up on Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
's affluent North Shore North Shore or Northshore may refer to:
Geographic features Australia
*North Shore (Sydney), a suburban region of Sydney
**Electoral district of North Shore
**North Shore railway line, Sydney
*Noosa North Shore, Queensland
* North Shore, New So ...
and graduated from New Trier High School
New Trier High School (, also known as New Trier Township High School or NTHS) is a public high school, public four-year high school, with its main campus for sophomores through seniors located in Winnetka, Illinois, United States, and a campus in ...
. Stossel characterizes his older brother, Thomas P. Stossel
Thomas P. Stossel (September 10, 1941 – September 29, 2019) was an American hematologist, inventor, medical researcher, and writer that discovered gelsolin, and invented the BioAegis technology estate. He was also a professor emeritus of medici ...
, as "the superstar of the family", commenting, "While I partied and played poker, he studied hard, got top grades, and went to Harvard Medical School." Stossel characterizes himself as having been "an indifferent student" while in college, commenting, "I daydreamed through half my classes at Princeton, and applied to grad school only because I was ambitious, and grad school seemed like the right path for a 21-year-old who wanted to get ahead." Although he had been accepted to the University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
's School of Hospital Management, Stossel was "sick of school" and thought taking a job would inspire him to embrace graduate studies with renewed vigor.[
]
Career
Early career
In school, Stossel aspired to work at ''Seattle Magazine'', but it went out of business by the time he graduated. His contacts there assisted him in getting a job at KGW-TV in Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populou ...
, where Stossel began as a newsroom gofer, working his way up to researcher and then writer. After a few years, the news director told Stossel to go on the air and read what he wrote. Despite his stage fright
Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, real or imagined, whether actually or potentially (for example, when per ...
, Stossel says his fear spurred him to improve, examining and imitating broadcasts of David Brinkley
David McClure Brinkley (July 10, 1920 – June 11, 2003) was an American newscaster for NBC and ABC in a career lasting from 1943 to 1997.
From 1956 through 1970, he co-anchored NBC's top-rated nightly news program, '' The Huntley–Brinkle ...
and Jack Perkins. Stossel had also stuttered since childhood. After a few years of on-air reporting, Stossel was hired by WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV (channel 2) is a television station in New York City, serving as the flagship of the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside Riverhead, New York–licensed independent station ...
in New York City, by Ed Joyce, the same news director who hired Arnold Diaz, Linda Ellerbee
Linda Ellerbee (born Linda Jane Smith; August 15, 1944) is an American journalist, anchor, producer, reporter, author, speaker and commentator, noted as longtime Washington correspondent for NBC News and host of NBC News Overnight. She is widel ...
, Dave Marash
David Marash, known as Dave Marash (born May 3, 1942), is an American television journalist known for his work at ABC News and Al Jazeera English.
Career
A graduate of Williams College , Marash worked at New Brunswick, New Jersey, station WCTC-AM ...
, Joel Siegel and Lynn Sherr
Lynn Sherr (born March 4, 1942) is an American broadcast journalist and author, best known as a correspondent for the ABC news magazine '' 20/20''.
Life
Sherr was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and attended Lower Merion High School in Ard ...
. Stossel was disappointed at CBS, feeling that the more limited amount of time spent there on research lowered the quality of its journalism compared to Portland. Stossel cites union work rules that discouraged the extra work that Stossel felt allowed employees to be creative, which he says represented his "first real introduction to the deals made by special interests". Stossel also "hated" Joyce, who he felt was "cold and critical", though Stossel credits Joyce with allowing him the freedom to pursue his own story ideas, and with recommending the Hollins Communications Research Institute in Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke ( ) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. At the 2020 census, the population was 100,011, making it the 8th most populous city in the Commonwealth of Virginia and the largest city in Virginia west of Richmond. It is ...
, that helped Stossel manage his stutter.[Stossel. 2004. pp. 3–8]
Stossel grew continuously more frustrated with having to follow the assignment editor's vision of what was news. Perhaps because of his stuttering, he had always avoided covering what others covered, feeling he could not succeed if he were forced to compete with other reporters by shouting out questions at news conferences. However, this led to the unexpected realization for Stossel that more important events were those that occurred slowly, such as the women's movement
The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality between men and women. Such i ...
