Center for Investigative Reporting, Inc.

The democratic process requires well-informed citizens to hold society?s most powerful institutions and individuals accountable. Investigative reporting remains one of our democracy?s most important tools for providing citizens with the information they need.

Regrettably, seismic shifts in the news industry are causing this critical type of reporting to disappear. Profits at media companies are plummeting as advertising dollars move to the web. In response, media executives across the country are decimating newsrooms in hopes of curbing financial losses. And investigative reporting ? which demands a bigger financial investment than day-to-day beat coverage ? is often the first to go.

The disappearance of a thriving news industry is happening just as the need for it ? and opportunities to use emerging new media technologies to deliver news more robustly than ever -- is perhaps greater than at any other time in our history. As the world becomes more complicated and interconnected, there are fewer professional journalists to hold accountable otherwise unchecked power, and the public is growing increasingly dismayed and distrustful of the media.

The Center for Investigative Reporting was founded 30 years ago to provide a home for investigative reporters to conduct in-depth, public service journalism. After three decades of independently producing hundreds of investigation for television, print, radio and, more recently, the web, CIR is uniquely poised to help fill the gap in investigative reporting in this country.

CIR seeks to strengthen our democracy by revealing injustice and abuse of power. We do this by producing in-depth multimedia investigations; investing in promising stories at their earliest stages to give them a chance in the competitive news marketplace; and then maximizing the impact of investigative reporting. Together, these activities equip citizens with the information they need to participate fully in the democratic process and bring about needed changes in laws, regulations, and the operations of government, corporations, powerful individuals, and institutions.

Since our founding in 1977, CIR reports have reached millions in every state and overseas, appearing in news outlets such as 60 Minutes, 20/20, ABC World News Tonight, CBS Evening News, NBC Nightly News, PBS Frontline and Frontline/World, CNN, NPR, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Salon.com and U.S. News & World Report.

In turn, our stories have received the recognition of the journalism community, including awards such as the Alfred I. du Pont-Columbia University Silver Baton, George Polk Award, Emmy Award, Society of Professional Journalists? Sigma Delta Chi Award, Investigative Reporters and Editors Award, and National Magazine Award for Reporting Excellence.

More importantly, CIR?s investigations have sparked congressional hearings and legislation, United Nations resolutions, public interest lawsuits and change in corporate policies. More importantly, CIR?s investigations have sparked Congressional hearings and legislation, U.N. resolutions, public interest lawsuits, and change in corporate policies.