# Shane Bauer

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**Shane Bauer** is an American journalist, best known for his [undercover reporting](/source/Undercover_journalism) for [*Mother Jones* magazine](/source/Mother_Jones_(magazine)).[1] He has won several awards including the Harvard's [Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting](/source/Goldsmith_Prize_for_Investigative_Reporting) and the National Magazine Award for Best Reporting.

## Life

Bauer grew up in [Onamia, Minnesota](/source/Onamia,_Minnesota)[2] and he is a graduate of the [University of California, Berkeley](/source/University_of_California,_Berkeley).[3]

In July 2009, Bauer and two companions (Joshua Fattal and [Sarah Shourd](/source/Sarah_Shourd)) were arrested by Iranian [border guards](/source/Border_guard) after straying into Iran while allegedly hiking in northern Iraq near the Iranian border. The three Americans were [held in prison in Iran on espionage charges](/source/2009%E2%80%9311_detention_of_American_hikers_by_Iran) for more than two years before their release in September 2011. They subsequently co-authored a memoir of their experience (*[A Sliver of Light](/source/A_Sliver_of_Light)*), as well as the cover story ("Kidnapped by Iran") for the March–April 2014 issue of *[Mother Jones](/source/Mother_Jones_(magazine))* magazine.

Bauer has worked as a [foreign correspondent](/source/Correspondent#foreign_correspondent), reporting from Iraq, Sudan, Chad, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen. His work has appeared in *[The Nation](/source/The_Nation),*[4] *[Salon.com](/source/Salon_(website)),*[5] the *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times),*[6] the *[Christian Science Monitor](/source/Christian_Science_Monitor)*,[7][8] and *[The New Yorker](/source/The_New_Yorker).*[9]

In 2015 he worked as an undercover journalist for *Mother Jones* while employed for six months as a [prison guard](/source/Prison_guard) at the [Winn Correctional Center](/source/Winn_Correctional_Center), a [private prison](/source/Private_prison) in [Winn Parish, Louisiana](/source/Winn_Parish,_Louisiana) managed by the Corrections Corporation of America (now known as [CoreCivic](/source/CoreCivic)).[10]

In 2016, he took on another undercover news assignment for *Mother Jones,* infiltrating [Three Percent](/source/3_Percenters) United Patriots, a right-wing border militia in southern [Arizona](/source/Arizona).[11][12]

## Works

### Books

Year Title 2014 A Sliver of Light: Three Americans Imprisoned in Iran[13][14][15][16] 2018 American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment

## Awards

Year Title 2012 James Aronson Award[17] 2013 Hillman Prize for Magazine Journalism[18] 2013 Media for a Just Society Awards[19] 2017 John Jay College/Harry Frank Guggenheim Award for Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting[20] 2017 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting[21] 2017 Michael Kelly Award[22] 2017 Izzy Award[23] 2017 MOLLY National Journalism Prize 2019 Helen Bernstein Book Award For Excellence In Journalism[24]

## Fellowships

Year Title 2016 MacDowell Fellowship[25] 2017 Logan Nonfiction Program Fellowship[26]

## See also

- [List of foreign nationals detained in Iran](/source/List_of_foreign_nationals_detained_in_Iran)

## References

1. ["Shane Bauer"](https://www.motherjones.com/author/shane-bauer/). *Mother Jones*. Retrieved 2018-04-09.

1. ["Friends and family tried to keep faith that Shane Bauer's nightmare in Iran will soon end"](https://www.twincities.com/2009/09/30/friends-and-family-tried-to-keep-faith-that-shane-bauers-nightmare-in-iran-will-soon-end/). September 30, 2009.

1. ["Shane Bauer Puts the Teeth Back Into Undercover Reporting"](https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/spring-2017-virtue-and-vice/shane-bauer-puts-teeth-back-undercover-reporting). *Cal Alumni Association*. 2017-03-28. Retrieved 2018-04-09.

1. ["Shane Bauer"](https://www.thenation.com/authors/shane-bauer/). *The Nation*. 2010-04-02. Retrieved 2018-04-09.

1. ["The sex that helped us survive: Love and defiance in an Iranian prison"](https://www.salon.com/2014/03/19/the_sex_that_helped_us_survive_love_and_defiance_in_an_iranian_prison). *Salon*. 2014-03-19. Retrieved 2018-04-09.

1. ["Los Angeles Times"](https://www.latimes.com/). *[Los Angeles Times](/source/Los_Angeles_Times)*. Retrieved 2018-04-09.

1. ["U.S. Embassy hit in Yemen, raising militancy concerns"](https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2008/0918/p07s02-wome.html). *Christian Science Monitor*. 2008-09-18. [ISSN 0882-7729](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0882-7729). Retrieved 2018-04-09.

