Seymour Hersh

Seymour Hersh is an award-winning American investigative journalist and regular contributor to The New Yorker. Hersh won a Pulitzer Prize as the first to report on the My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War and he also helped uncover the American torture of Iraqis in the Abu Ghraib prison in 2004.¹ In July 2008, Hersh reported the U.S. government is increasing funds for covert operations in Iran.²

Fast Facts

1. Born: April 8, 1937, in Chicago, Illinois
2. Lives in Washington, D.C.
3. His Yiddish-speaking parents emigrated to the U.S. from Lithuania and Poland³
4. His parents ran a dry-cleaning shop³
5. Has a fraternal twin, Alan, who is a physicist³
6. Graduated from the University of Chicago³
7. Has written for United Press International, the Associated Press (AP) and the New York Times
8. Freelance journalist and frequent contributor to The New Yorker
9. Has won 5 George Polk Awards, the current record⁴

Notable Honors and Awards

• 1969: George Polk Award Special Award for his coverage of the My Lai massacre in Vietnam
• 1970: Pulitzer Prize (Investigative Reporting) for his exclusive disclosure of the Vietnam War tragedy at the hamlet of My Lai
• 1982: Investigative Reporters & Editors Prize for his book The Price of Power: Kissinger in the Nixon White House
• 1983: National Book Critics Circle Award
• 1992: Investigative Reporters & Editors Prize for study of American foreign policy and the Israeli nuclear bomb program, The Samson Option.
• 2004: George Polk Award for Magazine Reporting
• 2004: National Magazine Award for his three pieces, Lunch with the Chairman, Selective Intelligence, and The Stovepipe

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