Scott Higham

Scott Higham is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter on the Investigative Unit at The Washington Post. Higham joined the Post in 2000. For the past six years, he has examined the confluence of forces fueling the opioid epidemic. He received Emmy, Peabody, George Polk, and DuPont awards for his work in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, he was a lead reporter on The Post’s “Opioid Files” investigation, which was recognized as a Pulitzer Prize finalist for public service. He is the co-author of American Cartel: Inside the Battle to Bring Down the Opioid Industry. In 2002, he shared the Pulitzer for investigative reporting for a series examining the deaths of foster children in Washington, D.C. Higham was also part of the team that won the Pulitzer for National Reporting in 2016, digging into fatal police shootings and the civil consequences for families and municipalities. Since joining the Post, Higham has also investigated waste and fraud in Homeland Security contracts, the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib prisons, and conflicts of interest on Capitol Hill. He has scrutinized allegations of misconduct by public figures including Bill Cosby, Brian Williams, Roger Ailes, and Marco Rubio. And he investigated the murder of Washington D.C. intern, Chandra Levy. He is the co-author of “Finding Chandra: A True Washington Murder Mystery.” Before joining the Post, Higham was a reporter for the Allentown Morning Call, the Baltimore Sun, and the Miami Herald, covering local government, criminal courts, and investigative beats. In a previous life, he worked in an electronics factory on Long Island, wiring and soldering circuit boards for F-15 fighter jets.

Honors and Awards: Pulitzer Prize, Investigative Reporting, 2002; Polk Award, 2017; Edgar Award, 2011; Robert F. Kennedy Award, 2002; Investigative Reporters & Editors Award, 2002 and 2005; Heywood Broun Award, 2002; Associated Press Managing Editor’s Award, 2002; Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, National Reporting, 2005; Pulitzer Prize, National Reporting, Staff Entry, 2016; Everett Dirksen Award for Distinguished Reporting of Congress, 2012; Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, Washington Correspondence, 2012; Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, Feature Writing, 1994; Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, Spot News, Staff Entry, 1993; Scripps Howard National Journalism Award, Finalist, Public Service, 2001; Scripps Howard National Journalism Award, Finalist, Investigative Reporting, with “60 Minutes,” 2018; Hillman Prize, joint investigation with “60 Minutes,” 2018; Peabody Award, joint investigation with “60 Minutes,” 2018; Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, Investigative Reporting, 2016; Society of Professional Journalists, Sigma Delta Chi, Public Service, joint investigation with “60 Minutes,” 2017; Loeb Award, finalist, joint investigation with “60 Minutes,” 2018. ; Edward R. Murrow Award, joint investigation with “60 Minutes,” 2018; Emmy Award, joint investigation with ’60 Minutes,’ 2018; Pulitzer Prize, Finalist, Public Service, 2020.