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. "WGBH BIO: MARTIN SMITH", pbs.org. Accessed September 27, 2023.

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.

Career

In 1976, Smith was a film editor at CBS News. In 1982, Smith directed and wrote "Guatemala", a documentary, which won a George Polk Award and an Emmy. In 1983, Smith produced for the PBS series NOVA and FRONTLINE.

In 1986 he produced "Who's Running This War" for FRONTLINE, it cited a Colonel North who was operating out of the basement of the Reagan White House". It won a George Polk Award. In 1989 he was executive producer of "Inside Gorbachev's USSR" with Hedrick Smith, winning a George Polk Award and DuPont-Columbia Gold Baton. In 1990, he was hired as a senior producer at FRONTLINE.

Between 1994 and 1998, Smith worked with Peter Jennings, the ABC News anchor, as a senior producer for Peter Jennings Reporting, including "Hiroshima: Why the Bomb was Dropped", recipient of a 1995 Edward R. Murrow Award in and a n.d. Peabody Award.

In 1998 Smith founded an independent production company, as RAIN Media. It produced programs for FRONTLINE, including: "The Terrorist and the Superpower", which was produced three years before the attacks on the World Trade Towers and the Pentagon.

After the September 11 attacks, Smith produced films on the attacks – "Looking for Answers" (2001), and "Saudi Time Bomb?" (2001). They won a DuPont-Columbia Gold Baton, jurors said: "the series never flinches from showing why terrorist groups harbor such hate for America and includes people whose attitudes toward the United States are undoubtedly offensive to many viewers. Yet all of the programs are balanced and never sensationalized."

In three films, "In Search of Al Qaeda", (2002), "Return of the Taliban" (2006) and "Obama's War" (2008), Smith twice interviewed President Pervez Musharaff on Pakistan's duplicitous Afghanistan policy. This work had a major impact on US policy at the time, revealing Pakistan's double dealing. Excerpts from "Return of the Taliban" were used by US commander Karl Eikenberry in high level briefings of Bush administration officials.

After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Smith produced four films on Iraq for FRONTLINE: "Gangs of Iraq" (2007), "Private Warriors" (2005), "Beyond Baghdad" (2004) and "Truth, War and Consequences" (2003).

Smith has produced films about business and finance: "HEAT" (international business leaders reacting to calls for carbon reduction in the face of climate change), "The Madoff Affair" (world's biggest Ponzi scheme). "Money, Power and Wall Street" (causes of the 2008 financial crisis) won a George Polk Award

Smith completed "The Untouchables" which examined the Justice Department's failure to hold Wall Street bankers accountable for mortgage fraud in the run-up to the 2008 collapse. "The Untouchables" sparked an enormous reaction after its initial airing. Two Senators, citing Smith's interview with a senior Justice Department official in the documentary, demanded that Attorney General Eric Holder explain the department's position regarding not investigating big banks for alleged crimes for fear of collateral consequences. Several US attorneys' offices have screened the film and redoubled their efforts to investigate cases of fraud on Wall Street.

Smith produced "The Rise of ISIS," "Life in Baghdad," "Inside Assad's Syria," "Confronting ISIS," "Inside Yemen," "Bitter Rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia" and "The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia."

In 2020, with his wife Marcela Gaviria, Smith produced, wrote and directed "The Virus: What Went Wrong?" for FRONTLINE.

Personal life After living in New York City for many years with his wife and producing partner Marcela Gaviria of Bogotá, Colombia and raising a family, they moved to the Western Catskills area of New York State.Marcela Gaviria PBS. Retrieved: 2018-02-21. 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