, the growth of computer technology, and advancements in contraception
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
, rather than daily events like government pronouncements, elections, fires, or crime. One day, Stossel bypassed the assignment editor to give Ed Joyce a list of story ideas the assignment editor had rejected. Joyce agreed that Stossel's ideas were better, and approved them.[ Stossel has served as a spokesman for the ]Stuttering Foundation of America
The Stuttering Foundation of America provides free online resources, services and support to those who stutter and their families, as well as support for research into the causes of stuttering. A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, The Stuttering F ...
.
''20/20''
In 1981 Roone Arledge
Roone Pinckney Arledge Jr. (July 8, 1931 – December 5, 2002) was an American sports and news broadcasting executive who was president of ABC Sports from 1968 until 1986 and ABC News from 1977 until 1998, and a key part of the company's rise ...
offered Stossel a job at ABC News
ABC News is the journalism, news division of the American broadcast network American Broadcasting Company, ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other progra ...
, as a 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, locat ...
for ''20/20
Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...
'' and consumer reporter for ''Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...
''. His "Give Me a Break" segments for the former featured a skeptical
Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...
look at subjects from government regulation
Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...
s and pop culture
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' ...
to censorship and unfounded fear. The series was spun off into a series of one-hour specials with budgets of half a million dollars that began in 1994. During the course of his work on ''20/20'', Stossel discovered ''Reason
Reason is the capacity of Consciousness, consciously applying logic by Logical consequence, drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activ ...
'' magazine, and found that the libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
ideas of its writers made sense to him. Stossel was named co-anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ...
of ''20/20'' in May 2003, while he was writing his first book, ''Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media'', which was published in 2004. In it, he details his start in journalism and consumer reporting, and how he evolved to harbor libertarian beliefs.[
]
Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network
In September 2009, it was announced that Stossel was leaving Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
's ABC News and joining News Corp.'s Fox News Channel
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ...
and Fox Business Network
Fox Business (officially known as Fox Business Network, or FBN) is an American business news channel and website publication owned by the Fox News Media division of Fox Corporation. The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenu ...
. In addition to appearing on ''The O'Reilly Factor
''The O'Reilly Factor'' (originally titled ''The O'Reilly Report'' and also known as ''The Factor'') is an American cable television news and talk show. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' first aired in the United States on Fox News Channel on October 7 ...
'' every Tuesday night, he also hosted a one-hour weekly program for Fox Business Network and a series of one-hour specials for Fox News Channel, as well as making regular guest appearances on Fox News programs.
The program, ''Stossel Stoessel, Stössel, or Stossel may refer to:
* Albert Stoessel (1894–1943), American composer, violinist and conductor
* Anatoly Stessel (1848–1915), Russian baron, military leader, and general
* Johann Stössel (1524–1576), Lutheran reformer ...
'', debuted December 10, 2009, on Fox Business Network. The program examined issues related to individual freedom, free market capitalism and small government, such as civil liberties, the business of health care, and free trade
Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. It can also be understood as the free market idea applied to international trade. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold ...
. The final episode premiered on December 16, 2016. At the end of that episode, a retrospective that spotlighted moments from seven years of the program, Stossel explained that due to his age, he wanted to help develop a younger generation of journalists with his views, and would continue to appear as a guest on Fox programs, and also help produce content for Reason TV
''Reason'' is an American libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 50,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the ''Chicago Tribune''.
History
''Reaso ...
. His blog, "Stossel's Take", is published on both FoxBusiness.com and FoxNews.com.[Ariens, Chris (September 10, 2009]
"John Stossel Leaving ABC For Fox"
Mediabistro.com. Retrieved September 10, 2009.
Stossel TV
In 2019, Stossel launched Stossel TV, an online channel which distributes weekly videos via social media platforms. Videos challenge assumptions about the effectiveness of government regulations and programs, illustrate how free markets help people live better lives, and teach the principles and benefits of a free society.
Publications
Stossel has written three books. ''Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media'' is a 2005 autobiography from Harper Perennial documenting his career and philosophical transition from liberalism
Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for ...
to libertarianism. It describes his opposition to government regulation, his belief in free market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
and private enterprise, support for tort reform
Tort reform refers to changes in the civil justice system in common law countries that aim to reduce the ability of plaintiffs to bring tort litigation (particularly actions for negligence) or to reduce damages they can receive. Such changes ...
