Draft:Susan Goldsmith

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Susan Goldsmith is an award-winning investigative reporter who previously reported for the New Times Los Angeles, East Bay Express and The Oregonian.[1] Her reporting is the basis of The Syndrome documentary, made with her filmmaker cousin, Meryl Goldsmith.[2] Byron Allen's Entertainment Studios/Freestyle Digital Media acquired and distributed it on demand everywhere in 2016.[3]

Personal Life and Education[edit]

Susan graduated from the University of Michigan. She is a third-generation Michigan Wolverine. She is based in Portland, Oregon.[4][5]

Career[edit]

New Times Los Angeles[edit]

As a staff writer at New Times Los Angeles, she broke the story that one of LA's most prestigious law firms was using private in-house investigators to illegally spy on litigation opponents by obtaining their confidential health, tax, and financial records.[2]

Susan Goldsmith's 1998 New Times feature story about John Walsh's work rooting out corruption in the Los Angeles subway project, "The Freak Who Stopped The Subway"[6] won first place for Feature Story from the Association of Alternative Weeklies in 1999.[7]

Goldsmith's story "Rampart Rampage" from 2000 exposed Rampart misconduct "involving wanton beatings and efforts to cover up the crimes by manufacturing criminal charges against the victims". Her story "described the humiliating and brutal actions against members of the 18th Street Gang and later efforts to prevent disclosure by arranging for deportation of some witnesses and prosecution of others"[8] The case ended with a $3.9 million settlement for the man at the center of her story.[9] Goldsmith's Rampart Rampage story illustrates "the problematic role Internal Affairs plays in perpetuating LAPD's continued failure to stop abuses" and how "..every officer involved in the beating, stripping, witness intimidation and frame-ups has been promoted."[10]

In "Blacks Only", she reported on overt racism practiced against nonblack doctors at King-Drew Medical Center.[11]

Goldsmith's "The Color of Love" about indefensible practices by L.A. County workers to prevent interracial adoptions won her a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism.[11]

The Oregonian[edit]

At The Oregonian, Goldsmith's reporting on a child abuse case (Adrianna Romero Cram) resulted in the state legislature passing two laws to better protect children in foster care and the Oregon governor issuing a moratorium on sending children in the state's foster care abroad.[12]

Goldsmith exposed the case of two 12-year-old boys in Oregon who were charged with five felony sex abuse counts each for swatting the butts of girls in their middle school hallway.[13] The two middle-school students in Oregon faced possible time in a juvenile jail and would have had to register as sex offenders. The district attorney's office eventually dropped all the charges against the seventh-graders.[14] Their families received so many offers of financial assistance that they set up a fund to cover legal expenses.[15] As of August 10, 2007, donations for boys' legal defense fund had reached $38,000.[16]

Goldsmith did page-one reporting in The Oregonian about convicted felon Brad Holbrook's harrowing experience in the state's justice system, and her story won best criminal justice story in the Northwest from Society of Professional Journalists.[17] Her reporting led to an appellate law firm taking up Holbrook's appeal pro bono.[5][18] In 2017, 15 years after he was prosecuted, he was granted post-conviction relief by the Oregon Court of Appeals.[5][19]

The Syndrome[edit]

The Syndrome documentary follows a team of journalists, doctors, scientist and legal professionals who work to disprove the scientific validity of shaken-baby syndrome and showcase those wrongfully accused of the "child abuse theory."[3] Filmmaker Meryl Goldsmith and investigative reporter Susan Goldsmith examine the debate over this theory and focus on the men and women who are dedicating their lives to defending people who are unfairly prosecuted and freeing those who have already been wrongly convicted.[20] Physicians interviewed in the film discussing the likelihood that shaken baby syndrome does not exist include John Plunkett, Patrick Barnes, and Ronald Uscinski.[21] The film examines origins of SBS (also referred to as abusive head trauma), and exposes the people who have built careers on, and profited from, what they say is an unsubstantiated theory that has led to convictions of innocent people and ruined the lives of many more.[3] It traces the proponents of the syndrome back to the 1980s, when many of the same proponents were responsible for popularizing the now-debunked "satanic ritual abuse" form of child abuse. These proponents then began popularizing the claim of shaken baby syndrome during the 1990s.[22]

