WASHINGTON, D.C. April 14, 2004 — The Center for Public Integrity has been awarded the 2003 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Public Service in the online journalism category. This is the third year in a row that the Center has won this award which is sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ).

The winner, Silent Partners: How Political Nonprofits Work the System, was researched and written by Derek Willis and Aron Pilhofer. Others who worked on the report were Director of State Projects Leah Rush, Agustín Armendariz, Joseph Dietrich, Alex Knott, Robert Morlino, Meghan O’Donnell, Susan Schaab and John Sents. The report brought attention to questionable tax-exempt organization activities in political fund raising.

Charles Lewis, executive director of the Center, noted, “The fact that SPJ has recognized the Center’s work in the area of campaign finance in the 50 states for the third straight year shows once again that the Center provides a unique service in journalism. No other journalistic entity would be able to spend the staff time or money to pursue this important topic.”

The Center’s report shows that political organizations make great use of a special type of political committee that can raise unlimited amounts of money to influence elections. These committees, known as 527 organizations after the part of the Internal Revenue Code that defines their tax status, can claim tax-exempt status as political committees while at the same time avoiding regulation by state or federal election authorities.

In a statement announcing the awards, SPJ president Mac McKerral said, “When talented journalists set out to tell compelling stories, … they serve the public and help sharply define the value of the First Amendment and freedom of information.” The awards will be presented at a ceremony in Washington, DC on July 9, 2004.

The Center has been honored 25 times since 1996 for its investigative reporting.

The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that does investigative research and reporting on public policy issues in the United States and around the world. This report was funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts.