The Gene Fogel papers contain sound recordings and transcripts from two news stories Fogel investigated as a news reporter for WJR 760 radio station out of Detroit, "Blind Justice" and "Bite Mark, Leaving the Wrong Impression.". The collection also includes information about Fogel's journalism career.
In 1971, Eugene "Gene" Fogel began his career as a news reporter at the radio station WJR 760 AM out of Detroit. He worked as a journalist at the station for 43 years. Over the course of his career, Fogel earned wide acclaim for his work on a number of influential stories.
In 1981, Fogel published the story, "Blind Justice", examining corruption in the Federal Bankruptcy Court in Detroit. Fogel and his partner interviewed over 50 individuals and used physical evidence to prove corruption was occurring when cases were assigned to bankruptcy judges. As a result of the story, two judges were removed from the bench, several individuals implicated in the scandal were sent to prison, and the Federal Bankruptcy Court was placed in receivership. In 1982, Fogel won a Peabody Award for excellence in radio broadcasting for his work on the story.
Fogel also received acclaim for the story "Bite Mark, Leaving the Wrong Impression". The story investigated four cases where an individual was convicted of murder based on bite-mark evidence. Fogel uncovered evidence proving the convictions were based on unreliable testimony from a local dentist. His work led to two of the men receiving new trials where they were declared innocent and freed from prison. The story was the runner-up for the 1997 Peabody Award.
Fogel has taught broadcasting classes at Oakland University since 1992. He retired from full-time work at WJR in 2005. In 2007, he was elected to the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame.