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The Center for Public Integrity (CPI) is an American nonprofit
investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years res ...
organization whose stated mission is "to reveal abuses of power, corruption and dereliction of duty by powerful public and private institutions in order to cause them to operate with honesty, integrity, accountability and to put the public interest first." With over 50 staff members, the CPI is one of the largest nonprofit investigative centers in America. It won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting. The CPI has been described as an independent, watchdog group. The Center releases its reports via its website to media outlets throughout the U.S. and around the globe. In 2004, CPI's ''The Buying of the President'' book was on ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' bestseller list for three months. As of December 21, 2018, CPI was rated as 3 out of 4 stars overall by Charity Navigator, an independent nonprofits evaluator.


Mission

The mission of the center is "to protect democracy and inspire change using investigative reporting that exposes betrayals of the public trust by powerful interests".


History


1989–2004

CPI was founded on March 30, 1989, by Charles Lewis, a former producer for
ABC News ABC News is the news division of the American broadcast network ABC. Its flagship program is the daily evening newscast ''ABC World News Tonight, ABC World News Tonight with David Muir''; other programs include Breakfast television, morning ...
and CBS News '' 60 Minutes''. By the late 1980s Lewis observed that fewer resources—time, money and space—were being invested in investigative reporting in the United States by established news outlets and major publications. In his book entitled '' 935 Lies: The Future of Truth and the Decline of America's Moral Integrity'' Lewis recounted how he recruited two trusted journalists, Alejandro Benes and Charles Piller—whom he had met through his television work— to serve on the board of directors of the nascent CPI. All three had grown dissatisfied with what was being done in the name of investigative journalism by established news organizations. They chose the name public integrity as a way of underlying the "ultimate purpose of investigative journalism" which is "to hold those in power accountable and to inform the public about significant distortions of the truth." In their tenth anniversary Annual Report Piller described their first meetings in their "Boardroom—the cheap seats at the Baltimore Orioles game. In May 1990, Lewis used the money he had raised and his house as collateral to open an office in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
In its first year, the CPI's budget was $200,000. In 1996, CPI launched its first website, although CPI did not begin to publish reports online until 1999. In August 2000 the CPI published a story entitled "Cheney Led Halliburton to Feast at Federal Trough: State Department Questioned Deal With Firm Linked to Russian Mob", in which the authors argued that while Dick Cheney was CEO of
Halliburton Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation responsible for most of the world's hydraulic fracturing operations. In 2009, it was the world's second largest oil field service company. It has operations in more than 70 countries ...
—from 1995 to 2000—the company received "$3.8 billion in federal contracts and taxpayer-insured loans". In 2001,
Global Integrity Global Integrity is an independent, nonprofit organization tracking governance and corruption trends around the world using local teams of researchers and journalists to monitor openness and accountability. Global Integrity's reporting has been ci ...
, an international project, was launched to systematically track and report on openness, accountability and the rule of law in various countries. It has since been incorporated independently.


2005–2007

Lewis served as CPI's director until January 2005. As of his departure, CPI had published 14 books and more than 250 investigative reports. In 2005, CPI had a staff of 40 full-time Washington-based reporters who partnered with a network of writers and editors in more than 25 countries. Years later, Lewis said he decided to leave his position at CPI because "he didn't want it to become 'an institution that was Chuck's Excellent Adventure". Lewis' departure surprised and upset philanthropists Herb and Marion Sandler, who had partially funded the CPI's activities. In December 2004, CPI's board of directors chose television journalist
Roberta Baskin Roberta Baskin is an American journalist and nonprofit director. She co-founded and served as Executive Director of the AIM2Flourish global learning initiative, hosted at Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at the Weatherhead ...
as Lewis's successor. Baskin came to CPI after directing consumer investigations for ABC News's 20/20 and serving as Washington correspondent for PBS's '' NOW with Bill Moyers''. Lewis wrote that "most of the Center's carefully assembled, very talented, senior staff had quit by the fall of 2005". In September 2005, CPI announced that it had discovered a pattern of plagiarism in the past work of a staff writer for CPI's 2002 book ''Capitol Offenders''. CPI responded by hiring a copy editor to review all work, issuing a revised version of ''Capitol Offenders'', sending letters of apology to all reporters whose work was plagiarized, authoring a new corrections policy, and returning an award the book received from
Investigative Reporters and Editors Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the quality of journalism, in particular investigative journalism. Formed in 1975, it presents the IRE Awards and holds conferences and training ...
. He went on to work for a political consulting firm that specializes in
opposition research In politics, opposition research (also called oppo research) is the practice of collecting information on a political opponent or other adversary that can be used to discredit or otherwise weaken them. The information can include biographical, le ...
. In March 2007, he told the ''
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper. It is also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely distributed. It is currently o ...
'' that the center's official version "is not accurate in telling the full story of why I left the center," but did not elaborate. Baskin led the organization until May 24, 2006. Baskin was followed by Wendell Rawls Jr., who was named the center's interim executive director. Rawls had previously worked as the center's managing director — being named to that post by Baskin on December 19, 2005. He joined CPI in August 2005.