, and advocacy for shifting social services from the government to private charities. It was a New York Times bestseller
''The New York Times'' Best Seller list is widely considered the preeminent list of best-selling books in the United States.John Bear, ''The #1 New York Times Best Seller: intriguing facts about the 484 books that have been #1 New York Times ...
for 11 weeks. ''Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel – Why Everything You Know Is Wrong'', which was published in 2007 by Hyperion, questions the validity of various conventional wisdom
The conventional wisdom or received opinion is the body of ideas or explanations generally accepted by the public and/or by experts in a field. In religion, this is known as orthodoxy.
Etymology
The term is often credited to the economist John ...
s, and argues that the belief he is conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
is untrue. On April 10, 2012, Threshold Editions, an imprint of Simon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pub ...
, published Stossel's third book ''No, They Can't: Why Government Fails – But Individuals Succeed''. It argues that government policies meant to solve problems instead produce new ones, and that free individuals and the private sector perform tasks more efficiently than the government does.
With financial support from the libertarian Palmer R. Chitester Fund, Stossel and ABC News launched a series of educational materials for public schools in 1999 entitled "Stossel in the Classroom". It was taken over in 2006 by the Center for Independent Thought and releases a new DVD of teaching materials annually. In 2006, Stossel and ABC released ''Teaching Tools for Economics'', a video series based on the National Council of Economics Education standards.
Since February 2011, Stossel has written a weekly newspaper column for Creators Syndicate
Creators Syndicate (also known as Creators) is an American independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns to daily newspapers, websites, and other digital outlets. When founded in 1987, Creators Syndicate became one of the few suc ...
.["About John Stossel"]
Creators Syndicate
Creators Syndicate (also known as Creators) is an American independent distributor of comic strips and syndicated columns to daily newspapers, websites, and other digital outlets. When founded in 1987, Creators Syndicate became one of the few suc ...
. Retrieved August 2, 2012. His articles appear in such online publications as Newsmax
Newsmax (Newsmax Media, Inc. or Newsmax.com, previously styled NewsMax) is an American right-wing to far-right cable news and digital media company founded by Christopher Ruddy on September 16, 1998. Newsmax Media divisions include its cable ...
, ''Reason'', and Townhall
Townhall is an American politically conservative website, print magazine and radio news service. Previously published by The Heritage Foundation, it is now owned and operated by Salem Communications. The website features more than 80 columns ...
.
Political positions
Stossel purports to debunk myths in his journalism. His ''Myths and Lies'' series of ''20/20
Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...
'' specials challenges a range of liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
beliefs. He also hosted ''The Power of Belief
The Power of Belief was an ABC News Special aired on October 6, 1998, hosted by John Stossel. Stossel examines popular claims of therapeutic touch, psychic detectives, faith healing voodoo curses, channelling, and the media's lack of inquiry into ...
'' (October 6, 1998), an ABC News Special that focused on assertions of the paranormal and people's desire to believe. Another report put forward the argument that opposition to DDT
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...
is misplaced and that the ban on DDT has resulted in the deaths of millions of children, mostly in poor nations.
Libertarianism
As a libertarian
Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
, Stossel says that he believes in both personal freedom
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties may ...
and the free market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
. He frequently uses television airtime to advance these views and challenge viewers' distrust of free-market capitalism
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...
and economic competition
In economics, competition is a scenario where different economic firmsThis article follows the general economic convention of referring to all actors as firms; examples in include individuals and brands or divisions within the same (legal) fir ...
. He received an Honoris Causa Doctorate from Francisco Marroquin University
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...
, a libertarian university in Guatemala, in 2008.
Stossel argues that individual self-interest, or "greed", creates an incentive to work harder and to innovate. He argues that this innovation makes the poor richer and the only way people "can get rich is to offer us something that we believe is better than we had before." He promoted school choice
School choice is a term for education options that allow students and families to select alternatives to public schools.
The most common in the United States, by both the number of programs and by the number of participating students are schol ...
as a way to improve American public schools akin to the Belgian voucher system.
Stossel has criticized government programs for being inefficient, wasteful, and harmful. He has also criticized the American legal system, opining that it provides lawyers and vexatious litigators the incentive to file frivolous lawsuits indiscriminately. Although Stossel concedes that some lawsuits are necessary in order to provide justice to people genuinely injured by others with greater economic power, he advocates the adoption in the U.S. of the English rule In the field of law and economics, the English rule is a rule controlling assessment of lawyers' fees arising out of litigation. The English rule provides that the party that loses in court pays the other party's legal costs. The English rule cont ...
as one method to reduce the more abusive or frivolous lawsuits.
