Charles Re Lewis
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Curriculum Vitae Updated 03.01.10 CHARLES R.E. LEWIS Employment: 2010 Professor with tenure, American University School of Communication. Distinguished Journalist in Residence (August 2006 – December 2009), (courses taught: In-depth Journalism and proposed new course, International Investigative Reporting). 2010 Founding Executive Editor of the Investigative Reporting Workshop, a research center within the American University School of Communication. Proposed the idea October 2007, which was approved by the University March 2008; raised $429,500 to begin operations in 2008, and donated and earned revenue in 2009 was $1,101,420, supporting a full-time staff of 11. The Workshop began publishing in March 2009, and to date has released seven major national investigative stories, partnering with or covered by msnbc.com, Financial Times, ABC World News Tonight, Huffington Post Investigative Fund, the New York Times, the Washington Post, McClatchy newspapers and others. In 2009, the Workshop forged a formal working relationship with the award-winning PBS Frontline documentary program. The first co-production of the Workshop and Frontline was broadcast nationwide February 9, 2010. “Flying Cheap,” about the safety and working conditions of regional air carriers, received glowing reviews on NPR, in the New York Times and the Washington Post. 2008 Founding President, the Fund for Independence in Journalism, Washington, D.C. (Begun in 2003, part-time paid beginning January 2005 through December 2008) 2005-2006 Fellow, Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University (Spring 2006) Ferris Professor of Journalism, Princeton University (Fall 2005 semester) (Course taught: In-depth Journalism) Consultant to the Carter Center, Atlanta, Georgia (access to information and journalism issues) 1989-2005 Founder and Executive Director, the Center for Public Integrity (and its International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the first working 2 network of 100 premier reporters in the world from 50 countries producing content across borders),Washington, D.C. 1988-1989 Consultant, Kroll Associates, Washington, D.C. 1984-1988 Producer, assigned to senior correspondent Mike Wallace, CBS News 60 Minutes, New York and Washington, D.C. 1977-1984 Reportorial Producer (off-air investigative reporter), ABC News, Washington, D.C. 1975-1976 Research Assistant, Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate 1971-1975 Sportswriter and clerk, Wilmington, Delaware News Journal newspapers (part-time during college semesters, full-time otherwise) Education: 1977 Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, M.A. (with emphasis on U.S. foreign policy, Latin America area study and international economics; oral and written language proficiency in Spanish) 1975 University of Delaware, B.A. in political science with honors and distinction; (semester internship with Senator William V. Roth (R-DE) in Washington, 1974. Named to Pi Sigma Alpha, national political science honor society. Language study in German) Awards: 2009 Honorary doctorate degree, University of Delaware 2004 PEN USA First Amendment Award “for expanding the reach of investigative journalism, for his courage in going after a story regardless of whose toes he steps on, and for boldly exercising his freedom of speech and freedom of the press.” 1998 MacArthur Fellowship (awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundaton) 1996-2004 Center for Public Integrity reports (initiated, final edited and approved by the Executive Director), were honored 35 times by national journalism organizations, such as Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE), the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) and others. In 2004, 3 “Windfalls of War: U.S. contracts in Iraq and Afghanistan” won the George Polk award. In early 2005, the Center won the Edward R. Murrow award for best Web site (www.publicintegrity.org) in the United States, (small market category). Three co-authored Center books, published by HarperCollins, were that year’s Finalist for the IRE book award: The Buying of the President, in 1996; The Buying of the Congress, in 1998, and The Buying of the President 2000. In February 2007, the Center received a Special Citation by the Harvard University Shorenstein Center Goldsmith Prize judges for its body of “superb investigative work in the public interest.” 