Anthony Cormier

Anthony Cormier is an American journalist with BuzzFeed News, and formerly with the Tampa Bay Times and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Cormier was a co-recipient of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting.

Anthony Cormier
OccupationJournalist
Alma materFlorida State University
Notable awards

Early life

Cormier graduated from Florida State University in 2000 with a degree in creative writing.[1]

Career

Working at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Cormier and Matt Doug exposed how Florida police officers with multiple complaints and crimes were able to keep their jobs.[2] Their series of reports, "Unfit for Duty", earned them the 2011 "Print/Online – Small" award from Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE),[3][4] and the Herald-Tribune the 2012 EPPY award for Best Investigative/Enterprise Feature on a Website with under 1 million unique monthly visitors.[2][5]

His investigative work with Michael Braga led to a series of reports on how Florida bankers illegally looted their banks during the real estate boom.[6] The series, "Breaking the Banks", led to lawsuits by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and indictments against three bankers.[6] Cormier and Braga received the 2013 "Print/Online – Small" award for the series from IRE, and the 2013 Best in Business award from the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing.[6][7][8]

Cormier joined the Tampa Bay Times in 2015.[9] Cormier received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting together with Leonora LaPeter Anton, also of the Times, and Braga, who was still with the Sarasota Hearald-Tribune.[1] Their series of reports, "Insane. Invisible. In danger.", detailed the devastating effects of recurring deep budget cuts in the Florida mental health system.[10] The fallout from the series led to an increase in state appropriations and new legislation aimed at fixing systemic problems.[1]

Cormier earned the 2017 Gerald Loeb Award for Investigative business journalism for "Allegiant Air".[11]

Cormier joined the BuzzFeed News Investigative Unit in early 2017.[12]

Controversies

On 18 January 2019, Cormier co-authored an explosive report that alleged Donald Trump directed his personal lawyer Michael D. Cohen to lie to Congress about the Moscow tower project,[13] a construction deal at the heart of an investigation by the special counsel Robert Mueller. The report attracted attention because such an action by Trump would constitute a felony.[14] Democratic congressmen publicly mused impeachment.

The report came under scrutiny, however, after Mueller broke precedent by issuing a denial and other news organisations were unable to corroborate the findings with reports of their own.[15]

On April 5, 2019, Cormier co-authored a story that was presented as an update to the January 2019 story. The April story referenced a 12-page memo submitted by Cohen's legal counsel to Congress that said President Trump "encouraged Cohen to lie and say all Moscow Tower project contacts ended as of January 31, 2016 using 'code' language."[16] Subsequently, on April 18, 2019, the original Cohen report was updated to state that the "Mueller report found that Trump did not direct Michael Cohen to lie."[17]

References
  1. Heller, Dave (October 20, 2016). "FSU creative writing grad accepts Pulitzer Prize". Florida State University News. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  2. Staff Report (October 31, 2012). "Herald-Tribune wins award for digital work". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  3. "About Us: The Newsroom". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. August 24, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  4. "2011 IRE Award winners". Investigative Reporters and Editors. Archived from the original on December 19, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  5. "2012 EPPY Award Winners". EPPY awards. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  6. Staff Report (April 3, 2014). "'Breaking the Banks' series wins national award". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  7. "2013 IRE Award winners". Investigative Reporters and Editors. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  8. "2013 Best in Business Honorees". Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  9. Church, Bill (May 30, 2015). "Editor: After goodbyes, the search for hellos begins". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  10. Anton, Leonora LePeter; Braga, Michael; Braga, Michael; Pendygraft, John. "Insane. Invisible. In danger". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  11. "UCLA Anderson School of Management Announces 2017 Gerald Loeb Award Winners". UCLA Anderson School of Management. June 27, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  12. Sterne, Peter (December 9, 2016). "Buzzfeed News adds Pulitzer winner, top Pentagon correspondent". Politico. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  13. "President Trump Directed His Attorney To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  14. Abernathy, Gary (January 21, 2019). "BuzzFeed's travails highlight the self-destructive habits of modern journalism". The Washington Post.
  15. Grynbaum, Michael M. (2019-01-19). "BuzzFeed News Faces Scrutiny After Mueller Denies a Dramatic Trump Report". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-01-22.
  16. "In New Documents, Cohen Says Trump "Instructed" Him To Lie". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2019-04-12.
  17. "President Trump Directed His Attorney To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project". BuzzFeed News. Retrieved 2020-01-03.
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