Stossel opposes the minimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...
, corporate welfare
Corporate welfare is a phrase used to describe a government's bestowal of money grants, tax breaks, or other special favorable treatment for corporations.
The definition of corporate welfare is sometimes restricted to direct government subsid ...
, bailout
A bailout is the provision of financial help to a corporation or country which otherwise would be on the brink of bankruptcy.
A bailout differs from the term ''bail-in'' (coined in 2010) under which the bondholders or depositors of global sys ...
s and the war in Iraq
This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states.
Other armed conflicts involving Iraq
* Wars during Mandatory Iraq
** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921
* Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...
. He also opposes legal prohibitions against pornography
Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults, , marijuana
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in variou ...
, recreational drugs
Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasur ...
, gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...
, ticket scalping
Ticket resale (also known as ticket scalping or ticket touting) is the act of reselling tickets for admission to events. Tickets are bought from licensed sellers and then sold for a price determined by the individual or company in possession of ...
, prostitution, polygamy
Crimes
Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is marri ...
, and assisted suicide
Assisted suicide is suicide undertaken with the aid of another person. The term usually refers to physician-assisted suicide (PAS), which is suicide that is assisted by a physician or other healthcare provider. Once it is determined that the p ...
, and believes most abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
s should be legal. He advocates lower and simpler taxes, and has endorsed or explored various ideas in his specials and on his TV series for changing the tax system, including switching to a flat tax
A flat tax (short for flat-rate tax) is a tax with a single rate on the taxable amount, after accounting for any deductions or exemptions from the tax base. It is not necessarily a fully proportional tax. Implementations are often progressiv ...
, and replacing the income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
with the FairTax
FairTax was a single rate tax proposal in 2005, 2008 and 2009 in the United States that includes complete dismantling of the Internal Revenue Service. The proposal would eliminate all federal income taxes (including the alternative minimum ta ...
.
When the Department of Labor
The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...
reissued federal guidelines in April 2010 governing the employment of unpaid interns under the Fair Labor Standards Act based on a 1947 Supreme Court decision, Stossel criticized the guidelines, appearing in a police uniform during an appearance on the Fox News program ''America Live
''America Live with Megyn Kelly'' was an American news program that aired on the Fox News Channel. The show aired from February 1, 2010, to late 2013, and was hosted by Megyn Kelly, former co-host of '' America's Newsroom''. It aired 1:003:00 PM ...
'', commenting, "I've built my career on unpaid interns, and the interns told me it was great – I learned more from you than I did in college." Asked why he did not pay them if they were so valuable, he said he could not afford to.
Stossel is a faculty member of the Charles Koch Institute
The Charles Koch Institute is a Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian-oriented public policy research, programming, grant-making, and fellow, fellowship-funding organization based in Virginia. Named after Charles Koch, its founder an ...
.
Stossel has advocated in favor of abolishing the Food and Drug Administration
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...
(FDA).
On April 1, 2016, Stossel moderated the first-ever nationally televised Libertarian presidential debate. The second part of the debate aired on April 8. On May 21, 2020, he moderated the Libertarian Party National Convention Presidential Debate between Jacob Hornberger
Jacob George Hornberger (born January 1, 1950) is an American attorney, author, and politician who was a Libertarian candidate for president in 2000 and 2020. He is the founder and president of the Future of Freedom Foundation.
Early life
Horn ...
, Vermin Supreme
Vermin Love Supreme (born 1960 or 1961) is an American performance artist and activist who has run as a candidate in various local, state, and national elections in the United States. He served as a member of the Libertarian Party's judicial c ...
, Jo Jorgensen
Jo Jorgensen (born May 1, 1957) is an American libertarian political activist and academic. Jorgensen was the Libertarian Party's nominee for president of the United States in the 2020 election, in which she finished third in the popular vot ...
, Jim Gray, and John Monds
John Monds (born June 17, 1965) is an American politician and activist. He was the Libertarian nominee for Governor of Georgia in 2010. He was the first African American to appear on the general election ballot for Governor of Georgia.
In 2008 ...
.
Science
In 2001, the progressive
Progressive may refer to:
Politics
* Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform
** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context
* Progressive realism, an American foreign policy pa ...
media watchdog organization FAIR criticized Stossel's reportage of global warming in his documentary, ''Tampering with Nature,'' for using "highly selective...information" that placed undue emphasis on three dissenters from among the 2,000 members of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human activities. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) a ...
