David J. Armstrong
Darmstrong789@gmail.com
Skilled investigative reporter with more than 20 years experience in
researching and producing reports on governmental agencies, corporations,
non-profit entities, academic institutions and research organizations. Expertise
in computer-assisted reporting, including use of Access and other programs to
examine large data sets.
EXPERIENCE:
Bloomberg News/Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine
2010-Present
Reporter, Projects & Investigations Team
• Series on the mistreatment of brain-injured Americans in expensive facilities
promising cutting-edge care. Led to state investigations, a lawsuit by one of
the largest insurers in the country against a major provider and the eventual
bankruptcy of one of the largest treatment centers in the country.
• Exposed the huge profits earned by doctors performing back surgeries that
frequently don’t work. The stories examined work at large, traditional
hospitals as well as heavily advertised surgeries performed at surgery centers
operated by doctor-owned companies.
• Investigative reports on the poor care provided by clinics targeting victims
of auto accidents. The story exposed the riches earned by the owners of the
clinics as well as the techniques to drain the benefits of victims by providing
often inferior and unproven treatments.
• Other stories on the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry and foreign
bribery by U.S. companies.
The Wall Street Journal
2000-2009
Investigative reporter
• Medical investigations reporting on conflicts of interest. Revealed how
executives and doctors at the Cleveland Clinic, renowned for its heart care,
invested in companies whose medical devices were being tested on clinic
patients. Prompted review and changes at the clinic. Reported on failure of
researchers to report financial ties when publishing in prestigious medical
journals, resulting in studies promoting costly or potentially dangerous
treatments. Disclosed financial incentives to doctors ordering MRI and
laboratory tests for patients. Reported on illegal off-label marketing of
pharmaceuticals.
• Investigative reports on the activities of short sellers and executives at
publicly-traded companies. Stories include reports on financial wrongdoing at
Tyco Inc.; the manipulation of a stock by short sellers; and the behind the
scenes story of a secret investigation by a publicly traded company of one of
its own board members.
• Coverage of events surrounding September 11. Stories included detailed
examinations of security failures at airports; the ill-fated effort to create a
terrorist watch list, and detailed reports on activities and backgrounds of
terrorists.
Boston University
1997-Present
Adjunct professor of journalism
Created course on the use of computer-assisted reporting and other
investigative techniques.
The Boston Globe
1993-2000
Investigative reporter
• Investigation on elevator and escalator safety: Documented lax inspections,
irresponsible management, no-show safety inspectors, cozy relationships
between manufactures and inspectors, rising number of accidents, and
inadequate regulations. Report included database analysis of inspections and
safety records on 30,000 elevators and escalators. State’s public safety
commissioner resigned position.
• Report on the anachronistic ways of the Boston Fire Department which
resulted in racial tension, wasteful spending and conflicts with other agencies.
Reports prompted the resignation of fire commissioner and creation of special
commission that recommended overhaul of department.
• Series of stories that revealed the role of the government as a major polluter,
both in the U.S. and abroad, as well as lax government efforts to enforce
environmental laws.
The Boston Herald
1988-1993
Investigative, general assignment and political reporter
• Computer analysis of 3.5 million parking tickets that discovered more than
60,000 motorists had unwittingly overpaid the city $2 million in fines. City of
Boston was forced to refund much of the money.
• Investigation of the agency charged with training police officers: discovered
illegal hiring practices and improper billing. Resulted in indictments against
agency head, state legislator and lobbyist.
• Produced “Abused by the System” – a detailed report detailing rapes,
beatings, and neglect in state institutions and group homes for the mentally ill
and retarded.
The Brockton Enterprise
1986-1988
City Hall and general assignment reporter
• Exposed rampant nepotism in city government, resulting in the firing of two
employees and a state Ethics Commission fine against a high ranking city
official.
• Revealed illegal favors performed for campaign contributors to mayor.
The Syracuse Herald Journal
1985-1986
General assignment reporter
• Exposed a no-show job arrangement between city of Syracuse and largest
employee union.
