The Center for Public Integrity

The story of the bankrupt solar company Solyndra just gets more and more interesting. White House budget staffers expressed doubts about giving the company $535 million in loan guarantees, according to emails first obtained by iWatch News and ABC News. The loans were ultimately made anyway. Ronnie Greene is interviewed below in this CNN report.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists is pleased to announce the finalists for the 2011 Daniel Pearl Awards for Outstanding International Investigative Reporting.

This award is unique among journalism prizes in that it was created specifically to honor cross-border investigative reporting. It is presented by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a project of the Center for Public Integrity.

This year’s biennial competition drew 70 entries from 30 countries. Topics ranged from the World Health Organization and Center for Disease Control’s handling of the swine flu and H1N1 flu pandemic to the world of human trafficking and sex slavery in Eastern Europe. The seven finalists represent some of the world’s best investigative reporting and include stories from Afghanistan and Iraq, Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the United States.

“I’m honored to present this outstanding work,” said ICIJ Director Gerard Ryle, the group’s first non-American director. “We are acknowledging journalists whose work often places them in great danger and does more than grab headlines; it generates meaningful impact and exposes the truth.”

William E. Buzenberg, the executive director of the Center for Public Integrity said, “I’m delighted to announce these seven finalists. Their work exemplifies investigative journalism’s capacity to uncover hardships that affect people from all corners of the globe.”

Ronnie Greene, senior reporter for iWatch News, was interviewed on Fox News about the demise of Solyndra, the solar-energy firm that went bust last week. The FBI is now investigating how the firm spent almost half a billion dollars in taxpayer-backed loans. iWatch News broke this story with ABC News in May.

The Obama administration's heavy promotion -- and special treatment -- of the company raised flags from the very beginning. Also troubling, Solyndra was funded, in part, by venture capitalist George Kaiser who is also an Obama campaign bundler.

Some members of Congress assert that Solyndra's top executive misled them less than two months ago when describing the company's financial health. The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s investigative panel announced it will hold hearings this Wednesday on the government’s Solyndra loan.

Christine Montgomery has been named chief digital officer at the Center for Public Integrity, one of the country’s oldest and largest nonprofit investigative news organizations.

Montgomery comes from PBS.org, where she is currently the managing editor in charge of developing niche sites to reach and engage new audiences.

“I’m delighted that Christine is joining the Center,” said Executive Director William E. Buzenberg. “We have launched an ambitious new digital offering with iWatch News and I look forward to making good use of her skills and leadership.”

While at PBS, Montgomery launched PBSArts.org and revamped PBSParents.org, and worked on a new multiplatform news and public affairs initiative. As well, she brokered strategic partnerships for content development, distribution, and training.

Earlier in her career, Montgomery was director of Web publishing for the St. Petersburg Times; a deputy managing editor for USATODAY.com and a feature writer for the Washington Times.

"I'm honored to be working alongside such an accomplished team of journalists, and excited about the opportunity to lead the Center's digital strategy," Montgomery said.  She is currently President of the Online News Association and will begin her work at the Center in early October.

Reporter Sharon Weinberger discusses a decade of no-bid military contracting on DemocracyNow with Amy Goodman. Watch the segment here. Read the series here.

President Obama's alternative energy darlilng, Solyndra, goes bankrupt. Taxpayers could get stuck with a bill for $535 million in loan guarantees. See the segment below on Good Morning America.

The Center for Public Integrity has been nominated for two 2011 Online Journalism Awards:

-The Truth Left Behind: Inside the Kidnapping and Murder of Daniel Pearl: Pearl Project, sponsored by Georgetown University and the Center for Public Integrity’s International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

-Breakdown: Traveling Dangerously in America – News 21 and The Center for Public Integrity

Launched in 2000, the OJAs are the only comprehensive set of journalism prizes honoring excellence in digital journalism. The prize is sponsored by the Online News Association, the University of Miami School of Communication, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Gannett Foundation.