, which had recently released a report stating that global temperatures were rising almost twice as fast as previously thought.
In December 2014, Stossel falsely stated that "There is no good data showing secondhand smoke
Passive smoking is the inhalation of tobacco smoke, called secondhand smoke (SHS), or environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), by persons other than the intended "active" smoker. It occurs when tobacco smoke enters an environment, causing its inhala ...
kills people." The fact-checker website Politifact
PolitiFact.com is an American nonprofit project operated by the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, with offices there and in Washington, D.C. It began in 2007 as a project of the ''Tampa Bay Times'' (then the ''St. Petersburg Time ...
rated this statement "False", citing considerable levels of scientific research showing that secondhand smoke has caused deaths.
Praise and criticism
Awards
As of 2001, Stossel had won 19 Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s. He was honored five times for excellence in consumer reporting by 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 Pres ...
, has received a George Polk Award for Outstanding Local Reporting and a Peabody Award
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program, named for the American businessman and philanthropist George Peabody, honor the most powerful, enlightening, and invigorating stories in television, radio, and ...
. On April 23, 2012, Stossel was awarded the Chapman University
Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California. It encompasses ten schools and colleges, including Fowler School of Engineering, Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Fowler School of Law, and Schmid College of Scie ...
Presidential Medal, by the current president, James Doti, and chancellor, Danielle Struppa. The award has been presented to only a handful of people over the past 150 years. Stossel received an honorary doctorate from Universidad Francisco Marroquín
Francisco Marroquín University (Spanish: ''Universidad Francisco Marroquín''), also known by the abbreviation UFM, is a private, secular university in Guatemala City, Guatemala. It describes its mission as "to teach and disseminate the ethical ...
.
Praise
The Nobel Prize-winning Chicago School monetarist
Monetarism is a school of thought in monetary economics that emphasizes the role of governments in controlling the amount of money in circulation. Monetarist theory asserts that variations in the money supply have major influences on natio ...
economist Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the ...
lauded Stossel, stating: "Stossel is that rare creature, a TV commentator who understands economics, in all its subtlety." Steve Forbes
Malcolm Stevenson Forbes Jr. (; born July 18, 1947) is an American publishing executive and politician who is the editor-in-chief of ''Forbes'', a business magazine. He is the son of longtime ''Forbes'' publisher Malcolm Forbes and the grands ...
, the editor of ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' magazine, described Stossel as riveting and "one of America's ablest and most courageous journalists." P. J. O'Rourke
Patrick Jake O'Rourke (November 14, 1947 – February 15, 2022) was an American libertarian political satirist and journalist. O'Rourke was the H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute and a regular correspondent for ' ...
, best-selling author of ''Eat the Rich'' and ''Parliament of Whores'' praised Stossel, stating:
An article published by the libertarian group Advocates for Self Government notes praise for Stossel. Independent Institute Research Analyst Anthony Gregory, writing on the libertarian blog, LewRockwell.com
Llewellyn Harrison Rockwell Jr. (born July 1, 1944) is an American author, editor, and political consultant. A libertarian and a self-professed anarcho-capitalist, he founded and is the chairman of the Mises Institute, a non-profit dedicated to ...
, described Stossel as a "heroic rogue... a media maverick and proponent of freedom in an otherwise statist
In political science, statism is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation and the means of production.
While in use since ...
, conformist mass media." Libertarian investment analyst Mark Skousen
Mark Andrew Skousen (; born October 19, 1947) is an American economist and writer. He currently teaches at Chapman University, where he is a Presidential Fellow at The George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics. He has previously taugh ...
said Stossel is "a true libertarian hero".
Criticism and controversy
Progressive organizations such as Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) is a progressive left-leaning media critique organization based in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. ...
(FAIR) and Media Matters for America
Media Matters for America (MMfA) is a politically left-leaning 501(c)(3), nonprofit organization and media watchdog group. MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and political activist David Brock as a counterweight to the conservative Media ...
(MMfA) have criticized Stossel's work, for what they described as a lack of balance of coverage and distortion of facts on his part. For example, Stossel was criticized for a segment on his October 11, 1999, show during which he argued that AIDS research has received too much funding, "25 times more than on Parkinson's, which kills more people." FAIR pointed out that AIDS had in fact killed more people in the United States in 1999.
