Drew Griffin, CNN’s award-winning Senior Investigative Correspondent, known for getting even the cagiest of interview subjects to engage in a story, died Saturday after a long battle with cancer, his family said. He was 60.
A gifted storyteller, Griffin had a well-earned reputation for holding powerful people and institutions accountable.
“Drew’s death is a devastating loss to CNN and our entire profession,” CNN CEO Chris Licht said in a note to staff. “A highly acclaimed investigative journalist, Drew’s work had incredible impact and embodied the mission of this organization in every way.”
Griffin worked on hundreds of stories and multiple documentaries over the course of nearly two decades on CNN’s investigative team. His reporting had been honored with some of journalism’s most prestigious awards – Emmys, Peabodys, and Murrows among them.
“But people mattered more to Drew than prizes,” Licht said.
Griffin had an incredibly strong work ethic, colleagues said. He kept his illness private from most of his co-workers and had been reporting up until the day he passed.
Michael Bass, CNN’s Executive Vice President of Programming, also shared his admiration for Griffin in a note to the investigative team Sunday.
“Fearless and artful at the same time, he knew how to push a story forward to its limits, but also tell it in a way that would make everyone understand,” Bass said. “How many times has he chased an unwilling interviewee? How many times has he spoken truth to power? How many times has he made a difference on something important … It was an honor to be his colleague and to be witness to his work and the ways it changed the world.”
Griffin’s reporting had significant impact and prompted change.
He led a yearlong investigation that uncovered delays in medical care that contributed to patient deaths at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals nationwide. The team’s reporting led to the resignation of the VA secretary, which was followed by the passage of federal legislation and a fundamental change in how veterans’ appointments are handled.
Amid his reporting into the high number of sexual assaults allegations against Uber drivers, the company changed its background check process and introduced new safety features in its app. Following the CNN investigation, Uber announced it would do away with a policy that previously forced individuals with sexual assault complaints into arbitration and made them sign non-disclosure agreements.
Patricia DiCarlo, Executive Producer of CNN’s investigative unit who worked alongside Griffin for nearly a decade said Griffin was an exceptional writer who crafted pieces into “compelling, must-see TV stories.”
