NewsGuard — Past Speakers — The Common Good

Steven Brill

Journalist, Bestselling Author, “The Death of Truth”, Yale Professor, Founder of the Yale Journalism Initiative, NewsGuard, *Court TV,* and *American Lawyer*

Steven Brill, described as a “brilliant, award-winning reporter and bestselling author,” wears many hats: lawyer, entrepreneur, and journalist. Brill has a knack for diving deep into the pressing issues of our time. His upcoming book, The Death of Truth, explores how the erosion of shared truths and facts is fueling the rise of conspiracy theories and hoaxes, undermining our trust in leaders, institutions, and experts. But Brill doesn’t just diagnose the problem; he also offers a path forward to rebuild our collective faith in truth. Brill has a history of tackling complex topics with insightful analysis. His groundbreaking TIME special report, “Bitter Pill: How Medical Bills Are Killing Us,” earned a National Magazine Award in 2014 and laid the groundwork for his 2015 bestseller, America’s Bitter Pill, which delves into fixing our broken healthcare system. His other notable works include Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America’s Schools (2011) and After: The Rebuilding and Defending of America in the September 12th Era (2003). Brill’s latest bestseller, Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America’s Fifty-Year Fall–and Those Fighting to Reverse It, continues his tradition of addressing critical societal issues. In 2018, Brill co-founded NewsGuard Technologies with Gordon Crovitz, a service dedicated to evaluating the credibility of news websites. The duo had previously collaborated on Journalism Online. Brill also founded and managed Court TV, The American Lawyer Magazine, and Brill’s Content magazine, solidifying his reputation as a pioneer in both legal and journalistic fields.

Steven Brill participated as a panelist at The Common Good Town Hall: “Bridging America’s Divides” moderated by John Heilemann and featuring co-panelists; Frank Bruni, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Congressman David Jolly, George Packer, Heather Cox Richardson, Congressman Tim Ryan, and Andrew Yang.

X: @StevenBrill

Steven Brill is an award-winning journalist, author, academic thought leader, and entrepreneur. He has founded a number of incredibly important and successful journalism ventures.

In 1979, Brill launched The American Lawyer, a magazine which covers the business of law firms and lawyers in the U.S. and around the world, and is highly regarded for its surveys, including the “Am Law 100”, an annual ranking of the 100 U.S. law firms. Brill went on to found Court TV (now TruTV), a channel focused on true crime documentaries and coverage of prominent criminal cases; Brill’s Content Magazine, a media watchdog publication; Journalism Online, which created a new, viable business model for journalism to flourish online; and NewsGuard which rates news sites as to how reliable and credible the news platforms and sites are..

In support of future generations of journalism, he and his wife Cynthia founded the Yale Journalism Initiative, which recruits and trains students to contribute to democracy in the United States and around the world by becoming journalists.

Brill, with fellow TCG Honorary Advisory Board Member Tom Rogers in 2001

Brill on Meet the Press — Brill on *Meet the Press*

Brill’s most recent venture, NewsGuard, Inc, allows users to check the reliability of their online sources by reviewing the credibility of news and information websites and tracking online misinformation. NewsGuard recently launched a new “Responsible Advertising for News Segments” program which helps companies protect themselves from having their advertising unintentionally fund misinformation and hoax websites.

An exceptional author as well as a digital entrepreneur, Brill’s feature articles have appeared in The New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, TIME, Esquire, New York Magazine, and Harpers. His 2013 TIME cover story, “Bitter Pill: Why Medical Bills Are Killing Us,” won the National Magazine Award for Public Service; he expanded the story into a best-selling book, America’s Bitter Pill. Brill’s other books include Tailspin, a cogent narrative describing how America’s core values have come to power the nation’s decline, The Teamsters, a New York Times best-seller on the lives and leaders of American teamsters, Class Warfare, a clear breakdown on the American education system and the adults fighting over it’s reform, and AFTER, a sweeping narrative of the first year after September 11th.

A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, Brill is also an adjunct professor at Yale Law School.

Brill spoke at The Common Good Forum & American Spirit Awards 2017, and he currently serves as a member ofThe Common Good Honorary Advisory Board.

Twitter: @StevenBrill

Selected Media:

New Tool Helps Ad Buyers Choose Sites That Reflect A Company's Values
NewsGuard Launches "Responsible Advertising for News Segments" to Help Brands Stop Funding Misinformation
Steven Brill is powering his newest company with humans, not computers
NewGuard Co-founder Gordon Crovitz Op-Ed for Politico What I Learned on My Quest to Fix America’s Social Media Problem
Brill for Time Magazine, 2018 "Tailspin": How My Generation Broke America
Interview with Brill Combating Vaccine Misinformation
Interview with Brill on Law Talk podcast Steven Brill: Entrepreneur, Attorney, and Best-Selling Author

Books:

Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America's Fifty-Year Fall—and Those Fighting to Reverse It. 2018
America's Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Back-Room Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System 2015
Class Warfare : Inside the Fight to Fix America's Schools 2011
After : How America Confronted the September 12 Era 2003
Trial By Jury 1990

The Teamsters 1978