In a February 2000 ''Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon ...
'' feature on Stossel titled "Prime-time propagandist
Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to Social influence, influence or persuade an audience to further an Political agenda, agenda, which may not be Objectivity (journalism), objective and may be selectively presenting facts to en ...
", David Mastio wrote that Stossel has a conflict of interest in donating profits from his public speaking engagements to, among others, a non-profit called "Stossel in the Classroom" which includes material for use in schools, some of which uses material made by Stossel.
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
economist James K. Galbraith
James Kenneth Galbraith (born January 29, 1952) is an American economist. He is currently a professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and at the Department of Government, University of Texas at Austin. He is also a Senior Schola ...
has alleged that Stossel, in his September 1999 special ''Is America #1?'', used an out-of-context clip of Galbraith to convey the notion that Galbraith advocated the adoption by Europe of the free market economics practiced by the United States, when in fact Galbraith actually advocated that Europe adopt some of the United States' social benefit transfer mechanisms such as Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
, which is the economically opposite view. Stossel denied any misrepresentation of Galbraith's views and stated that it was not his intention to convey that Galbraith agreed with all of the special's ideas. However, he re-edited that portion of the program for its September 2000 repeat, in which Stossel paraphrased, "Even economists who like Europe's policies, like James Galbraith, now acknowledge America's success."
David Schultz incident
On December 28, 1984, during an interview for ''20/20'' on professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
, wrestler David Schultz struck Stossel twice after Stossel said professional wrestling was "fake". Stossel said he suffered from pain and buzzing in his ears eight weeks after the assault. Stossel sued and obtained a settlement of $280,000 from the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and va ...
(WWF). In his book, ''Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity'', Stossel noted his regret, believing lawsuits harm innocent people. Schultz maintains that he attacked Stossel on orders from Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...
, the head of the then-WWF. This was later re-visited on the second season episode of ''Dark Side of the Ring
''Dark Side of the Ring'' is a Canadian Documentary series, documentary television series produced by Vice Media, Vice Studios. The series focuses on controversial subjects and events within the realm of professional wrestling.
Series overview
...
'', aired on April 28, 2020.
Organic vegetables
A February 2000 story about organic
Organic may refer to:
* Organic, of or relating to an organism, a living entity
* Organic, of or relating to an anatomical organ
Chemistry
* Organic matter, matter that has come from a once-living organism, is capable of decay or is the product o ...
vegetables on ''20/20'' included statements by Stossel that tests had shown that neither organic nor conventional produce samples contained any pesticide residue, and that organic food was more likely to be contaminated by ''E. coli
''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus ''Escher ...
'' bacteria. The Environmental Working Group
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is an American activist group that specializes in research and advocacy in the areas of agricultural subsidies, toxic chemicals, drinking water pollutants, and corporate accountability. EWG is a nonprofi ...
objected to his report, mainly questioning his statements about bacteria, but also managed to determine that the produce had never been tested for pesticides. They communicated this to Stossel, but after the story's producer backed Stossel's statement that the test results had been as described, the story was rebroadcast months later, unchanged, and with a postscript in which Stossel reiterated his claim. Later, after a report in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' confirmed the Environmental Working Group's claims, ABC News suspended the producer of the segment for a month and reprimanded Stossel. Stossel apologized, saying that he had thought the tests had been conducted as reported. However, he asserted that the gist of his report had been accurate.
Frederick K. C. Price
In a March 2007 segment about finances and lifestyles of televangelist
Televangelism ( tele- "distance" and " evangelism," meaning " ministry," sometimes called teleministry) is the use of media, specifically radio and television, to communicate Christianity. Televangelists are ministers, whether official or self-p ...
s, ''20/20'' aired a segment by Stossel that included a clip of television minister Frederick K. C. Price
Frederick K. C. Price (January 3, 1932 – February 12, 2021) was an American televangelist and author who was the founder and apostle of Crenshaw Christian Center (CCC), located in South Los Angeles, California. He was known for his ''Ever Incr ...
, which had originally been broadcast by the Lifetime Network
Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared toward ...
in 1997. Price alleged that the clip portrayed him describing his wealth in extravagant terms, when he was actually telling a parable about a rich man. ABC News twice aired a retraction and apologized for the error. The suit concluded with an out of court settlement including a public apology by ABC.
