Martin Smith

Martin Smith (born January 28, 1949) is an American producer, writer, director and correspondent. Smith has produced dozens of nationally broadcast documentaries for CBS News, ABC News and PBS Frontline. His films range in topic from war in the Middle East to the 2008 financial crisis. He is a member of the Overseas Press Club and the Council on Foreign Relations.

Early life and education Martin Elder Smith was born on January 28, 1949 in Los Angeles County, California, to Elden Smith, as the nephew of H. Russell Smith.

He was raised on a citrus farm in Riverside, California until his family moved to Los Angeles when he was ten years old. He graduated from The Harvard School for Boys in 1967. He studied Comparative Literature at Brown University and has a BFA (1975) from the Institute of Film & Television at the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University. He has five children and six grandchildren.

Filmography

sources:

CBS Reports: "Guatemala" (1982) Producer, Writer CBS Reports: "Central America in Revolt" (1982) Producer, Writer CBS Our Town with Bill Moyers: "Toxic" (1983) Producer, Writer FRONTLINE: "Crisis in Central America" (1984) Producer, Writer FRONTLINE: "Who's Running This War" (18 March 1986) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Bombing of West Philly" (5 May 1987) Producer, Writer NOVA: "How Good is Soviet Science?" (20 October 1987) Producer, Writer FRONTLINE: "Who Pays for AIDS?" (7 June 1988) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Real Life of Ronald Reagan" (18 January 1989) Producer, Writer WGBH: "Inside Gorbachev's USSR" (April-May 1990) four hour mini-series) Executive Producer, Writer FRONTLINE: "After Gorbachev's USSR" (25 February 1992) Senior Producer ABC NEWS: "Peter Jennings Reporting: In the Name of God" (1995) Producer, Writer ABC NEWS: "Peter Jennings Reporting: Why the Bomb was Dropped" (1995) Senior Producer ABC NEWS: "Peter Jennings Reporting: Pot of Gold" (1996) Producer, Writer ABC NEWS: "Peter Jennings Reporting: The American Game" (1997) Producer, Writer FRONTLINE: "The Terrorist and the Superpower" (April 1999) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Return of the Czar" (2000) Senior Producer FRONTLINE: "Drug Wars" (October 2000) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Medicating Kids" (10 April 2001) Writer, Producer FRONTLINE: "Hunting Bin Laden" (September 2001) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Looking for Answers" (October 2001) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Saudi Time Bomb?" (November 2001) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Dot Con" (January 2002) Producer, Writer, Correspondent ABC NEWS: "Divided States of America" (September 2002) Producer, Writer FRONTLINE: "In Search of Al Queda" (November 2002) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Kim's Nuclear Gamble" (April 2003) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Truth, War and Consequences" (October 2003) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Beyond Baghdad" (February 2004) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Choice 2004" (October 2004) Producer, Writer FRONTLINE: "House of Saud" (February 2005) Co-Producer, Writer FRONTLINE: "Private Warriors" (June 2005) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Storm" (November 2005) Producer, Writer, Correspondent Columbia University: "Telling the Truth I" (January 2006) FRONTLINE: "Return of the Taliban" (June 2006) Producer, Writer, Correspondent Columbia University: "Telling the Truth II" (October 2006) FRONTLINE: "Gangs of Iraq" (April 2007) Producer, Writer, Correspondent Columbia University: "Telling the Truth III" (January 2008) FRONTLINE World:"Living on the Edge" (June 2008) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Heat" (21 October 2008) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The War Briefing" (October 2008) FRONTLINE: "The Madoff Affair" (May 2009) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Obama's War" (October 2009) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Quake" (March 2010) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "College Inc." (May 2010) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Spill" (October 2010) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Spy Who Quit" (January 2011) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Private Life of Bradley Manning" (May 2011) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "WikiSecrets" (May 2011) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Educating Sgt. Pantzke" (June 2011) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Interrogator" (September 2011) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Regime" (8 November 2011) Senior Producer FRONTLINE: "Cell Tower Deaths" (May 2012) Senior Producer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Money, Power and Wall Street" (April 2012) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Six Billion Dollar Bet" (June 2012) Producer, Reporter FRONTLINE: "The Untouchables" (January 2013) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Retirement Gamble" (23 April 2013) Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Obama at War" (26 May 2013) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "To Catch a Trader" (7 January 2014) Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Rise of ISIS" (28 October 2014) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Life in Baghdad" (12 March 2015) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Inside Assad's Syria" (October 2015) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Confronting ISIS" (11 October 2016) Producer, Writer, Correspondent . FRONTLINE: "Inside Yemen" (18 October 2017) Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia" (20 & 27 February 2018) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Separated: Children at the Border" (31 July 2018) Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Pensión Gamble" (23 October 2018) Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia" (1 October 2019) Producer, Writer, Correspondent FRONTLINE: "Targeting El Paso" (7 January 2020) Correspondent FRONTLINE: "The Virus" (16 June 2020) Producer, Director, Writer, Correspondent

