Bob Read

A fierce and dogged broadcast journalist, Bob Read served as senior producer of Inside Edition’s award-winning Investigative Unit, and worked tirelessly as a managing editor for Inside Edition’s overall coverage.

Since joining Inside Edition in 1990, Read was instrumental in establishing the show’s reputation for exposing scams, rip-offs and hazards that threaten the safety of consumers.

Under his leadership, Inside Edition's investigative unit produced hard-hitting reports exposing adoption fraud, home repair rip-offs, child labor in the U.S. and the lavish lifestyle of mega-church preachers. Their investigations have earned many of journalism's highest honors including the George Polk Award, the IRE Medal, the National Press Club Award and Sigma Delta Chi Award.

But for Read, it was the people whose lives he touched that mattered most.

"He left an indelible mark on all who worked alongside him, especially those that he closely mentored under his wing," wrote Charlie McLravy, Inside Edition senior producer, in his nomination for Read. "There's a long list of producers who operated next to Read in the investigative trenches that later went on to work and become managers themselves at the networks."

Read began his journalism career at ABC News "20/20," where during his eight-year tenure he produced a variety of news, features and investigative reports. He also worked at "Dateline NBC," where he produced mainly investigative reports.

"Bob believed wholeheartedly in IRE's mission to train the next generation of investigative journalists with ethics and compassion," said IRE board member Cindy Galli. "Generous in giving of his time and talent, he always ensured that his team attended conferences, often giving up his place to allow someone else the opportunity."

Read hired Galli as an investigative producer at Inside Edition in 1998, and they worked together for 13 years until Galli moved to ABC, where she is now executive producer of the investigative unit. "He was the best boss I've ever had and one of the most genuinely nice people you could ever be fortunate to work for. I learned so much from him – most of all, how to report with honesty and empathy."

Read was diagnosed with COVID-19 in December 2020, after spending 10 months directing Inside Edition's pandemic coverage. He died in January 2021 at age 60. He is survived by his wife, Michele, and his two children, Tyler and Casey.

"Read's contributions to the field on broadcast investigative reporting were countless, and he meant so much to so many of us," McLravy wrote.