Michael Rezendes

Jun 15, 2026

Senior Investigative Reporter · The Associated Press

USA

The Associated Press (Senior Investigative Reporter)

Pulitzer Prize ×2 (2003, 2014)

Biography

Michael Rezendes is an American investigative journalist of Portuguese descent, born in Maine, who served for more than a decade on the Boston Globe's Spotlight Team and is now a senior investigative reporter at The Associated Press. He was a key reporter in the Spotlight Team's 2001–2002 investigation of Catholic clergy sexual abuse and cover-up by the Archdiocese of Boston — work that earned the Globe the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. His specific reporting revealed that top Church officials had buried the abuses of John Geoghan, a Boston priest who had molested more than 100 children. He was portrayed by Mark Ruffalo in the Academy Award-winning film Spotlight (2015).

Rezendes is a graduate of Boston University (BA) and later earned an MFA in screenwriting from the American Film Institute. Before the Globe he worked at The Washington Post, the San Jose Mercury News, and the Boston Phoenix. At the Globe he served as weekly essayist, roving national correspondent, deputy editor for national news, and city hall bureau chief. He was running the Boston Marathon when the bombs exploded in April 2013 and worked through the night covering the tragedy — contributing to the Globe team's 2014 Pulitzer for Breaking News. He joined the AP's global investigations team in spring 2019, where his work has included investigations of financial corruption in the Catholic Church and child sexual abuse cover-up in the Mormon Church. He also wrote for the ABC drama Alaska Daily (2022).