2007–present

In 2007, Rawls was succeeded by
William Buzenberg William "Bill" Buzenberg is a journalist and news executive. He is the former executive director of the Center for Public Integrity, a post from which he stepped down at the end of 2014. Education Buzenberg is a graduate of Kansas State Universi ...
, a vice president at
American Public Media American Public Media (APM) is an American company that produces and distributes public radio programs in the United States, the second largest company of its type after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and o ...
/
Minnesota Public Radio Minnesota Public Radio (MPR), is a public radio network for the state of Minnesota. With its three services, News & Information, YourClassical MPR and The Current, MPR operates a 46-station regional radio network in the upper Midwest. MPR ha ...
. Buzenberg was first interviewed for the position in 2004 during the hiring process that ultimately led to the selection of his predecessor, Roberta Baskin. According to a report by Lewis, "the number of full-time staff was reduced by one-third" in early 2007. By December 2007, the number of full-time staff had dropped to 25, down from a high of 40. At the time, Buzenberg said "It's a great, great place, but I will not mislead you...
ewis An electrical wiring interconnect system (EWIS) is the wiring system and components (such as bundle clamps, wire splices, etc.) for a complex system. The term originated in the aviation industry but was originally designated as Electrical Intercon ...
quite frankly left the center in great shape financially, but when you have a visionary who leaves, how do you continue? 'With difficulty' is the answer." Baskin publicly disputed Buzenberg's claims in a letter to the ''
American Journalism Review The ''American Journalism Review'' (''AJR'') was an American magazine covering topics in journalism. It was launched in 1977 as the ''Washington Journalism Review'' by journalist Roger Kranz. It ceased publication in 2015. History and profile Th ...
'' where she wrote, "contrary to the statement from current Executive Director Bill Buzenberg, the center was not left 'in great shape financially' by my predecessor. Much of the money raised during the year prior to my tenure was used to offset budget overruns on several previous projects. I replaced our director of development and made fundraising my number one priority, much as Buzenberg has done. As a rookie fundraiser, I take pride in the fact that I was able to raise millions of dollars." In 2008, Lewis reflected on the transition period following his resignation and said, "I regret what happened to my staff and the condition of the Center. It's no secret it had a less than enviable few years. But that's one of the reasons I thought it was important to leave. I had founded it and run it for 15 years, and at some point the founder does have to leave the building...I don't regret it, I think it was important that I left, but I do feel badly about the hardship it brought to people I think the world of." In 2010, ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' Investigative Fund merged into the CPI, and eight ''Huffington Post'' journalists moved to CPI. In 2011, CPI eliminated 10 staff positions in order to compensate for a $2 million budget shortfall. Buzenberg and other senior staffers also took salary cuts. CPI board chairman Bruce Finzen said the budget would be "reduced between $2 million and $3 million, more like $2.5 million. The budget for next year will be in the 6 to 7 million range." , there were over 50 staffers at CPI, making it one of the largest nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative centers in the country. In April 2011, with support from the Knight Foundation, CPI launched iWatchnews.org as its main investigative reporting website. In August 2012, CPI stopped using iWatchnews.org and returned to its original domain. Buzenberg stepped down from CPI at the end of 2014, at which time
Peter Bale Bale at the Freedom of Expression Awards in April 2019 Peter Bale (born 15 September 1962) is a New Zealand-born journalist and editor. In August 2017 he was named the launch editor of '' WikiTribune'', a position he held only briefly. Bale previ ...
was named CEO. In November 2016, Bale resigned from the center to "pursue other international media opportunities" and John Dunbar assumed the role of chief executive officer. In 2019, Susan Smith Richardson was named chief executive officer, becoming the first African-American CEO in the center's history.


