About the Investigative Reporting Workshop
In recent years, much of the traditional American media, in a drive to cut costs and maintain profits, has slashed its capacity to do investigative journalism. This has happened just as the forces of technology and globalization are combining to make government and powerful private institutions less transparent, and thus, less subject to public scrutiny and oversight.
The Investigative Reporting Workshop, a professional journalism center in the School of Communication at American University, addresses this fundamental issue for democracy in two important ways:
- By conducting significant, multimedia investigative journalism projects on a national and international scale. We are mentoring and enabling the work of a new generation of investigative reporters while also enlarging the public space for the leading journalists of our time to work with us as Senior Fellows or contract writers. To see our work in this arena, including our collaborations with such major media outlets as msnbc.com, FRONTLINE, McClatchy Newspapers and others, visit our investigation pages or our partners page .
- By researching and experimenting with new models for creating and delivering investigative projects. Our efforts in this arena, from the Workshop iLab, have helped lead to the development of the Investigative News Network and aided and abetted the establishment of several other nonprofit news groups, both in the United States and abroad.
The Workshop was formally approved by the university in the Spring of 2008 and began publishing original national and international reporting projects in the Spring of 2009. The model for the Workshop is the Children's Television Workshop, which originally was created to produce Sesame Street, but became an incubator and innovator for much of educational television. The Workshop operates under the 501c3 designation of American University.
Charles Lewis, a national investigative journalist for more than 30 years who has founded four non-profits in Washington, including the Center for Public Integrity, is the founding executive editor of the Workshop. Wendell Cochran, a longtime business reporter, editor and journalism faculty member, is the founding senior editor. Lynne Perri, former deputy managing editor for graphics and photography at USA TODAY, is managing editor. Margaret Ebrahim, a former 60 Minutes II and ABC News investigative producer, also serves as a senior editor. Lewis and Cochran are tenured faculty members in the School of Communication at American University; Perri and Ebrahim are journalists-in-residence. The Workshop Advisory Board consists of 14 outstanding journalists from five continents.
Workshop policies
Transparency: The Workshop is committed to operating in a transparent, open fashion that other news organizations can use as a model. We believe transparency will foster more credibility for our journalistic projects and help create confidence on the part of our partners and our funders. To that end, we will provide disclosure of our operations and practices beyond that which is required by law or custom.
Journalistic ethics: High-quality journalism devoted to providing oversight of powerful public and private institutions is vital to a free society. We define “high-quality” to include not only excellent tradecraft, but also excellence in decision-making that reflects the ideals of transparency and accountability to all our stakeholders. Read our ethics policy.
Financial disclosures: The Workshop does not file a Form 990 because it is part of American University. We do, however, disclose information about our finances, including executive compensation.
Sources of funding:. The Workshop is primarily funded by grants from private foundations. As a matter of course, we submit project proposals to these funders as a way of seeking their support. We also make required reports to funders about our activities. Funders are not involved in the editorial decisions we make. We also accept gifts from individuals. We disclose our donors and do not accept anonymous contributions. We do not seek or accept contributions from corporations, labor unions, governments, political parties or advocacy organizations, although in limited instances we may accept in-kind corporate contributions of data to support projects. All gifts to the Workshop of more than $10,000 a year are disclosed on our Web site.
How to Give to the Workshop
The Investigative Reporting Workshop is funded entirely by foundation grants and gifts from individuals.
To support our efforts with a tax-deductible gift, please send a check to:
Investigative Reporting Workshop
American University
3201 New Mexico Ave. NW, Suite 249
Washington, D.C. 20016-8141
Attention Barbara Schecter
If you prefer, you can make an online donation through the American University website.
We are very grateful for your belief in the importance of our work and thank you in advance for the generous contribution.
Here is a list of the foundations that have made grants to the Workshop since its inception in May 2008:
- Challenge Fund for Journalism VI
- Deer Creek Foundation
- Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation
- Otto Haas Charitable Trust #2
- W.K. Kellogg Foundation
- John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
- Litowitz Foundation
- John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
- The Park Foundation
- Public Welfare Foundation
- Rockefeller Family and Associates
- Rockefeller Brothers Fund
- Carnegie Corporation of New York
In-kind data contributions:
