Veteran broadcast journalist Bob Read manages Inside Edition"s
award-winning Investigative Unit. At the helm since the 1993-94 season, Read"s
unit has developed a reputation for the pursuit and detection of scams, rip-offs
and hazards that threaten the safety of consumers. The unit has earned many
of journalism"s most prestigious honors, including the George Polk Award, the Investigative
Reporters and Editors Award, the National Press Club Award, Sigma Delta Chi Awards,
Deadline Club Awards, the Gracie Award and EMMA Awards.
Under Read"s direction, the Investigative Unit has consistently produced a variety
of hard-hitting reports. In the 2008-2009 season alone, Inside Edition
made headlines with a series of reports on questionable travel to exotic locations
taken by U.S. Representatives at taxpayer expense. The reports exposed how millions
of dollars are spent each year to fly Congressmen, their spouses, aides and other
government employees to places like the Galapagos Islands, Fiji, Antarctica, Australia
and Paris on supposed “fact-finding” trips. Other notable investigations
exposed armed court officers regularly drinking heavily during two-hour lunches
before returning to work providing security for the busy criminal courtrooms, how
a popular infomercial promising you can buy beautiful homes for just a few hundred
dollars was deceptive, and that some salesmen selling Kirby Vacuums door-to-door
used drugs on the job, had dangerous criminal backgrounds and committed violent
crimes against customers.
"It is particularly rewarding to produce stories that lead to increased public
awareness of safety issues and rip-offs. Many of these reports create positive
change and help prompt laws that protect consumers," Read explains.
Read credits the success of the Investigative Unit to the commitment Inside
Edition has always given to investigative reporting. Because
of that, he says, "We"ve been able to assemble an incredible group of journalists
to work on our team. These people are determined to get to the bottom of a
story. They are fair, honest, ethical and committed to making a difference."
A Long Island native, Read received a B.F.A. from Long Island University"s C.W.
Post College. Six months later, he started his journalism career with ABC
News" 20/20. During his eight-year tenure with ABC, he produced a
wide variety of news, features and investigative reports. Read also worked
at Dateline NBC, where he produced mostly investigative reports.
Read lives in Long Island, New York with his wife and two children.