Sarah Whitmire stories from The Center for Public Integrity

Deadline for summer internships fast-approaching

2013-02-06T16:05:18-05:00

With just a little over a month until the deadline to apply for one of our summer internship spots, we wanted to talk about what it’s like to be an intern at the Center.

Our interns are a pivotal part of Center staff during the summer months. This isn’t the type of position where you’ll be going for coffee runs or answering phones — from the first day, Center interns are immersed in our newsroom and most begin work in their respective projects the moment paperwork is completed. Center internships are full-time, 40 hours/week positions, and compensated at an hourly rate.

The bulk of our internships are for reporting positions: each of our coverage areas or beats will choose a reporting intern, and that person will report to a section editor for the entirety of the program. Some of the areas we cover are: politics and campaign finance, national security, environment and health care, as well as global, investigative reporting on all topics. We will be offering two to four reporting positions this summer.

Additionally, we’re looking for what you might call “out-of-the-box” interns, such as candidates with experience in: computer-assisted reporting (CAR) or interactive news design.

CAR applicants should be adept at using Microsoft Excel, and experience with Microsoft Access is a big plus. Above all, the ideal candidate will have a staggering attention to detail. In lieu of writing samples, tell us about a few of your experiences with data sets (links to published work are greatly appreciated).

If you know your way around HTML, CSS and JavaScript/jQuery, we strongly encourage you to apply for an interactive design internship. We're especially interested in designers with some knowledge of responsive web design and experience with libraries, such as D3.js or Highcharts. Please include links to recent work.

Our internship job posting follows:

Summer 2013 Internships

The Center for Public Integrity is looking for ambitious undergraduate and graduate students or recent graduates for a 10-week, paid summer internship in Washington, D.C. The Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that produces original, responsible investigative journalism on issues of public concern. A motivating factor for our internship program is to help train and inspire the next generation of investigative reporters.

Interns will assist reporters in producing investigative stories and projects on a wide range of subjects that may include: money and politics, national security, government accountability, environment, financial reform and health care. Interns with appropriate experience may be assigned to our web or data departments.

Qualified candidates should have some reporting experience, strong writing skills, and a desire to pursue the types of issues we cover. Demonstrated interest in investigative or entrepreneurial reporting a plus.

Applications should include:

Name, school, year expected to graduate
Area of interest: editorial, web, computer-assisted reporting
Resume
Brief statement on why you want to work at the Center
Three writing samples (news clips preferred)
Multimedia samples, if available

All applications should be emailed to internship coordinator Sarah Whitmire at internships@publicintegrity.org.

Deadline to apply: March 9, 2013.

FAQs

Q: How long will it take to hear back about my application?

A: After our March 9, 2013 deadline passes, we conduct an initial review of applicants, and will be in contact (via email) within a week about whether we’d like to move forward with a phone interview. Final candidates should be chosen by March 31.

Q: Can I apply for a Center internship if I don’t live in the U.S.?

A: Unfortunately, our intern positions are only available to candidates already approved to live and work in the U.S.

Q: Will I be considered for an internship if I've already graduated?

A: Yes, but we will only review applications of graduates who completed their degree program in December 2012 or later.

Q: Will the Center provide housing in D.C. for the duration of the internship?

A: We unfortunately cannot provide housing for our interns. We can, however, give you a leg up on your housing search should you be selected for a position. Our staff is scattered all over the D.C.-metro area, and is happy to provide tips and pointers about securing an affordable place to live. If you’d like a head-start, the following universities offer temporary, furnished summer housing with flexible start and end dates: George Washington University, Georgetown University and American University.

Please direct any additional questions to internship coordinator Sarah Whitmire at internships@publicintegrity.org.

Video: Looking back on three years of 'Citizens United'

2013-01-21T07:05:28-05:00

The Center for Public Integrity interviews Citizens United President David Bossie on the third anniversary of the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, which prompted major changes to the nation's campaign finance rules. Speaking from Citizens United's Washington, D.C., headquarters, Bossie says President Barack Obama is a "hypocrite" for embracing super PACs and outside political money after relentlessly criticizing the Citizens United decision. But Bossie also contends that conservative political forces must fundamentally rethink how to best use the rights granted to them through the Citizens United decision, as their efforts predominantly failed during the 2012 election.

Watch the full, unedited interview here.

Have you heard about super PACs?

2012-07-17T07:47:59-04:00

After months of reporting on super PACs and Citizens United, we wanted to know what the average person thought of these new outside spending groups. We spent the Fourth of July at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to see what people had to say about campaign finance.

Medicare fraud: What you need to know

2012-05-09T10:48:35-04:00

Since 2010, our Manipulating Medicare series has taken a hard look at the problems plaguing one of the nation’s most expensive public programs. This year's investigative pieces from iWatch News will look at questionable billing practices and political interference that directs Medicare spending in often-inefficient ways.

