Center for Investigative Reporting
Encyclopedia
The Center for Investigative Reporting (CIR) is a non-profit journalism organization located in Berkeley
, California
. It was founded in 1977 by Lowell Bergman
, Dan Noyes, and David Weir
to reveal injustice and abuse of power through the tools of journalism.
CIR produces in-depth, original investigations leading to a coordinated release of stories for multiple news outlets; invests in promising investigations at their early stages to give them a fighting chance against the many obstacles - mainly financial - facing news outlets; maximizes the impact of the best investigations by promoting them to decision makers, citizen groups and other journalists. 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 CIR's founding, its 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, and U.S. News & World Report.
In turn, its 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, U.N. resolutions, public interest lawsuits, and change in corporate policies. The current executive director of the CIR is Robert Rosenthal. Rosenthal resigned as Managing Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle to accept the job as Executive Director of the CIR. He resides in Marin County, California.
CIR launched its California Watch
project in August 2009. California Watch is dedicated to investigative reporting specifically within the state of California.
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It was founded in 1977 by Lowell Bergman
Lowell Bergman
Lowell A. Bergman is an American investigative reporter with The New York Times and a producer/correspondent for the PBS documentary series Frontline...
, Dan Noyes, and David Weir
David Weir (journalist)
David Weir is a journalist and co-founder, in 1977, of the Center for Investigative Reporting.He's written for The Economist, HotWired, L.A. Weekly, Mother Jones, The Nation, New West, New York Magazine, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Salon.com, San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Examiner,...
to reveal injustice and abuse of power through the tools of journalism.
CIR produces in-depth, original investigations leading to a coordinated release of stories for multiple news outlets; invests in promising investigations at their early stages to give them a fighting chance against the many obstacles - mainly financial - facing news outlets; maximizes the impact of the best investigations by promoting them to decision makers, citizen groups and other journalists. 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 CIR's founding, its 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, and U.S. News & World Report.
In turn, its 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, U.N. resolutions, public interest lawsuits, and change in corporate policies. The current executive director of the CIR is Robert Rosenthal. Rosenthal resigned as Managing Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle to accept the job as Executive Director of the CIR. He resides in Marin County, California.
CIR launched its California Watch
California Watch
California Watch is a nonprofit and nonpartisan investigative reporting group operated by the Center for Investigative Reporting. Writers and editors at the news organization track a variety of issues, including money and politics, the environment, health and welfare, public safety and...
project in August 2009. California Watch is dedicated to investigative reporting specifically within the state of California.