Organizational structure


Funding

A list of CPI's donors may be found on the organization's official website. CPI's annual reports are also available on the organization's website. CPI ceased accepting contributions from corporations and labor unions in 1996. In its first year, CPI's budget was reported to be $200,000. In 2010, CPI had $9,264,997 in revenue and $7,708,349 in expenses. CPI reports receiving foundation support from a number of foundations, including the Sunlight Foundation, the
Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation The Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation (EEJF) is a grant-making foundation based in Oklahoma that provides grants to journalism institutions throughout the United States. In 2011, the foundation's assets were $91.1 million and $4 million ...
, the
Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...
, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the
Omidyar Network Omidyar Network is a self-styled " philanthropic investment firm," composed of a foundation and an impact investment firm. Established in 2004 by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar and his wife Pam, Omidyar Network has committed over $1.5billion to ...
, the Open Society Foundations, and the Pew Charitable Trusts. The Barbra Streisand Foundation reports that it has funded CPI. In July 2014, the
Laura and John Arnold Foundation Arnold Ventures LLC (formerly known as The Laura and John Arnold Foundation) is focused on evidence-based giving in a wide range of categories including: criminal justice, education, health care, and public finance. The organization was founded by ...
donated $2.8 million to CPI to launch a new project focused on state campaign finance. According to the '' International Business Times'', "as CPI was negotiating the Arnold grant, Arnold's name was absent from a CPI report on pension politics". Arnold has spent at least $10 million on a campaign to roll back pension benefits for public workers.


Board of directors

CPI's board of directors includes Elspeth Revere, Bill Kovach, Ninan Chacko, Bruce A. Finzen,
Arianna Huffington Arianna Stassinopoulos Huffington (née Ariadnē-Anna Stasinopoúlou, el, Αριάδνη-Άννα Στασινοπούλου ; born July 15, 1950) is a Greek-American author, syndicated columnist and businesswoman. She is a co-founder of '' Th ...
, Richard M. Lobo,
Craig Newmark Craig Alexander Newmark (born December 6, 1952) is an American internet entrepreneur and philanthropist best known as the founder of the classifieds website Craigslist. Prior to founding Craigslist, he worked as a computer programmer for companie ...
, Gilbert Omenn, Dan Emmett, Matthew Granade, Jennifer 8. Lee, James A. Kiernan,
Steve Kroft Stephen F. Kroft (born August 22, 1945) is an American retired journalist, best known as a long-time correspondent for ''60 Minutes''. Kroft's investigative reporting garnered widespread acclaim, winning him three Peabody Awards and nine Emmy a ...
, Hendrik-Jan Laseur, Susan Loewenberg, Bevis Longsteth, Olivia Ma, Scott Siegler, Marianne Szegedy-Maszak, and Matt Thompson. Past board directors include
Christiane Amanpour Christiane Maria Heideh AmanpourStated on '' Finding Your Roots'', 22 January 2019 (; fa, کریستیان امان‌پور, Kristiane Amānpur; born 12 January 1958) is a British-Iranian journalist and television host. Amanpour is the Chie ...
,
Sheila Coronel Sheila S. Coronel is a Philippines-born investigative journalist and journalism professor. She is one of the founders of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ). In 2006, she was named the inaugural director of thStabile Center for ...
, and Molly Bingham.


International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

In 1997, CPI launched the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). This international network, based in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, includes over 200 investigative reporters in over 90 countries and territories.
Gerard Ryle Gerard Ryle (born 1965) is an Irish-Australian investigative reporter who has written on subjects including politics, financial and medical scandals, and police corruption. From 2011, he has been director of the International Consortium of Inve ...
is the director of ICIJ. Its website publishes ''The Global Muckraker''. ICIJ is focused on issues such as "cross-border crime, corruption, and the accountability of power".ICIJ
About the ICIJ
/ref> In 2013, the consortium reported having 160 member journalists from 60 countries. The ICIJ brings together teams of international journalists for different investigations (over 80 for Offshore leaks). It organized the bi-annual ''
Daniel Pearl Daniel Pearl (October 10, 1963 – February 1, 2002) was an American journalist who worked for ''The Wall Street Journal.'' He was kidnapped and later decapitated by terrorists in Pakistan.' Pearl was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and rais ...
Awards for Outstanding International Investigative Reporting''. ICIJ staff members include Michael Hudson, while the Advisory Committee in 2013 included
Bill Kovach Bill Kovach ( sq, Bill Kovaçi, born 1932) is an American journalist, former Washington bureau chief of '' The New York Times'', former editor of the ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', and co-author of the book ''The Elements of Journalism: What N ...
,
Phillip Knightley Phillip George Knightley (23 January 1929 – 7 December 2016) was an Australian journalist, critic, and non-fiction author. He became a visiting Professor of Journalism at the University of Lincoln, England, and was a media commentator on the ...
,
Gwen Lister Gwen Lister (born 5 December 1953 in East London, South Africa) is a Namibian journalist, publisher, anti-apartheid and press freedom activist. Early life Growing up under the apartheid system, Lister resolved to fight it as an adult, and c ...
, and
Goenawan Mohamad Goenawan Mohamad (born 29 July 1941) is an Indonesian poet, essayist, playwright and editor. He is the founder and editor of the Indonesian magazine ''Tempo''. Mohamad is a vocal critic of the Indonesian government, and his magazine was periodic ...
.


