WASHINGTON, D.C., July 2, 2009 — The Center for Public Integrity has joined with nearly two dozen other nonprofit news organizations nationwide in announcing plans for creation of a new Investigative News Network for watchdog journalism.

The agreement is the result of a three-day meeting at the Pocantico Conference Center in Tarrytown, NY, sponsored by the Center for Public Integrity and the Center for Investigative Reporting. A joint statement issued by the groups in attendance — the Pocantico Declaration — lays the groundwork for an unprecedented collaborative network of newly established and veteran nonprofit investigative journalism organizations.

“The Center for Public Integrity joins an ambitious and energetic group of investigative journalists who will help confront the extraordinary challenges faced by newsrooms nationwide,” said Bill Buzenberg, Executive Director of the Center. “This groundbreaking collective network will explore new opportunities to strengthen and sustain investigative journalism and ensure its enduring value to our industry and society.”

The mission of this new Investigative News Network, according to the declaration, is to facilitate the work and public reach of its member organizations, to foster high-quality, original investigative journalism, and to hold government and corporate power accountable at the local, national and international levels.

An 11-member steering committee will begin the process of turning the network concept into a reality, in part by seeking preliminary financing that might help support both infrastructure and staffing for the burgeoning venture.

These are the members of the steering committee:

• Bill Buzenberg, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity
• Sandy Close, executive director of the Pacific News Service
• Sheila Coronel, director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University
• Margaret Engel, executive director of the Alicia Patterson Journalism Foundation
• Laura Frank, co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Investigative News Network
• Margaret Wolf Freivogel, founding editor of the St. Louis Beacon
• Brant Houston, Knight Chair professor in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting at the University of Illinois
• Joel Kramer, CEO and Editor of MinnPost
• Charles Lewis, founding executive editor of the Investigative Reporting Workshop at American University
• Scott Lewis, CEO of voiceofsandiego.org
• Robert Rosenthal, executive director of the Center for Investigative Reporting.

Full text of the Pocantico Declaration as well as a full list of attendees is available at http://www.watchdogsatpocantico.com.

The conference was generously supported by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the Surdna Foundation, and the William Penn Foundation.

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