EDUCATION:
Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
Bachelor of Science
1982-1986
Majors: Journalism and Political Science
ADVANCED TRAINING:
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
1995
Training in database software and statistical methods.
University of Missouri
1989
Computer-assisted reporting training, including use of database programs.
AWARDS:
2014 New York Press Club Journalism Award – Feature Reporting
(Crimes of the Heart)
2012 Association of Health Care Journalists Awards for Excellence in
Health Care Journalism – First Place, Beat Reporting
(Profit in pain business)
2011 National Headliner Award
(Medicine and Money)
2011 Society of American Business Editors and Writers Best in Business
Award
(Medicine and Money)
2011 2011 NYSSCPA Excellence in Financial Journalism Award
(Medicine and Money)
2007 New York Press Club Consumer Journalism Award
(Health-care crisis stories)
2007 Deadline Club award finalist
(Conflicts in health care)
2007 Health Care Journalism Award finalist
(Conflicts in health care)
2003 Unity Awards in Media
(Abuse of autistic children)
2002 Pulitzer Prize
(Coverage of Sept. 11 attacks with other staff of Wall Street Journal)
1997 Associated Press Award for Enterprise Reporting
(Series of reports on juvenile crime in small, rural Massachusetts towns)
1995 Investigative Reporters and Editors Award for Large Newspapers
(Three part series on elevator and escalator safety)
Sevellon Brown Public Service Award (New England Associated Press News
Executives)
(Elevator-escalator series)
1994 George Polk Award
(Elevator-escalator series)
Best Reporter in Boston - Boston Magazine 1993
Livingston Awards 1992 Finalist
(Five-part series on abuse of mentally ill and retarded)
1992 Associated Press Award for Enterprise Reporting
(Five-part series on abuse of mentally ill and retarded)
1991 Associated Press Award for Spot News Coverage
(Amtrak train crash in Boston)
LECTURES/SPEAKING:
American Society for Bioethics and Humanities Annual Meeting
San Diego, Calif. – October, 2010
Panel discussion – Conflicts of Interest: Institutional, Political and Legal
Responses
New England First Amendment Coalition FOIA and Investigative
Reporting Conference – May 2009
“Public Records”
New England Associated Press News Executives Association - Providence,
RI - September 2006
“FOI - You can do this at home: A practical guide for editors and reporters on
when to use the Freedom of Information Act, when not to use it, approaches to
take, using the human touch, dealing with fees, etc”
Investigative Reporters and Editors National Conference - Fort Worth,
TX - June 2006
“Medical Reporting”
Columbia University - New York City - September 2005
"Probing the health industry”
Health Coverage Fellowship - Boston, MA - May 2005
"Getting Sourced"
Investigative Reporters and Editors National Conference – Atlanta, GA June 2004
“Unearthing stories in SEC documents”
Investigative Reporters and Editors National Conference - New York
City - 2000
“Making sense of environmental databases”
Investigative Reporters and Editors National Conference – Kansas City,
MO – 1999
“Public safety scams and snafus: Probing police and fire departments”
New England Scholastic Press Association – Boston, MA - 1999
“Keynote speech: Journalism and the Internet”
National Institute for Computer Assisted Reporting – Boston, MA – 1999
“Crime in depth: Policing your police”
New England Newspaper Association Conference on Investigative and
Computer-Assisted Reporting – Boston, MA – 1998
“Computer-Assisted Reporting”
National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting – Nashville, TN –
1997
“Finding and negotiating for data”
Investigative Reporters and Editors National Conference – Providence,
RI – 1996
“Put it on the Net and get out of the way”
Investigative Reporters and Editors National Conference - Miami, FL –
1995
“Going Undercover: Techniques and tips from journalist who have done it”
New England Press Association – Boston, MA – 1994
“Database reporting”
Boston University – Boston, MA – 1993
“What should the media know? The conflict between public records and
personal privacy”
Investigative Reporters and Editors National Conference - New York
City – 1993
“Starting a computer assisted reporting program”
REFERENCES:
Excellent references available upon request