Phil Bronstein facts for kids
Phil Bronstein (born October 4, 1950) is an American journalist known for his brave work as a war reporter and an investigative journalist. An investigative journalist is like a detective who uncovers hidden truths.
He is currently the executive chair for the Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley, California. Throughout his career, he has led major newspapers like the San Francisco Examiner and the San Francisco Chronicle. In 1986, he was a finalist for the famous Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on the fall of a dictator in the Philippines.
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Early Life and First Steps in Journalism
Phil Bronstein was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on October 4, 1950. His family moved often when he was a child, and he spent a lot of his childhood in Montreal, Canada. Eventually, his family moved to California.
Bronstein went to the University of California, Davis. While he didn't graduate, he discovered his passion for journalism there. He started by writing movie reviews for the school newspaper.
A Career in Journalism
Reporting from Around the World
Bronstein's first professional job was as a reporter for a TV station in San Francisco. In 1980, The San Francisco Examiner newspaper hired him.
He soon became a foreign correspondent, a journalist who reports from other countries. For eight years, he traveled to places with a lot of conflict, like Peru, the Middle East, El Salvador, and the Philippines, to report on what was happening there.
Leading Major Newspapers
In 1991, Bronstein was promoted to executive editor at the Examiner. As the editor, he was in charge of the whole news team. In 1996, when an alligator escaped into a city lake, Bronstein even showed up in scuba gear to help catch it, but the police didn't let him join the search.
In 2000, the company that owned the Examiner also bought the San Francisco Chronicle, the other big newspaper in the area. The two newspapers' newsrooms were combined, and Bronstein was chosen to lead the new, larger team as the senior vice president and executive editor.
This was a tricky time for newspapers because more people were getting their news from the internet. Bronstein worked to update the Chronicle for the modern age while keeping its special Bay Area spirit.
New Roles and Projects
In 2008, Bronstein took on a new role as an editor-at-large. This meant he wrote a weekly column for the Chronicle and also wrote for its website.
He left the newspaper company in 2012 to focus on his work with the Center for Investigative Reporting. He had become the chairman of its board in 2011, and his role there grew after he left the Chronicle.
Personal Life
Bronstein was married to the actress Sharon Stone from 1998 to 2004. In 2000, they adopted a son named Roan Joseph Bronstein. After they divorced, a judge gave Bronstein full custody of their son in 2008.
In 2006, Bronstein married Christine Borders. Together, they have two children.
Komodo Dragon Attack
In 2001, Bronstein had a scary experience at the Los Angeles Zoo. He was on a private tour when a zookeeper invited him into the enclosure of a Komodo dragon, a very large lizard.
The keeper told him to take off his white shoes and socks. The keeper thought the color might look like the white rats the dragon was fed. Unfortunately, the giant lizard bit Bronstein's bare foot. He escaped but needed surgery to repair the damage to his foot.
Awards and Recognition
In 1986, Bronstein was honored as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, one of the most respected awards in journalism. This was for his reporting on the end of the rule of Ferdinand Marcos, a dictator who had controlled the Philippines for many years.
His work in the Philippines also won him awards from the Associated Press, the Overseas Press Club, and other organizations.