Lawsuit against fact-checkers
In September 2021, Stossel sued Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...
over libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defi ...
issues, after fact checkers, including Science Feedback and Climate Feedback
Climate Feedback (CF) is a web-based content annotation tool that allows qualified scientists to comment on stories online, adding context and noting inaccuracies. It is one of three websites under the Science Feedback parent organization that ...
, labeled Stossel's video titled "Government Fueled Fires" as "misleading" and labeled another video titled "Are We Doomed?" as "partly false" and "factual inaccuracies". Stossel stated that the "misleading label" caused immediate harm to his viewership, advertisement revenue, and reputation and that Facebook and its fact checking partners "falsely attributed to Stossel a claim he never made, and on that basis flagged the content as 'misleading' and 'missing context,' so that would-be viewers would be routed to the false attribution statement." In the first video, Stossel argued that "while climate change undoubtedly contributes to forest fires, it was not the primary cause of the 2020 California fires", instead primarily blaming government mismanagement of forests. In the second video, Stossel questioned statements made by those he refers to as "environmental alarmists", including "claims that hurricanes are getting stronger, that sea level rise poses a catastrophic threat, and that humans will be unable to cope with the fallout." In response, a Facebook spokesperson stated: "We believe this case is without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously against the allegations." In December 2021, Facebook attorneys responded to Stossel's lawsuit, saying that "The labels themselves are neither false nor defamatory; to the contrary, they constitute protected opinion." In October 2022, the federal court ruled against Stossel, granting Facebook's motion to dismiss and anti-SLAPP
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation lawsuits), or strategic litigation against public participation, are lawsuits intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with t ...
motion (which requires Stossel to reimburse Facebook's attorneys fees).
Personal life
Stossel lives in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
with his wife, Ellen Abrams and children, Lauren and Max.[ They also own a home in Massachusetts.
Stossel came to embrace his family's ]Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
heritage after marrying his wife, who is also Jewish. They also raised their children Jewish.[ Stossel identified himself as an ]agnostic
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficie ...
in "Skeptic or Believer", the December 16, 2010 episode of ''Stossel Stoessel, Stössel, or Stossel may refer to:
* Albert Stoessel (1894–1943), American composer, violinist and conductor
* Anatoly Stessel (1848–1915), Russian baron, military leader, and general
* Johann Stössel (1524–1576), Lutheran reformer ...
'', explaining that he had no belief in God
In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...
but was open to the possibility.
Stossel's brother, Thomas P. Stossel
Thomas P. Stossel (September 10, 1941 – September 29, 2019) was an American hematologist, inventor, medical researcher, and writer that discovered gelsolin, and invented the BioAegis technology estate. He was also a professor emeritus of medici ...
, was a Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools ...
professor and co-director of the Hematology Division at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital
Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) is the second largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two fo ...
. He has served on the advisory boards of pharmaceutical companies such as Merck
Merck refers primarily to the German Merck family and three companies founded by the family, including:
* the Merck Group, a German chemical, pharmaceutical and life sciences company founded in 1668
** Merck Serono (known as EMD Serono in the Unite ...
and Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfize ...
. Stossel's nephew is journalist and magazine editor Scott Stossel.
On April 20, 2016, Stossel announced he had lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...
despite never having smoked, and that as a result of its early detection, he would have a fifth of one of his lungs surgically removed.
Books
*
*
*
See also
* List of newspaper columnists
This is a list of notable newspaper columnists. It does not include magazine or electronic columnists.
English-language
Australia
* Phillip Adams (born 1939), ''The Australian''
* Piers Akerman (born 1950), ''The Daily Telegraph''
* Janet A ...
References
External links
*
*
*
Stossel TV YouTube Channel
*
Biographies and articles about Stossel
ABC News Biography
* Johnson, Peter
''USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...
'', April 30, 2006
* Sullum, Jacob
''Reason'', April 1997.
Articles by Stossel
John Stossel's 20/20 Web Page
John Stossel's Newspaper Columns
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stossel, John
1947 births
Living people
ABC News personalities
American agnostics
American columnists
American former Protestants
American libertarians
American people of German-Jewish descent
American political commentators
American skeptics
Emmy Award winners
Fox Business people
Fox News people
George Polk Award recipients
Jewish agnostics
New Trier High School alumni
Peabody Award winners
Princeton University alumni
Television anchors from Portland, Oregon