Scott Friedman is NBC 5's Senior Investigative Reporter leading the "NBC 5 Investigates" team, exposing critical safety concerns, and holding officials accountable.
Scott’s investigative reporting has been recognized with broadcasting’s top national honors including the duPont-Columbia Award - the broadcast equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize - a Peabody Award, five national Edward R. Murrow Awards, the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Award, two national SPJ Sigma Delta Chi Awards and a national News and Documentary Emmy for outstanding regional investigative report. Scott's investigations have also been featured on NBC Nightly News and TODAY on NBC.
Scott’s Peabody Award-winning investigation of financial troubles at Dallas County Schools (DCS) exposed a web of corruption, staggering financial mismanagement, hidden personal relationships and conflicts of interest inside an agency that transported tens of thousands of children to school each day. The Texas Legislature, governor and voters acted swiftly to close DCS and the superintendent who ran the agency pleaded guilty to federal charges for accepting $ 3 million of bribes and kickbacks in exchange for government contracts. The NBC5 reports also sparked an FBI public corruption investigation which led to the conviction of the second-highest-ranking elected official in the City of Dallas.
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In 2023, Scott received the prestigious Alfred I. du-Pont-Columbia Award for his series “Paper Tag Nation” which exposed how criminals were able to infiltrate the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles registration system in order to sell vast numbers of fraudulent temporary license plates illegally. The series revealed how those fraudulent paper plates were often used by criminal organizations looking to create “ghost cars” used in cross-border smuggling, human trafficking, and the commission of violent crimes. NBC5’s reporting helped spark leadership changes at the Texas DMV, legislative action to change the temporary tag system, and a new system for car dealer licensing background checks.
For more than a year, Scott’s team investigated care for injured, active-duty U.S. Army soldiers, in partnership with The Dallas Morning News. The series uncovered hundreds of complaints from injured troops describing mistreatment, harassment, verbal abuse and a lack of care from commanders of U.S. Army Warrior Transition Units (WTUs). Within days of the station’s first reports, the U.S. Army ordered new training for commanders of all 25 WTUs worldwide, aimed at better treating injured troops with dignity and respect. The U.S. House Armed Services Committee also ordered a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation.
Scott’s nine-month-long investigation of crashes and injuries caused by police officers using dashboard-mounted computers while driving led to changes in local police department policies and became training material for law enforcement agencies nationwide.
Scott joined KXAS-TV in 2006 reporting, later anchoring the station’s weekday morning newscast, NBC 5 Today. In 2012, he helped launch “NBC 5 Investigates.”
Previously Scott was an investigative reporter and news anchor at WTMJ-TV (NBC) in Milwaukee and a reporter at WNDU-TV (NBC) in South Bend, Indiana. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame.
The Latest
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Inside the Carrollton fentanyl overdose investigation
After a string of juvenile overdoses and deaths, here’s how investigators traced deadly fentanyl pills from DFW suppliers to the doorstep of one of Mexico’s most infamous cartels.
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How Carrollton police, Dallas DEA traced fentanyl pills from teen deaths to Mexico's Sinaloa cartel
After a string of fentanyl deaths and overdoses in teens, federal agents and police in Carrollton traced the pills from DFW suppliers to the doorstep of one of Mexico’s most infamous drug cartels.
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NBC 5 Investigates: Justice Shelved
New developments in the massive backlog of sexual assault evidence in Fort Worth. Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes acknowledged on Monday he was aware a year ago that 0hundreds of rape kits had missed state testing deadlines. Senior investigative reporter Scott Friedman asked that question in a frank and open discussion with the chief.
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Fort Worth police chief confirms even more rape kits missed testing deadlines
NBC 5 Investigates has learned sex assault evidence testing delays have affected even more victims than Fort Worth police first acknowledged.
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Fort Worth Police Chief updates progress in clearing rape kit backlog
Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes gave city council members an update on the efforts to clear the rape kit backlog highlighted by NBC 5 Investigates reporting.
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Fort Worth police race to clear hundreds of backlogged rape kits
Fort Worth Police Chief Neil Noakes told NBC 5 that he wished he had done more to address the problems months ago, as he and others in the department began to learn more about the backlog.
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‘Completely unacceptable,' FWPD chief apologizes to rape victims for testing delays
The chief of police in Fort Worth, Texas vowed Tuesday that all options were on the table as his department works to clear a backlog of rape kits, brought to light by NBC 5 Investigates.
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North Texas police departments change process of rape kits
Two North Texas police departments are changing how they handle sexual assault evidence in the wake of an NBC 5 investigation. We found departments across the DFW area failing to process some rape testing kits in the time required by state law. Senior investigative reporter Scott Friedman has the news.
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Irving, Arlington update procedures for handling rape kits after NBC 5 investigation
Two North Texas police departments are changing how they handle evidence in sexual assault cases after NBC 5 Investigates reported last week that rape testing kits used in investigations in Fort Worth were not being processed in the time required by state law.
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New safety measures planned for Loop 12 in South Dallas: What you need to know
The top transportation leaders have announced new plans to address the most dangerous street in Dallas, prompted by the NBC 5 investigation, Driven to Death, which highlighted dangers on Loop 12 in South Dallas. Senior investigative reporter Scott Friedman has the new details.
