Donald L. Barlett

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Donald Leon Barlett (July 17, 1936 – October 5, 2024) was an American investigative journalist and author who often collaborated with James B. Steele. According to The Washington Journalism Review, they were a better investigative reporting team than Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.^[2] Together, they won two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Magazine Awards and six George Polk Awards. In addition, they have been recognized by their peers with awards from Investigative Reporters and Editors on five separate occasions. They were known for their reporting technique of delving deep into documents and then, after what could be a long investigative period, interviewing the necessary sources.^[3] The duo worked together for over 40 years and are frequently referred to as Barlett and Steele.

Barlett was raised in DuBois, Pennsylvania. He attended the Penn State University.^[4]

After Penn State, Barlett served as a special agent with the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps for three years until 1956, when he began his journalistic career as a reporter for the Reading (Pennsylvania) Times. Nine years later he became an investigative journalist for The Plain Dealer, and later took similar jobs with The Chicago Daily News and The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he met his collaborator James B. Steele.^{[citation needed]} In 1997, Barlett and Steele became editors-at-large for Time.^{[citation needed]} In 2006, they moved to Vanity Fair as contributing editors. Over the years, Barlett and Steele wrote about diverse topics including crime, economics, politics, and health care.^{[citation needed]}

Barlett and Steele won two Pulitzers and were recognized for their contributions to American journalism for their work at The Philadelphia Inquirer.^{[citation needed]} In 1972, during one of their earliest collaborations for The Inquirer, Barlett and Steele pioneered the use of computers for the analysis of data on violent crimes.^{[citation needed]} Barlett and Steele won their first Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting and the Gerald Loeb Special Award^[5][6] in 1975 for a series called "Auditing the Internal Revenue Service" published by The Inquirer.^[7] They won their second Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting and the Gerald Loeb Award for Large Newspapers^[5] in 1989 at the Inquirer for their coverage of temporary tax breaks embedded in the Tax Reform Act of 1986.^[8] Their 1991 Inquirer series America: What Went Wrong? was named by the New York University department of journalism as 51st on its list of the 100 best pieces of journalism of the 20th century.^[9] Rewritten as a book it became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. It is one of seven books Barlett and Steele have published, five of which were written while at The Inquirer.^{[citation needed]}

After 26 years as a team for The Inquirer, Barlett and Steele left to pursue investigative reporting at Time.^[10] It was while they were at Time that the investigative reporting team won their two National Magazine Awards, as well at their record breaking 6th George Polk Award, although this time for excellence in magazine journalism.^[11]

After leaving Time over monetary issues, Barlett and Steele were hired by Vanity Fair to be contributing editors under the agreement that they would contribute two articles in their signature long-form style each year.^[12][13] In 2007, Barlett and Steele, while still working for Vanity Fair, were featured in the PBS documentary series Exposé: America's Investigative Reports in an episode entitled "Friends In High Places," which was about government contracts. When asked on the program how they managed to work for so many years together, Barlett said, "We're both very boring. Who else reads the tax codes?"

Barlett died at his home in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia on October 5, 2024. He was 88 years old.^[4]

Barlett and Steele are used as examples in investigative reporting textbooks as a model of technique and excellence in journalism. As career investigative journalists, Barlett and Steele have become well known for their teamwork,^[14] "documents state of mind,"^[15] consistent accuracy,^[16] "replicability" for revealing their sources,^[17] and ability to make their work relevant to ordinary people, such as in "America: What Went Wrong?". Their employers, especially Gene Roberts at The Inquirer,^[18] provided them with the opportunity to spend a long period of time reviewing documents in pursuit of journalism with depth and gave them the space to publish their work in lengthy articles in newspapers and magazines.

About Barlett and Steele, fellow investigative reporter Bob Woodward said, "They're an institution. They have kind of perfected a method of doing their work, and I have the highest regard for it. Systematic, comprehensive − they take a long time, and they don't mind saying what their conclusions are."^[16]

Both Pulitzer Prize Awards illustrate the auditing function of investigative journalism, whereby the press as "The Fourth Estate" watches over government. In 1975, they audited the Internal Revenue Service. In 1989, they acted as watchdogs over the House Ways and Means Committee Chair Dan Rostenkowski and the insertion by Democrats and Republicans of temporary tax breaks in the Tax Reform Act of 1986.^{[citation needed]}

Barlett and Steele are recognized for their significant contributions to investigative business journalism over a career spanning four decades. Their work has garnered multiple prestigious awards, including two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Magazine Awards. In acknowledgment of their influence, the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism established the Barlett and Steele Awards in 2007, which honor excellence in investigative reporting within the business sector. These awards aim to highlight the importance of uncovering wrongdoing and holding powerful entities accountable, reinforcing the critical role of investigative journalism in a democratic society.^{[citation needed]}

• Barlett, Donald L.; Steele, James B. (1979). Empire: The Life, Legend, and Madness of Howard Hughes. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-00025-7.
• Barlett, Donald L.; Steele, James B. (1985). Forevermore: Nuclear Waste in America. W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-01920-9.
• Barlett, Donald L.; Steele, James B. (1992). America: What Went Wrong?. Andrews and McMeel. ISBN 0-8362-7001-0.
• Barlett, Donald L.; Steele, James B. (1994). America: Who Really Pays the Taxes?. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-671-87157-9.
• Barlett, Donald L.; Steele, James B. (1996). America: Who Stole the Dream?. Andrews and McMeel. ISBN 0-8362-1314-9.
• Barlett, Donald L.; Steele, James B. (2000). The Great American Tax Dodge: How Spiraling Fraud and Avoidance are Killing Fairness, Destroying the Income Tax, And Costing You. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-81135-1.
• Barlett, Donald L.; Steele, James B. (2004). Critical Condition: How Health Care in America Became Big Business — and Bad Medicine. Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-50454-3.
• Barlett, Donald L.; Steele, James B. (2012). The Betrayal of the American Dream. PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1-586-48969-4.

Wikiquote has quotations related to Donald L. Barlett.

• Don Barlett and Jim Steele's website
• Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism Archived January 17, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
• Terry Gross's interview about gambling on reservations with Barlett & Steele on NPR's Fresh Air (December 16, 2002)
• Terry Gross's interview "The Big Business of Health Care" with Barlett & Steele on NPR's Fresh Air (October 6, 2004)
• Exposé:"Friends in High Places" on PBS Archived July 5, 2017, at the Wayback Machine (July 2007)
• Once There Were Giants, Columbia Journalism Review, May 18, 2006 Archived April 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
• Liberadio(!) Interview with Don Barlett (February 12, 2007)
• Appearances on C-SPAN
  • In Depth interview with Barlett and Steele, January 6, 2013