Charlie Specht, '10, is a former Mark Hellinger Award winner at St. Bonaventure who went on to become a distinguished investigative reporter in newspapers and television in Buffalo.
Charlie’s reporting has led to the resignation of powerful people, criminal convictions, reforms to government policy and changes in New York State law. He is a recipient of the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton, which is considered the Pulitzer Prize of broadcast journalism.
Charlie started as a staff reporter at The Buffalo News, where he was mentored by two fellow Jandoli school alumni, Bob McCarthy, ’76, and Dan Herbeck, ’78. During two stints at the paper, he covered local government in Buffalo and Niagara Falls, succeeded McCarthy as political reporter and worked with Herbeck as an investigative reporter on the Watchdog Team.
In 2016, Charlie moved to television, where he served as chief investigative reporter at WKBW-TV, Channel 7 Eyewitness News, a position once held by another mentor, former Jandoli School Dean Lee Coppola.
At Channel 7, Charlie’s two-year investigation of the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo revealed an ongoing cover-up of sexual abuse allegations under multiple bishops. His reporting led to state and federal investigations and to New York’s passage of the Child Victims Act, which allowed abuse survivors to file lawsuits seeking justice for crimes committed by priests, coaches and other authority figures.
Charlie developed and protected confidential sources close to then-Bishop Richard Malone and gained rare access to the secret archives of the Catholic Church. His reporting was featured on CBS’ “60 Minutes” and ABC’s “Nightline” programs. Charlie’s persistent reporting led Malone in 2019 to become the first bishop in the 172-year history of the diocese to resign.
In 2024, Charlie was recruited by WGRZ-TV, Buffalo’s top-ranked station, to help restore the investigative tradition at a station known for holding people in power accountable.
As Channel 2’s investigative reporter, Charlie partnered with fellow Jandoli alum Sean Mickey, ’21, to uncover and relentlessly pursue one of the most significant police corruption scandals in Western New York in recent years.
Their investigation exposed how the chief of narcotics and intelligence for the Erie County Sheriff’s Office evaded legal consequences after a series of hit-and-run crashes with the help of a high-ranking relative in the Buffalo Police Department who shielded the chief from prosecution.
Their series also brought to light what a federal judge called “damning evidence of…unlawful conduct by law enforcement officers” after the narcotics chief and other members of his unit were caught on video staging evidence, conducting searches that violated the U.S. Constitution and misleading a judge by using white-out on a search warrant.
The investigation galvanized public scrutiny of law enforcement, led the narcotics chief to plead guilty to reckless driving and leaving the scene of the accident and spurred legislative hearings and the appointment of a special prosecutor. The chief’s relative was demoted and the chief retired after the Erie County D.A. added his name to a database of police officers with credibility issues. He agreed to pay $75,000 restitution to Erie County.
In 2025, Charlie founded Buffalo Muckraker, an investigative journalism page on Substack where he reports and writes about government accountability and the challenges facing independent journalism and democracy in America.
Charlie is the recipient of more than a dozen state, regional and national investigative journalism awards, including the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Silver Baton, which is considered the Pulitzer Prize of broadcast journalism; the National Headliner Award; the Investigative Reporters & Editors Award; the New York Emmy Award; the Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists; the Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association and awards from the Associated Press and the Journalists Association of New York. He has been named Buffalo’s best print reporter and Buffalo’s best broadcast reporter by Buffalo Spree magazine.
I believe that you are never too old to keep learning, and I often think of this line by Dr. Jandoli, written in a column that was affixed to a wall in Murphy when I was a student: “The more you learn, the less you know you know, and the humbler you must be. Humility is the key not only to sanctity but to true Intellection; only the stupid are proud.”
I’m writing a book about how my reporting on the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo affected my religious faith and my family.
Most of my time away from work is spent with my three kids and Piper, our Yorkie. I also collect typewriters, enjoy searching for vintage finds and listening to live music.