Panama Papers

In April 2016, the ICIJ made headlines worldwide with the announcement that it and the German newspaper had received a leaked set of 11.5 million confidential documents from a secret source, created by the Panamanian corporate service provider
Mossack Fonseca Mossack Fonseca & Co. () was a Panamanian law firm and corporate service provider.offshore companies, including the identities of shareholders and directors. The documents named the leaders of five countries — Argentina, Iceland, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates — as well as government officials, close relatives and close associates of various heads of government of more than 40 other countries, including Brazil, China, France, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Malta, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Syria and the United Kingdom. The ICIJ and received the Panama Papers in 2015 and distributed them to about 400 journalists at 107 media organizations in more than 80 countries. The first news reports based on the set, along with 149 of the documents themselves, were published on April 3, 2016. Among other planned disclosures, the full list of companies is to be released in early May 2016.


Paradise Papers

In November 2017, ICIJ launched a coordinated worldwide release of investigative reports based on the Paradise Papers, documents leaked to the German newspaper '' Süddeutsche Zeitung'' on offshore tax havens - tax "paradises" - from offshore law firm Appleby.


Ideology

A 2012 ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' editorial described the CPI as a "nonpartisan watchdog group". In relation to a story in February 1996, CPI was characterized as a "liberal group" by the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
'' and ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''.
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) is a progressive left-leaning media critique organization based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1986 by Jeff Cohen and Martin A. Lee. FAIR monitors American news media for bias, inaccu ...
, a progressive media watchdog, has described CPI as " progressive."


Reports

CPI's first report, ''America's Frontline Trade Officials'', reported that nearly half of White House trade officials studied over a fifteen-year period became lobbyists for countries or overseas corporations after retirement. According to Lewis, it "prompted a Justice Department ruling, a General Accounting Office report, a Congressional hearing, was cited by four presidential candidates in 1992 and was partly responsible for an executive order in January 1993 by President Clinton, placing a lifetime ban on foreign lobbying by White House trade officials."


CPI Fat Cat Hotel 1996

In 1996, CPI released a report called ''Fat Cat Hotel: How Democratic High-Rollers Are Rewarded with Overnight Stays at the White House''. This report, written by Margaret Ebrahim, won an award from the Society of Professional Journalists. The report was an examination of the connection between overnight stays in the
Lincoln Bedroom The Lincoln Bedroom is a bedroom which is part of a guest suite located in the southeast corner of the second floor of the White House in Washington, D.C. The Lincoln Sitting Room makes up the other part of the suite. The room is named for Presi ...
during the
Clinton presidency Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over ...
and financial contributions to the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
as well as the Clinton re-election campaign.


CPI Windfalls of War 2003

In 2003, CPI published ''Windfalls of War'', a report arguing that campaign contributions to
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
affected the allocation of reconstruction contracts in Afghanistan and Iraq. '' Slate'' ran a piece arguing that due to a statistically insignificant correlation coefficient between campaign donations and winning contracts, "CPI has no evidence to support its allegations."


CPI LobbyWatch 2005

CPI first reports on LobbyWatch were released in 2005. In their January 2005 publication entitled "Pushing Prescriptions" CPI revealed that major pharmaceutical companies was the number one lobbyist in the United States spending $675 million over seven years on lobbying. They continued with this series in 2005 revealing how pharmaceutical companies had contacts even within the Food and Drug Administration and U.S. Trade Representatives.


CPI Who's Behind the Financial Meltdown? 2009

CPI's report, ''Who's Behind the Financial Meltdown?,'' looking at the roots of the global financial crisis, was featured in numerous media outlets, leading ''Columbia Journalism Review'' to ask, "Why hasn't a newspaper or magazine done this?"


