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	Storied I-Team Reporter Joe Bergantino Departs Channel 4 By Jessica Heslam Boston Herald June 2, 2008 http://www.bostonherald.com/business/media/view.bg?articleid=1098164 Legendary Channel 4 I-Team reporter Joe Bergantino has left after 22 years at WBZ-TV, the latest iconic news figure to exit the cash-strapped CBS-owned station. Bergantino, whose last day was Friday, was the head of WBZ's storied investigative unit. "I wasn't fired, wasn't laid off, didn't resign. We began conversations and in the end they offered the option of taking what is essentially a buyout and that's where it's at," Bergantino said this afternoon. He's not sure of his next move but says he still has "passion" for investigative reporting. "I just think it's so important that there be a watchdog - that somebody holds the powerful accountable on a regular basis and that there be in-depth, investigative reporting," Bergantino said. "That's my passion." Bergantino follows iconic sports anchor Bob Lobel, entertainment reporter Joyce Kulhawik and veteran newsman Scott Wahle out the door. Bergantino's investigative producer, Maggie Mulvihill, was among the more than 30 employees the CBS-owned station let go in late March. Bergantino joined WBZ in 1981, went to work at ABC News as a correspondent for five years, and came back in 1991. In an e-mail to colleagues, Bergantino wrote: "After spending 22 unforgettable years at this TV station, I am moving on. I leave here as passionate about investigative reporting as the day I arrived. Thanks to all of you for your friendship, your hard work, and your dedication to the highest professional standards. I wish all of you happiness and success in the years ahead." From pedophile priests to boondoggles like the Big Dig, Bergantino has broken a number of stories during his WBZ tenure and has picked up numerous prestigious awards. In 1992, Bergantino broke the story of former Fall River priest James Porter, who was accused of molesting dozens of children in the 1960s and eventually went to prison. Porter admitted to Bergantino on the phone that he had assaulted nearly 100 children. The Porter case triggered hundreds of clergy sex abuse lawsuits against the Boston archdiocese. The station's I-Team spent much of 2002 reporting on those cases. According to his biography, Bergantino has won a duPont-Columbia Award, a duPont-Columbia Citation, the Gabriel Award, eight Emmy Awards, the Robert F. Kennedy Award for reporting on the disadvantaged and several Associated Press and Radio and Television News Directors Association awards. Contact: jheslam@bostonherald.com.
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