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Center, NPR receive Goldsmith finalist award

The Center for Public Integrity and NPR News received a finalist citation for the  2012 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting. The two organizations collaborated on a major air pollution investigation called Poisoned Places: Toxic Air, Neglected Communities. The first-place award went to the Associated Press for a series on the the New York Police Department’s surveillance of Muslims after the Sept. 11 terror attacks

The Goldsmith Prize is conferred by the Joan Shorenstein Center for the Press, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University. The  Investigative Reporting prize honors the journalist or journalists whose investigative reporting in a story or series of related stories best promotes more effective and ethical conduct of government, the making of public policy, or the practice of politics.

The other Goldsmith finalists, who each won $10,000, were:

— ABC News’ ”20/20,” for an investigation that uncovered a failure to protect Peace Corps volunteers who fell victim to sex abuse and that prompted a new law.

— The CBS affiliate in Houston, KHOU-TV, for uncovering extreme contamination in Texas drinking water and finding that radiation lab test results were lowered wrongfully.

The New York Times, for an effort revealing state workers who beat or sexually abused developmentally disabled people kept their jobs, leading New York’s governor to force out two top state officials.

— ProPublica and The Washington Post, for an analysis of the Justice Department’s presidential pardon recommendations during George W. Bush’s administration that showed racial bias and other problems.

The judges also recognized Bloomberg News with a citation for an effort that revealed how the Federal Reserve gave a trillion dollars in bailout loans to Wall Street’s biggest banks.

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Weekly Watchdog 1/26/12

Free-for-all in southern Pacific decimates fish stocks

Asian, European and Latin American fleets have devastated fish stocks in the southern Pacific, once among the world’s richest waters, a new investigation by the Center’s International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has found. Governments with the power to stop the plunder have stalled for years, and no binding rules are in place. The result: Stocks of jack mackerel are down 90 percent to less than 3 million metric tons in just two decades. The oily fish is a staple in Africa, but people elsewhere are unaware that it is in their forkfuls of farmed salmon. Jack mackerel is a vital component of fishmeal for aquaculture. Today, industrial fleets bound only by voluntary restraints compete in what amounts to a free-for-all in open waters from the west coast of South America across much of the southern Pacific. The investigation also found that in Peru, at least 630,000 metric tons of anchoveta have vanished over the past two and a half years between the holds of boats and factory scales. That is more than all the fish British fleets land in a year.

The defense cuts that aren’t

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John Dunbar discusses super PACs on PBS NewsHour

Watch How Big Money Super PACs are Reshaping the GOP Race on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

The Center's Politics Editor John Dunbar appears on PBS NewsHour to talk super PAC impact on the Republican primary race with Robert Kelner of the Covington & Burling law firm.

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International Consortium Adds 41 Investigative Journalists

The Center's International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has added 41 new members to its roster, expanding the network’s reach to 158 news professionals working on an array of media platforms in 61 countries. ICIJ is a global network of reporters who collaborate on in-depth, cross-border stories and is a project of the Center for Public Integrity.

The new members are reporters, editors and journalism entrepreneurs in 28 countries on five continents. They bring a new wave of talent to the world’s oldest global network of investigative journalists — from cutting-edge computer-assisted reporting to multi-media skills. They also represent new business models and non-profit investigative centers that today are diversifying the media landscape from South Africa to Latvia.

“These additions to ICIJ mark the ambitious expansion of an already stellar team of journalists,” said ICIJ Director Gerard Ryle. “It is notable that in this group of dedicated professionals are courageous women and men who’ve helped investigate and explain some of the most important events and issues of our time, from the repressive regimes that led to the Arab Spring uprisings to the inner-workings of multi-national drug cartels. This is experience and ability that will invigorate our plans for cross-border investigations with global impact.”

The new ICIJ members are:

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Jesus Sosa Mancia, a CKD patient in Bajo Lempa, El Salvador, during a home visit by a medical team from the national health ministry. Sasha Chavkin/ICIJ

The weekly watchdog: Dec. 12 - Dec. 16

By Bill Buzenberg

In case you missed them, catch up on this week's top investigations from iWatch News.

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Center garners top journalism awards

By iWatch News

The Center for Public Integrity’s iWatchnews.org website today received the Excellence in Online Journalism Award from the National Press Foundation. Late last month, the nonpartisan news organization won two 2011 EPPY awards from 'Editor & Publisher.'

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Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich Craig Ruttle/AP

The weekly watchdog: Dec. 5 - Dec. 9

By Bill Buzenberg

In case you missed them, catch up on this week's top investigations from iWatch News.

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Staff changes at the Center

By Bill Buzenberg

Dear readers and supporters,

The Center for Public Integrity today undertook personnel and salary changes that put our organization on a solid financial footing for 2012. Sadly, that required laying off four professionals who are valued colleagues and friends. These are the positions we have had to cut:

Two of our Managing Editors; an Office Manager; and a videographer.

These individuals have done outstanding work for the Center and their commitment and loyalty have been valued enormously. We wish them the very best for the future.

Five other open positions have been eliminated and there has been some additional restructuring.

With the support of our board, we are going into 2012 with a leaner budget by about $2 million.  We believe we have taken appropriate action, however hard, to remain effective as one of the strongest non-profit investigative journalism organizations anywhere. We are committed to delivering outstanding journalism in the public interest with a slightly smaller and even more efficient digital newsroom.

--Bill Buzenberg

Executive Director

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Google

iWatch News edition launches in new Google Currents app

By Erik Lincoln

Starting today, iWatch News readers can get our content on their Android devices, iPads or iPhones through the new Google Currents app.

You can read the latest Center investigations in addition to browsing your favorite iWatch section. Click here to subscribe to our edition, once you've downloaded the app. You can also search for 'iWatch News' within Currents.

From Google's blog post:

We’ve worked with more than 150 publishing partners to offer full-length articles from more than 180 editions including CNET, AllThingsD, Forbes, Saveur, PBS, Huffington Post, Fast Company and more. Content is optimized for smartphones and tablets, allowing you to intuitively navigate between words, pictures and video on large and small screens alike, even if you’re offline.

To get started, simply download the app and choose the publications you want to subscribe to for free. You can also add RSS, video and photo feeds, public Google+ streams and Google Reader subscriptions you’re already following. In addition to consuming your favorite media, you can also use the trending tab to discover related content that matches your tastes.

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