The big story in Medicare fraud last week was an unprecedented bust of 107 doctors, nurses and social workers who allegedly billed $452 million of fraudulent medical expenses to the taxpayer-funded program, as reported by the Associated Press. Though the crackdown was huge, Medicare fraud is believed to cost up to $90 billion annually, the scams associated with the recent arrests only represent a fraction of the overall problem.

Brief history:

Back in March 2007, agencies within the Department of Justice teamed up with the Department of Health and Human Services to create a Medicare Fraud Strike Force. It is a collaboration that became part of a larger initiative known as the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (H.E.A.T.) in 2009. Now with about two-dozen prosecutors in nine U.S. cities, the strike force has busted more than 1,300 people accused of billing the Medicare program for at least $4 billion (during FY2011 alone) in medical services that never happened.

Places to learn more:

“Medicare fraud rampant in South Florida”, by The Miami Herald, August 3, 2008
“111 charged with Medicare fraud in 9 cities” by The Washington Times, February 17, 2011
“Feds Fight Rampant Medicare Fraud in South Florida” by NPR’s "All Things Considered", November 6, 2007
“Senior-citizen volunteers fighting Medicare fraud” by the Associated Press, December 29, 2009
“52 arrested in sweeping Medicare fraud case” by The Los Angeles Times, October 14, 2010
“Rockwall doctor accused of fraud has long history of patient harm” by The Dallas Morning News [PAYWALL], February 28, 2012

SLIDESHOW: Looking at 4 years of H.E.A.T.

2012-05-09T09:31:10-04:00

Looking at 4 years of H.E.A.T.

SLIDESHOW: Fundraising in paradise

2012-04-27T11:05:49-04:00

A look at the posh locations for a few Restore Our Future fundraisers

SLIDESHOW: Oil extracting a dark spot of Ghana

2012-01-19T10:59:04-05:00

Poisoned Places: By the numbers

Tonawanda,New York,United States — 2011-11-25T06:00:01-05:00

From Tonawanda, N.Y. to Hayden, Ariz., hundreds of U.S. communities are still exposed to pollutants, which can cause cancer, birth defects and other health issues — more than 20 years after passage of the Clean Air Act.

Catch up on the entire Poisoned Places series, use an interactive map to find toxic polluters in your area or read more about the reporting process behind the investigation.

SLIDESHOW: A haze in Hayden

2011-11-17T05:06:01-05:00

Arizona town lives in the midst of a copper smelter

SLIDESHOW: Chanute divided over toxics

2011-11-10T05:06:02-05:00

SLIDESHOW: Life in Ponca City

2011-11-07T12:00:01-05:00

Community coated in black mist – until citizens fought back

Coal ash spills into Lake Michigan after bluff collapse

Michigan,United States — 2011-11-02T12:11:49-04:00

A cascade of coal ash, dirt and mud fell into the shore of Lake Michigan yesterday after a large section of bluff collapsed beside the We Energies Oak Creek Power Plant in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. It is unknown how much coal ash fell from the pile, but the spill left behind a debris field about 120 yards long, the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel reports.

"Based on our land use records it is probable that some of the material that washed into the lake is coal ash," We Energies spokesman Barry McNulty told the Journal Sentinel. "We believe that was something that was used to fill the ravine area in that site during the 1950s. That's a practice that was discontinued several decades ago."

As iWatch News has previously reported, coal ash is the leftover residue from burning coal that is known to contain neurotoxins like lead and mercury and the carcinogens such as arsenic. In a series of investigations, iWatch News has examined the lack of federal oversight of the waste and its affects on communities near coal ash dump sites.

House Republicans championed legislation in mid-October that would strip the Environmental Protection Agency of its ability to regulate coal ash and give regulatory authority to the states — a move that would shift authority away from the EPA and reduce federal regulations that Republicans say are burdensome.The Obama administration has voiced opposition to the House legislation, calling it “insufficient to address the risks associated with coal ash disposal and management.”

The Lake Michigan spill is similar to a dam break at a Tennessee Valley Authority power plant in 2008, where 1.1 billion gallons of coal slurry was dumped across hundred of acres — killing nearby wildlife and damaging homes.

The cause of the Wisconsin bluff collapse is still unknown. None of the 100 or so nearby workers were injured in the spill, and clean-up has already begun. U.S. Coast Guard Lt. j.g. Brian Dykens called it a “freak accident.”

SLIDESHOW: The house that payday lending built

2011-09-28T15:08:08-04:00

The asbestos industry goes global

2013-04-10T15:41:56-04:00

After being shunned by Europe and the United States, the asbestos industry has gained a strong foothold in developing countries as a cheap, but deadly, construction material.