CPI The Climate Change Lobby Explosion 2009

More than 100 newspapers, magazines, wire services and websites cited CPI's report, ''The Climate Change Lobby Explosion'', an analysis of Senate records showing that the number of climate lobbyists had grown by three hundred percent to four for every Senator.


Tobacco Underground 2010

''Tobacco Underground,'' an ongoing project tracing the global trade in smuggled cigarettes, produced by CPI's International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, was honored with the prestigious Renner Award for Crime Reporting from Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), and the Overseas Press Club Award for Best Online International Reporting. The ''Tobacco Underground'' Project was funded by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health. It is a cooperative project between the Center for Public Integrity's International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) is a global network of investigative journalists with staff on six continents. It was founded in 2006 and specializes in organized crime and corruption. It publishes its stories through ...
(OCCRP) with journalists in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Russia and Ukraine. Journalists in Brazil, Belgium, Canada, China, Italy, Paraguay and the UK also participated. that won the Overseas Press Club Award and
Investigative Reporters and Editors Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the quality of journalism, in particular investigative journalism. Formed in 1975, it presents the IRE Awards and holds conferences and training ...
's Tom Renner Award for crime reporting.


Sexual Assault on Campus 2010

In 2010, CPI partnered with
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
to publish "Sexual Assault on Campus", a report which showcases the failures of colleges and government agencies to prevent
sexual assaults Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence, which ...
and resolve sexual assault cases.


Toxic Clout 2013

The year long investigation by CPI, '' Toxic Clout'', produced in partnership with the ''
PBS NewsHour ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations. It airs seven nights a week, and is known for its in-depth coverage of issues and current events. Anchored by Judy Woodruff, the pro ...
'', "unmasked the deep, sometimes hidden, connections entangling the chemical industry, scientists and regulators, revealing the industry's sway and the public's peril." Investigative journalists examined the work of the then California Department of Public Health's John Morgan who had been working since 1995, to debunk allegations that chromium had contributed to the cancer cluster attributed to
Hinkley groundwater contamination From 1952 to 1966, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) dumped about 370 million gallons (1,400 million litres) of chromium-tainted wastewater into unlined wastewater spreading ponds around the town of Hinkley, California, located in the ...
. The CPI found glaring weaknesses in Morgan's analysis that challenge the validity of his findings. "In his first study, he dismisses what others see as a genuine cancer cluster in Hinkley. In his latest analysis, he excludes people who were exposed to the worst contamination." ''
PBS Newshour ''PBS NewsHour'' is an American evening television news program broadcast on over 350 PBS member stations. It airs seven nights a week, and is known for its in-depth coverage of issues and current events. Anchored by Judy Woodruff, the pro ...
'' broadcast the series which included "EPA Contaminated by Conflict of Interest", "Ouster of Scientist from EPA Panel Shows Industry Clout", starting in early 2013. CPI published a series of articles including "Toxic clout: how Washington works (badly)" and "How industry scientists stalled action on carcinogen."


Secrecy for Sale: offshore accounts 2013 to present

In 2013,
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ), is an independent global network of 280 investigative journalists and over 140 media organizations spanning more than 100 countries. It is based in Washington, D.C. with ...
released the results of a 15-month-long investigation based on 260 gigabytes of data regarding the ownership of secret offshore bank accounts. The data was obtained by
Gerard Ryle Gerard Ryle (born 1965) is an Irish-Australian investigative reporter who has written on subjects including politics, financial and medical scandals, and police corruption. From 2011, he has been director of the International Consortium of Inve ...
as a result of his investigation into the Firepower scandal. The ICIJ partnered with the '' Guardian'',
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, ''
Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'', ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'', ''
SonntagsZeitung TX Group AG (formerly Tamedia AG) is a media company headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Through a portfolio of daily and weekly newspapers, magazines and digital platforms, as well as own printing facilities, it is the largest media group in ...
'', '' Süddeutsche Zeitung'' and NDR to produce an investigative series on
offshore banking An offshore bank is a bank regulated under international banking license (often called offshore license), which usually prohibits the bank from establishing any business activities in the jurisdiction of establishment. Due to less regulation and ...
. ICIJ and partnering agencies used the ownership information to report on government corruption across the globe, tax avoidance schemes used by wealthy people, the use of secret offshore accounts in Ponzi Schemes, the active role of major banks in facilitating secrecy for their clients, and the strategies and actors that make these activities possible. In early 2014 the ICIJ revealed as part of their "Offshore Leaks" that relatives of China's political and financial elite were among those using offshore tax havens to store wealth.


Science for Sale

The 2016 series entitled Science for Sale included, the February 8, 2016 article "About Science for Sale", the February 8, 2016 article "Meet the 'rented white coats' who defend toxic chemicals", the February 10, 2016 article "Making a cancer cluster disappear", the February 16, 2016 article "Ford spent $40 million to reshape asbestos science", the February 18, 2016 article "Brokers of junk science?", and the March 31, 2016 article "Senators seek better conflict disclosures for scientific articles." In this investigative series which was co-published with Vice, journalist revealed how research backed by industry has opened debates on asbestos and arsenic with some of the paid scientists saying that "there are 'safe' levels of asbestos despite statements to the contrary from the World Health Organization and many other august bodies".


Professional fundraisers for veterans

In December 2017, CPI journalist Sarah Kleiner published a report on professional fundraisers who use telemarketing to collect donations for US military veterans, then keep 90 percent of the funds collected. According to the December 12, 2017 article, Brian Arthur Hampton co-founded two Falls Church, Virginia-based non-profit organizations: the
Circle of Friends for American Veterans Circle of Friends for American Veterans (COFAV) (also known as "American Homeless Veterans") was a 501(c)(3) organization that supported veterans and related causes. It was founded in 1993 in Falls Church, Virginia, by Brian Arthur Hampton. The cha ...
(COFAV)—also known as "American Homeless Veterans"—in 1993 and then the Center for American Homeless Veterans—also known as the "Association for Homeless and Disabled Veterans". During the 2000s, Hampton said he had "hosted more than 100 members of Congress across 196 veterans shelter-themed forums in 46 cities" in rallies for these non-profits. Kleiner revealed that according to the 2015 Center for American Homeless Veterans' tax returns, "it provided just $200 in grants to other organizations out of $2.5 million in overall expenditures, the vast majority of which paid telemarketers." This report confirms findings from the investigation by the Saint Louis, Missouri
Better Business Bureau Better Business Bureau (BBB) is a private, 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization founded in 1912. BBB's self-described mission is to focus on advancing marketplace trust, consisting of 97 independently incorporated local BBB organizations in the Unite ...
(BBB) and
CharityWatch CharityWatch, formerly known as the American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP), is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Chicago, created in the United States by Daniel Borochoff in 1992, to provide information about charities' financial efficiency ...
. The BBB had advised "consumers to exercise caution when deciding whether to contribute money" to Hampton's non-profit. BBB also found that " ntracts between the Center for American Homeless Veterans and "its two main fundraisers"—
Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...
-based
Outreach Calling Circle of Friends for American Veterans (COFAV) (also known as "American Homeless Veterans") was a 501(c)(3) organization that supported veterans and related causes. It was founded in 1993 in Falls Church, Virginia, by Brian Arthur Hampton. The cha ...
and
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...
-based
Midwest Publishing The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
—revealed that "just 10 percent of all donations" go to the Center for American Homeless Veterans. The BBB investigation also revealed that from September 2014 to September 2016, Outreach Calling and Midwest Publishing "collected nearly $5 million, with about $508,000 going to the enter for American Homeless Veteransand "almost all the money retained" by the center, "went to pay salaries, legal fees and office-related expenses." According to New York state regulators, "a wealthy 49-year-old New Jersey businessman", Mark Gelvan (b.1978), is the "driving force behind Outreach Calling." Outreach Calling collects money for "homeless veterans," "breast cancer survivors", "disabled police officers", and "children with leukemia", among others. According to a 2017 CPI analysis, "Outreach Calling, raised more than $118 million on behalf of about two dozen charities from 2011 to 2015", retaining $106 million. This left c. 10.3 percent or $12.2 million, for the non-profit charities and those they serve - homeless veterans, breast cancer survivors, disabled police officers, and children with leukemia. In the United States, it is legal -profit telemarketers to keep 90% of the donations they solicit as long as they to not "mislead prospective donors" or "lie to them about how their contributions will be used", according to Jim Sheehan, "head of the charities bureau for the office of
New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government o ...
Eric T. Schneiderman."


