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The Center for Investigative Reporting
The Center for Investigative Reporting fosters justice, democratic values and accountability by conducting and promoting media investigations of underreported issues in the public interest. CIR editors, reporters and producers look for stories that question secrecy, investigate powerful institutions, and make a difference in people's lives -- all the while remaining true to the principles of accuracy and fairness.
Since the organization's founding in 1977, CIR has completed hundreds of investigations for newspapers, magazines, television, radio and the Internet -- reaching millions of people in every state and in other countries. CIR stories have been accepted by CBS 60 Minutes, ABC 20/20, The New York Times, the Washington Post, National Public Radio, and many other national and regional news outlets. In turn, CIR reports have sparked Congressional hearings and legislation, U.N. resolutions, public interest lawsuits, and change in corporate policies. CIR's ability to place stories with such reach and impact has earned the organization numerous awards -- including the Alfred I. du Pont-Columbia University Silver Baton, The George Polk Award, and a national Emmy Award, among others -- and the respect of the journalism community.
You can read more about CIR's work, or visit CIR's Web site at: http://www.muckraker.org.
theRake
Created to combine the power investigative reporting to the tools of streaming media, theRake has worked on several projects, including the investigation of the Sean Twomey case. theRake hopes to launch their Web site sometime in the future.
You can read more about theRake at: http://www.theRake.com.
For The Center for Investigative Reporting
Doug Hamilton, producer: An Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer, writer and director of nationally broadcast documentaries, Mr. Hamilton produced, wrote and directed the Emmy Award-winning "Hot Guns," a 1997 CIR co-production for PBS and Frontline that examined the illicit market in cheap handguns. In 1997, he produced the 60th Anniversary of Life Magazine documentary for CBS, earning another Emmy Award. In 2000, he was the producer for the Peabody Award-winning series, "Drug Wars," for PBS and Frontline. From 1986 to 1995, he served as a news segment producer for CBS News, producing stories for 60 Minutes, Eye to Eye, and West 57th.
Emily Lundberg, associate producer: Ms. Lundberg is an East Bay print
journalist and documentary associate producer. She previously worked as Associate Producer for the KQED production, "Raising a Ruckus."
David Ritsher, editor: Mr. Ritsher is a documentary editor who has worked on numerous award-winning PBS programs, most recently including "Trade Secrets: A Moyers Report" about the chemical industry. He previously edited nationally broadcast programs for PBS Frontline on, among other subjects, the history and politics of Russia.
Josiah Hooper, field producer: Mr. Hooper is a producer and cinematographer from Berkeley. He recently produced and shot the BAY WINDOW program "Raising a Ruckus," a film about the latest wave of street activism targeting the World Trade Organization, World Bank and International Monetary Fund. He is also a founding member of theRake media collective, a group of digital documentary filmmakers, journalists and designers on the Web at http://www.theRake.com.
Dan Noyes, editorial director: Mr. Noyes is a co-founder of the Center for Investigative Reporting and directs the organization's reporting program. In 2000, he was the executive producer for "The Battle Over School Choice" and "The Future of War," both CIR/Frontline co-productions. He also was executive producer for "Hot Guns," a 1997 CIR/Frontline co-production on cheap handguns that won an Emmy and numerous other journalism and documentary awards. His reports have appeared in The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the San Francisco Examiner, The Nation, Mother Jones, San Francisco, New West, and the German newsweekly Stern.
For KQED Bay Window
Sue Ellen McCann, Bay Window executive producer: Sue Ellen McCann has more than 15 years of production experience. After working on PBS FRONTLINE documentaries at the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR), Ms. McCann started her own production company, Studio Miramar, in 1991. She has produced a variety of educational and documentary programs that reflect her interest in technology, community, history, art and social justice. Ms. McCann has also worked in a variety of digital formats including Web sites, CD-ROMs and touch screen kiosks. Fair Play, her most recent documentary, is part of the Digital Divide series that aired January 2000 on PBS nationwide. Ms. McCann is also the executive producer for Springboard.
What is the CIR?
The Center for Investigative Reporting fosters justice, democratic values and accountability by conducting and promoting media investigations of underreported issues in the public interest.
CIR editors, reporters and producers tackle the difficult stories others won 't touch. They look for stories that question secrecy, investigate powerful institutions, and make a difference in people's lives -- all the while remaining true to the principles of accuracy and fairness.
An experienced group of advisers and directors from the world of journalism guide the editorial direction and suggest specific stories, while a mix of staff reporters and independent journalists under CIR direction pursue leads and piece together the most promising investigations. Major news organizations in television, radio and print are contacted to identify the best place to publish or broadcast the stories.
CIR works closely with the news outlet running the stories to maximize their impact. CIR also hosts film screenings, alerts nonprofit groups and policy makers, and publishes additional information on the Internet. Later, CIR follows up on new leads, often resulting in additional stories with other media outlets.
CIR also promotes investigative reporting through educational programs. CIR sponsors workshops on research techniques, publishes how-to manuals, and operates a nationally recognized internship and fellowship program. CIR's Web site (http://www.muckraker.org) provides tips for journalists and follows up on past investigations.
Since the organization's founding in 1977, CIR has completed hundreds of investigations for newspapers, magazines, television, radio and the Internet -- reaching millions of people in every state and in other countries. CIR stories have been accepted by CBS 60 Minutes, ABC 20/20, The New York Times, The Washington Post, National Public Radio, and many other national and regional news outlets. In turn, CIR reports have sparked Congressional hearings and legislation, U.N. resolutions, public interest lawsuits, and change in corporate policies.
In 1979, CIR reported in Mother Jones magazine about the tobacco industry's reluctance to adopt self-extinguishing cigarettes to prevent deadly fires. In 2000, tobacco giant Philip Morris announced its "safer paper" cigarette to reduce the chances that smoldering cigarettes left unattended will start fires. New York also passed a law requiring safer cigarettes.
In 1994, CIR investigated the health risks of phenylpropanolmine
hydrocholoride (PPA), an amphetamine-type drug used in diet pills, for the New York Daily News, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the San Francisco Chronicle. The reports foreshadowed the federal government's decision in 2000 to pull the drug from pharmacy shelves, citing the drug's links to deadly seizures.
In 1997, "Hot Guns," a CIR co-production for PBS Frontline, revealed how guns were finding their way onto city streets because of lax security at weapon manufacturing centers. In 1998, California State Assembly legislators, citing the CIR program, passed a law to increase security at the state's 42 gun manufacturers.
In 1999, "Justice for Sale," a CIR co-production for PBS Frontline, told the story of how Louisiana residents fought the construction of a
pollution-producing factory supported by Gov. Mike Foster, only to have the state Supreme Court thwart future opposition to chemical plants. Following the broadcast and after learning that CBS was about to air its own version of the story, Foster stunned business leaders by renouncing his policy of attracting polluting industry to Louisiana's "cancer alley."
CIR's ability to place stories with such reach and impact has earned the organization numerous awards -- including the Alfred I. du Pont-Columbia University Silver Baton, The George Polk Award, and a national Emmy Award, among others -- and the respect of the journalism community.
Contact CIR:
Center for Investigative Reporting
500 Howard Street, Suite 206
San Francisco, CA 94105
tel: (415) 543-1200
email: center@cironline.org
Web: http://www.muckraker.org
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