1988 Emmy nomination for “Foreign Agent,” CBS News 60 Minutes, for “outstanding investigative journalism” by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 1987 Emmy nomination for “First Jersey Securities,” CBS News 60 Minutes, for “outstanding investigative journalism” by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 1987 nomination for outstanding achievement in the “Documentary Script – Current Events” category, for “First Jersey Securities,” CBS News 60 Minutes, Writers Guild of America Television-Radio Writing Awards 1986 nomination for outstanding achievement in the “Documentary - Current Events” category, for “The Donovan File,” CBS News 60 Minutes, Writers Guild of America Television-Radio Writing Awards Publications: Books and Studies The Buying of the President 2004 (with other Center for Public Integrity writers)(Perennial/HarperCollins, 2004)(New York Times Bestseller List) The Cheating of America (with Bill Allison and other Center for Public Integrity writers)(Morrow/HarperCollins, 2001) The Buying of the President 2000 (with other Center for Public Integrity writers)(Avon/HarperCollins, 2000) The Buying of the Congress (with other Center for Public Integrity writers)(Avon/HarperCollins, 1998) The Buying of the President (with other Center for Public Integrity writers)(Avon/HarperCollins, 1996) 4 Well-Healed: Inside Lobbying for Health Care Reform (with other writers)(Center for Public Integrity, 1994) The Trading Game: Inside Lobbying for the North American Free Trade Agreement (with other writers)(Center for Public Integrity, 1993) Private Parties: Political Party Leadership in Washington’s Mercenary Culture (with other writers)(Center for Public Integrity, 1992) Under the Influence (with other writers)(Center for Public Integrity, 1992) America’s Frontline Trade Officials (with other writers)(Center for Public Integrity, 1990) Works in Progress: “If Given the Truth” a web presentation of career timelines and five- minute high definition video excerpts from on-camera interviews of 27 important, national journalists of the past half century. Upon release, it will be permanently linked to the Center for Public Integrity and to the Investigative Reporting Workshop, and the 50 hours of raw interview material eventually will also be available for use in a feature film or television documentary and NPR radio documentary which will accompany the release of a forthcoming book. It will also mark the beginning of an ongoing Investigative Reporting Workshop work-in- progress, the nation’s first, national “truth to power” journalism oral history project (June, 2010) “Chapter 27: Civil society, media and public journalism,” 5,400 words, in The Oxford Handbook of Civil Society, Michael Edwards, editor; Oxford University Press (2011). One of 39 invited/commissioned contributors from four continents. The End of Truth: Power, the News Media and the Public’s Right to Know (HarperCollins; forthcoming, late 2011). This book, begun in 2005, explores the relationship between truth, public and private power and the national news media. In particular, it examines the origins and trajectory of public relations and propaganda, deception by government and companies and the truth-telling capacity of journalists and their news organizations. Final manuscript is due at the end of 2010. This book, when published, may also have a different title, If Given the Truth or another title. 5 Articles and Book Chapters: “Great Expectations: An Investigative News Network is born. Now what?” Columbia Journalism Review, September/October, 2009 “Purveyors of truth about the powers that be,” Society of Professional Journalists centennial anniversary book essay, 2009 “The future of watchdog reporting brightens as nonprofit groups organize a new network,” Nieman Watchdog, July 3, 2009 “An emerging Investigative News Network,” Investigative Reporting Workshop (in the “iLab” section), June 29, 2009 “10 Rules of the nonprofit investigative reporting center road,” IRE Journal, May/June 2009 “A Social Network Solution,” Columbia Journalism Review, March/April 2009 “All the News That’s Fit to Finance,” (with Bruce Sievers), Chronicle of Philanthropy, March 12, 2009 “Seeking New Ways to Nurture the Capacity to Report” Nieman Reports, Spring, 2008 “Iraq: The War Card,” The Center for Public Integrity, January 23, 2008. Created and directed this project which involved 11 researchers, editors and Web designers for two and a half years, to produce a 380,000-word chronology and database which identified 935 “false statements” by eight top administration officials who mentioned Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction, or links to Al Qaeda, on at least 532 separate occasions in the two years after 9/11. Co-author of the project overview essay, “False Pretenses.” The entire online report was presented at a National Press Club news conference, weeks before the five-year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq; its findings were covered by more than 100 newspapers, including the New York Times, the Washington Post and USA Today, along with five major newswire services, and two