Copycat bills

The CPI, ''
USA TODAY ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'', and ''
The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...
'' undertook a collaborative two-year investigation into copycat bills, involving 30 investigative reporters across the United States, which culminated in a series of articles published in 2019. Specifically, their investigation examined the role of organizations, such as the
American Legislative Exchange Council The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is a nonprofit organization of conservative state legislators and private sector representatives who draft and share model legislation for distribution among state governments in the United State ...
(ALEC), in the American legislative process through the use of so-called "model bills" or copycat bills. Data journalists, using a "unique-data analysis engine built on hundreds of cloud computers", compared "millions of words of legislation" from LegiScan, found that, from 2010 through 2018, legislators have introduced ALEC model bills 2,900 times. Six hundred of these became law. The data identified about 10,000 bills introduced in all American states, that included almost identical language. The investigation called the widespread successful use of these model bills spanning an eight-year period—which the report described as "fill-in-the-blank legislation"—amounts to "perhaps the largest unreported special-interest campaign in American politics." Journalists wrote that copycat bills drive agendas in almost "every statehouse" and touch almost every area of public policy. The data revealed how the traditional way of writing legislation "from scratch" had been supplanted by the use of ALEC bills in many states. Mississippi—with a total population of less than three million—has had more "model bills", that were written outside Mississippi, introduced into its Legislature than in any other state" in the United States.


Reception

Kevin Phillips of
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
has said, "no other investigative organization shines so many probing flashlights into so many Washington dirty-laundry baskets." In 2006, '' Slate'' media critic
Jack Shafer Jack Shafer (born November 14, 1957) is an American journalist who writes about media for ''Politico''. Prior to joining ''Politico'', he worked for Reuters and also edited and wrote the column'' "''Press Box" for ''Slate'', an online magazine. B ...
described CPI as having "broken as many stories as almost any big-city daily in the last couple of decades".


Funding from supporters of legal restrictions on campaign finance

Writing in ''
The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' in March 2005, commentator
John Fund John H. Fund (born April 8, 1957) is an American political journalist. He is currently the national-affairs reporter for National Review Online and a senior editor at ''The American Spectator''. Life and career Fund was born in Tucson, Arizona. ...
accused CPI of being a member of what he termed the "campaign finance lobby." Citing a speech by Sean Treglia, former program manager at Pew Charitable Trusts, Fund argued that a "stealth campaign" by "eight liberal foundations" fomented a false sense of public demand for new restrictions on the financing of public campaigns. Fund singled out CPI as a front group pushing Pew's agenda, arguing that "reporters are used to attempts to hoodwink officials into thinking an issue is genuinely popular, and they frequently expose them. But when "good government" groups like the Center for Public Integrity engage in the same tactics, journalists usually ignore it." CPI's Bill Allison responded to criticisms arising from Tregalia's speech by emphasizing that Pew's contributions to the CPI's work on campaign finance have always been forthrightly disclosed. In a published argument with blogger Ryan Sager, Allison also disputed the notion that the CPI's work amounted to advocacy. Allison stated, "the purpose of our grants is to do things like code hundreds of thousands of public records, put them in a database and post them on our Website so anyone can use them. The amount of money we've gotten to push campaign finance reform is $0. In another essay on CPI's website, Allison challenged CPI's critics, and Fund specifically, arguing that:


Looting the Seas controversy

In November 2010, CPI published a report on bluefin tuna overfishing entitled "Looting the Seas". ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' reported that "to obtain key information for the project, reporters accessed a database maintained by an intergovernmental fisheries regulatory body with a password given by a source, likely breaking the law." CPI's own lawyer and an outside law firm both determined that CPI's staff likely broke the law in obtaining information for the report. In addition, one of the experts quoted in the associated documentary was paid $15,000 as a project consultant to CPI. The investigative methods used to produce the report became a point of contention within the organization when CPI employee John Solomon made a number of accusations against the team that had worked on the series. CPI board member and former ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' Washington bureau chief
Bill Kovach Bill Kovach ( sq, Bill Kovaçi, born 1932) is an American journalist, former Washington bureau chief of '' The New York Times'', former editor of the ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'', and co-author of the book ''The Elements of Journalism: What N ...
was asked by then-CPI president
William Buzenberg William "Bill" Buzenberg is a journalist and news executive. He is the former executive director of the Center for Public Integrity, a post from which he stepped down at the end of 2014. Education Buzenberg is a graduate of Kansas State Universi ...
to look into the matter. Kovach concluded that CPI's reporting was "sound, ethical and fully in the public interest." In addition, the board hired an outside law firm to answer the legal questions.
Columbia Journalism Review The ''Columbia Journalism Review'' (''CJR'') is a biannual magazine for professional journalists that has been published by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism since 1961. Its contents include news and media industry trends, an ...
reported: "As for the legality of using the password to access data, the lawyers concluded that, in theory, a prosecutor might argue it violated the
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986 (CFAA) is a United States cybersecurity bill that was enacted in 1986 as an amendment to existing computer fraud law (), which had been included in the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. The law pro ...
. But whether it actually did was open to debate. And, in any case, it was highly unlikely that charges would ever be brought." In the wake of the controversy, David Kaplan and John Solomon resigned from CPI. CPI officials also withdrew their entry of the tuna story for a Pulitzer Prize. Andy Revkin of ''The New York Times'' wrote, "the relationship of the television production to a United Nations agency and an environmental group can prompt questions about objectivity, but the package, over all, appears robust." The Looting the Seas series won two journalism awards: the Renner Award from
Investigative Reporters and Editors Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the quality of journalism, in particular investigative journalism. Formed in 1975, it presents the IRE Awards and holds conferences and training ...
and the 2010 Whitman Bassow Award from the Overseas Press Club of America.


