Meinrad Heck was born in 1957. From 1979 on he worked as a journalist, for example as correspondent for the Stuttgarter Zeitung. He lives in Karlsruhe and works freelance since 1997. In 1987 he was awarded the Theodor-Wolff-Preis and in 2001 the Wächterpreis for his Flowtex-investigation.