1. ["Shane Bauer | The Michael Kelly Award"](http://www.kellyaward.com/2017/shane-bauer/). *www.kellyaward.com*. 2017-04-10. Retrieved 2018-04-09.

1. ["Shane Bauer"](https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/shane-bauer/). *The New Yorker*. 2020-11-16. Retrieved 2020-11-17.

1. "[CCA employee was undercover reporter](http://www.winnparishenterprise.com/articles/2015/03/18/cca-employee-was-undercover-reporter)." *[Winn Parish Reporter](/source/Winn_Parish_Reporter)*. Wednesday March 18, 2015. Retrieved on June 27, 2016.

1. ["I went undercover with a militia on the US-Mexico border. Here's what I saw."](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/10/undercover-border-militia-immigration-bauer/). *Mother Jones*. Retrieved 2018-08-28.

1. ["What A Reporter Learned When He Infiltrated An Arizona Militia Group"](https://www.npr.org/2016/10/25/499318590/what-a-reporter-learned-when-he-infiltrated-an-arizona-militia-group). *NPR.org*. Retrieved 2018-08-28.

1. ["In 2009, 3 Americans Went For A Hike, And Ended Up In A Tehran Prison"](https://www.npr.org/2014/03/14/289779717/3-americans-jailed-in-iran-tell-their-saga-in-sliver-of-light). *NPR.org*. Retrieved 2018-04-09.

1. [*A SLIVER OF LIGHT by Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal, Sarah Shourd | Kirkus Reviews*](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/shane-bauer/a-sliver-of-light/)

1. ["'A Sliver of Light,' by Bauer, Fattal and Shourd"](https://www.sfgate.com/books/article/A-Sliver-of-Light-by-Bauer-Fattal-and-Shourd-5358129.php). *SFGate*. Retrieved 2018-04-09.

1. ["Excerpt: "A Sliver of Light""](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/excerpt-a-sliver-of-light/). Retrieved 2018-04-09.

1. ["Grants and Fellowships"](https://gijn.org/grants-and-fellowships-2/). *Global Investigative Journalism Network*. Retrieved 2020-12-10.

1. ["2013 Hillman Prize for Magazine Journalism"](http://www.hillmanfoundation.org/2013-hillman-prize-magazine-journalism). *Hillman Foundation*. 2013-04-22. Retrieved 2020-12-10.

1. ["The Winners of the 20th Annual Media for a Just Society Awards | Evident Change"](https://www.evidentchange.org/newsroom/news-of-interest/winners-20th-annual-media-just-society-awards). *www.evidentchange.org*. Retrieved 2020-12-10.

1. ["Mother Jones and ProPublica Win 2017 John Jay College/Harry Frank Guggenheim Excellence in Criminal Justice Reporting Awards"](https://www.jjay.cuny.edu/news/mother-jones-and-propublica-win-2017-john-jay-collegeharry-frank-guggenheim-excellence-criminal). *John Jay College of Criminal Justice*. 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2020-12-10.

1. ["Mother Jones wins Shorenstein Center's 2017 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting"](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/newsplus/mother-jones-wins-shorenstein-centers-2017-goldsmith-prize-for-investigative-reporting/). *Harvard Gazette*. 2017-03-03. Retrieved 2020-12-10.

1. ["2018 Michael Kelly Award // Enter Today"](https://www.theatlantic.com/press-releases/archive/2018/01/call-for-entries-atlantic-medias-15th-annual-michael-kelly-award/550031/). *The Atlantic*. 2018-01-09. Retrieved 2020-12-10.

1. ["The Annual Izzy Award"](https://www.ithaca.edu/academics/roy-h-park-school-communications/park-center-independent-media/annual-izzy-award). *Ithaca College*. Retrieved 2020-12-10.

1. ["Shane Bauer Wins 2019 Helen Bernstein Book Award For Excellence In Journalism"](https://www.nypl.org/press/press-release/april-16-2019/shane-bauer-wins-2019-helen-bernstein-book-award-excellence). *The New York Public Library*. Retrieved 2020-12-10.

1. ["Shane Bauer - Artist"](https://www.macdowell.org/artists/shane-bauer). *MacDowell*. Retrieved 2020-12-10.

1. Gordon, Sarah. ["Shane Bauer - Logan Nonfiction Program"](https://logannonfiction.org/projects/shane-bauer/). *logannonfiction.org/*. Retrieved 2020-12-10.

## External links

- ["Shane Bauer Talks About His Four Months Working in a Private Prison"](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/shane-bauer-talks-about-his-four-months-private-prison-guard/). *Mother Jones*

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Shane Bauer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Bauer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shane_Bauer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.