Awards and honors Cf. RainMedia Inc. listing.

Emmy

Winner - Outstanding Background/Analysis of a Single Current Story - "Guatemala" (1982) Winner - Outstanding Background/Analysis of a Single Current Story - "Drug Wars" (2000) Winner - Outstanding Continuing Coverage of a News Story - "The Storm" (2005) Winner - Outstanding Documentary on a Business Topic - "The Madoff Affair" (2009) Winner - Outstanding Coverage of a News Story - "Money, Power and Wall Street" (2013) Winner - Outstanding Business and Economic Reporting - "Money, Power and Wall Street" (2012) Winner - Outstanding Documentary - "United States of Secrets" (2015) Winner - Outstanding Coverage of A Current News Story - "United States of Secrets" (2015)

Writers Guild of America

Winner - Outstanding Script: Television Documentary – Current Events - "Truth War and Consequences" (2003) Winner - Outstanding Script: Television Documentary – Current Events - "Return of the Taliban" (2008) Winner - Outstanding Script: Television Documentary – Current Events - "The Madoff Affair" (2009) Winner - Outstanding Script: Television Documentary – Other Than Current Events - "WikiSecrets" (2012) Winner - Outstanding Script: Television News – Regularly Scheduled, Bulletin or Breaking News - "Educating Sergeant Pantzke" (2012) Winner - Outstanding Script: Television Documentary – Current Events - "Money Power and Wall Street" (2013) Winner - Outstanding Script: Television Documentary – Current Events - "Egypt In Crisis" (2014) Winner - Outstanding Script: Television Documentary – Current Events - Confronting ISIS (2018)

The George Foster Peabody Award

George Foster Peabody Award FRONTLINE - "Crisis in Central America" 1985 George Foster Peabody Award FRONTLINE - "Drug Wars" 2000 George Foster Peabody Award FRONTLINE - "The Madoff Affair" 2009 George Foster Peabody Award FRONTLINE - "The United States of Secrets" 2014 George Foster Peabody Award FRONTLINE - "Confronting ISIS" 2016 George Foster Peabody Award FRONTLINE - "Separated: Children at the Border" 2019

Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award

Gold Baton

"Inside Gorbachev's USSR" (1990) "Hunting bin Laden" (2002) "Looking for Answers" (2002) "Saudi Time Bomb?" (2002) "Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia" (2019)

Silver Baton

"Truth War and Consequences" - (2003) "The United States of Secrets" (2015)

George Polk Award

George Polk Award for Network Television Reporting - CBS Reports: "Guatemala", 1983 George Polk Award for International Television Reporting - FRONTLINE: "Who's Running This War", 1986 George Polk Award for Documentary Television Reporting - WGBH: "Inside Gorbachev's USSR" 1990 George Polk Award for Documentary Television Reporting - FRONTLINE: "Money, Power and Wall Street", 2012

The Overseas Press Club Awards

Whitman Bassow Award for Best Reporting in Any Medium on International Environmental Issues - "Heat" (2008) Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Television Interpretation or Documentary on International Affairs - "Obama's War" (2009)

Prix Italia Award

Documentary of the Year FRONTLINE - "The Bombing of West Philly" - 1987

Nancy Dickerson Whitehead Award for Excellence in Reporting on Drug and Alcohol Problems

"Drug Wars", 2001

Society of Environmental Journalists' Award

Kevin Carmody Award for Outstanding In-depth Reporting, "The Spill", 2011

Career honors

Selected Recipient for the Top 100 Journalism Works of the Decade awarded by New York University (2000–2010) for "Truth, War and Consequences" The Edward Weintal Special Citation in recognition of a career of distinguished reporting on foreign policy and diplomacy by the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University. Awarded to Martin Smith 2007. John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism Columbia University Awarded to Martin Smith 2014