About me
Brendan McCarthy is the Globe's Spotlight Editor. He oversees the
Spotlight Team and the quick strike investigative team.
He previously served six years as deputy projects editor. During
that time, he led the team that won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for
Investigative Reporting. The “Blind Spot” series exposed the
government's failure to keep tabs on some of the country’s most
dangerous drivers.
McCarthy also helped launch the Globe’s award-winning “Murder in
Boston” podcast and online series, which won a national Edward R.
Murrow award, as well as top industry honors from Scripps
Howard, Investigative Reporters & Editors (IRE), and the Online
News Association.
Before coming to the Globe in 2018, McCarthy was the founding
editor of the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit affiliated with the state’s
public radio network. During his tenure, the start-up produced a podcast that won a Peabody
Award, as well as audio investigations that garnered IRE awards and national Murrow honors. A
proud native of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, McCarthy graduated from Emerson College.