Coordination with advocacy groups

In 2011, ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' called into question CPI's collaboration with advocacy organizations. ''Politico'' reported that CPI had coordinated the release of a report on
Koch Industries Koch Industries, Inc. ( ) is an American privately held multinational conglomerate corporation based in Wichita, Kansas and is the second-largest privately held company in the United States, after Cargill. Its subsidiaries are involved in the ...
with Greenpeace. ''Politico'' also reported that Pew Charitable Trusts, a funder of the Looting the Seas report, hosted a screening of a CPI documentary and then organized a call to action with other NGOs for the protection of bluefin tuna. In 2008, CPI published a report on tobacco that was both funded by and promoted by an advocacy group called Tobacco Free Kids.


Awards

In 1996, the CPI received the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award for Public Service in Online Journalism (Independent) for their report entitled "Fat Cat Hotel: How Democratic High-Rollers are Rewarded with Overnight Stays at the White House" by the Public i staff and Margaret Ebrahim. CPI received the
George Polk Award The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the awar ...
in 2003 for its investigation of
US military spending The military budget is the largest portion of the discretionary United States federal budget allocated to the United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense, or more broadly, the portion of the budget that goes to any military-rela ...
in
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
("Windfalls of War: U.S. Contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan"). Its work led to widespread media coverage that increased congressional scrutiny of military spending. In 2011, CPI won a James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism for their investigation of weak inspections endangering factory workers and surrounding communities. In 2012, CPI reporter Michael Hudson won a "Best-in-Business" award for digital investigative reporting from the
Society of American Business Editors and Writers The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing is an association of business journalists. Originally founded as the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, in 2018, it changed its name "as part of a broader effort to embrace a ...
. Hudson won the award for his report entitled ''The Great Mortgage Cover-Up.'' CPI's work has also received awards from PEN USA,
Investigative Reporters and Editors Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. (IRE) is a nonprofit organization that focuses on improving the quality of journalism, in particular investigative journalism. Formed in 1975, it presents the IRE Awards and holds conferences and training ...
,
the Society of Professional Journalists The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), formerly known as Sigma Delta Chi, is the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States. It was established on April 17, 1909, at DePauw University,2009 SPJ Annual Report, letter ...
, the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, the
National Press Foundation The National Press Foundation is a nonprofit journalism training organization. It educates journalists on complex issues and trains them in reporting tools and techniques. It recognizes and encourages excellence in journalism through its awards. ...
, the
Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy is a Harvard Kennedy School research center that explores the intersection and impact of media, politics and public policy in theory and practice. Among other activities, the center or ...
and others. CPI reporter Chris Hamby won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. Hamby's story reported that doctors and lawyers working for the coal industry helped defeat benefit claims of coal miners who had contracted black lung disease. After CPI's Pulitzer win, ''
Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'' reported that "ABC News has accused The Center for Public Integrity of downplaying the network's contributions to a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative report, setting off a bitter public dispute between two news organizations that once worked as partners." CPI executive director Bill Buzenberg said that ABC News overstated its contributions to the story.


Published books

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See also

*
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, Inc. (ICIJ), is an independent global network of 280 investigative journalists and over 140 media organizations spanning more than 100 countries. It is based in Washington, D.C. with ...


References


Further reading

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External links

*
International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)

Sunshine Week

National Freedom of Information (FOI) Day
at
First Amendment Center The First Amendment Center supports the First Amendment and builds understanding of its core freedoms through education, information and entertainment. The center serves as a forum for the study and exploration of free-expression issues, includin ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Center For Public Integrity Charities based in Washington, D.C. American journalism organizations Online magazines published in the United States George Polk Award recipients News agencies based in the United States Organizations established in 1989