The film screened at film festivals including the Newport Beach Film Festival,[2] New Hampshire Film Festival,[21] Kansas International Film Festival[23] and Arizona International Film Festival.[24] In 2016 the distribution rights for the film were acquired by Entertainment Studios. The film became available on VOD in April 2016. It also received independent screenings in major US cities.[3]

Awards[edit]

  • Society of Professional Journalists, First Place, Pacific Northwest, Crime & Justice reporting, 2008 (The Trials of Brad Holbrook)[25]
  • Society of Professional Journalists, First Place, Northern California, Feature Story, 2004 (Frank's War)[26]
  • Association of Alternative Weeklies, First Place, Feature Story, 1999 (The Freak Who Stopped the Subway)[27]
  • Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism, 1998 (The Color of Love)[28]
  • California Newspapers Publishers Associations, First Place, Best Investigative Story (Subway Sacrifice)[29]
  • California Newspapers Publishers Associations, First Place, Best Feature Story (Video Vultures)[29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Volume 28" (PDF). The Ire Journal.
  2. ^ a b c Coker, Matt (April 27, 2015). "NBFF 2015: The Syndrome, Excellent Shaken Baby Legal Tactic Documentary". ocweekly.com.
  3. ^ a b c d N'Duka, Amanda (February 16, 2016). "Byron Allen's Freestyle Acquires 'The Syndrome' Docu On Shaken Baby Syndrome". Deadline Hollywood.
  4. ^ Grier, Ronelle (April 2016). "Dispelling Falsehoods". Detroit Jewish News.
  5. ^ a b c Deborah, Holdship (October 15, 2021). "The truth should set you free". Michigan Today.
  6. ^ "John Walsh – "The Freak Who Stopped The Subway" 1998 New Times Feature By Susan Goldsmith". June 22, 1998 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ [2]
  9. ^ LA Times, "City OKs $7 million for misconduct settlements" Wednesday, May 19, 2004
  10. ^ Chemerinsky, Envin (January 1, 2001) "AN INDEPENDENT ANALYSIS OF THE LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BOARD OF INQUIRY REPORT ON THE RAMPART SCANDAL" Loyola of Los Angeles Law Review
  11. ^ a b "A Media Mouse That Roared". Los Angeles Times. October 20, 2002.
  12. ^ Cole, Michelle (May 30, 2009). "Oregon foster child's murder in Mexico prompts new laws". oregonlive.
  13. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, The (July 22, 2007). "Unruly schoolboys or sex offenders?". oregonlive.
  14. ^ "Charges Dropped Against "Bottom Slappers"". www.cbsnews.com.
  15. ^ "DA, spanking case stir outrage". freerepublic.com.
  16. ^ Detzel, Tom (August 11, 2007). "Sex charges dropped in spanking case". oregonlive.
  17. ^ [3]
  18. ^ Oregonian/OregonLive, Steve Duin | For The (June 26, 2021). "Justice delayed, and betrayed: Steve Duin column". oregonlive.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  19. ^ Green, Aimee (December 7, 2017). "After 15 years, ex-lawyer branded as child molester wins a reversal". oregonlive.
  20. ^ [4]
  21. ^ a b Pinto, Vanessa (October 28, 2014). "The Syndrome Review".
  22. ^ Howl, Daphne (April 5, 2016). "The Syndrome Exposes the "Shaken Baby Syndrome" Myth". LA Weekly.
  23. ^ "Jewish filmmakers challenge shaken baby syndrome in documentary – Kansas City Jewish Chronicle". www.kcjc.com.
  24. ^ Camarillo, Lydia. "Documentary showing this weekend looks into 'shaken baby syndrome'". kold.com.
  25. ^ https://www.spjwash.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/spj09%20awards1.pdf. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. ^ "Letters for the issue of September 29 – October 5, 2004". East Bay Express | Oakland, Berkeley & Alameda. September 29, 2004. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  27. ^ News, AAN Staff-Association (June 3, 1999). "Village Voice, Nashville Scene Lead Pack in Edit Contest • Association of Alternative Newsmedia". Association of Alternative Newsmedia. Retrieved June 22, 2022. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  28. ^ "A Media Mouse That Roared". Los Angeles Times. October 20, 2002. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
  29. ^ a b New Times LA. July 23–29, 1998. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)

External Links[edit]

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