The Center for Public Integrity is a left-of-center investigative journalism group headquartered in Washington, D.C. that focuses primarily on investigating what it clamed was evidence of “inequality” in America. ^{1 2}

In 2025, it was reported that the organization would be shutting down following a decrease in fundraising in previous years as well as the resignation of its board chairman, Wesley Lowery, following multiple accusations of sexual assault. As of June 2025, the organization reportedly has no journalists or other reporters on staff. ^{3 4 5}

Overview

The Center for Public Integrity was founded by Charles Lewis, a former news producer, in 1989. Lewis was a former ABC News and CBS news producer. ⁶ Following Lewis’s departure from the organization, two succeeding CEOs, Bill Buzenberg and Roberta Baskin, have criticized one another over claims of decreasing fundraising. ⁷

In 2010, the Huffington Post‘s Investigative Fund merged with the Center for Public Integrity, which led to several Huffington Post staffers joining the Center’s staff. ⁸

The Center for Public Integrity claims to advocate and report on instances of alleged disproportionate harm of policing among minority populations, while claiming to hire reporters with “diverse backgrounds and lived experiences. The Center for Public Integrity has previously claimed that it was “85% white and majority men in 2015” but as of 2025, it now claims to have a “majority journalists of color and women.” ¹

While predominately left left-leaning, Center for Public Integrity has produced stories critical of Democratic politicians, with a notable example being a 1996 story titled “Fat Cat Hotel: How Democratic High-Rollers Are Rewarded with Overnight Stays at the White House,” which detailed how wealthy donors were able to stay in the Lincoln Bedroom in the Clinton White House.⁹

In March 2025, it was reported that the Center for Public Integrity would shut down after the resignation of its board chair, Wesley Lowery. This had followed its then-CEO Paul Cheung and editor-in-chief Matt DeRienzo both resigning in February 2024. According to a March 2024 article by the Columbia Journalism Review, the group had reportedly fallen $2.5 million short of its operating budget goal that year. From the beginning of 2024 through November 30, 2024, the organization went from having roughly 25 staff members to having no staff members.  ³

Controversy

In 2010, a Center for Public Integrity report titled “Looting of the Seas” concerning the management of Bluefin tuna stocks was withdrawn from the Pulitzer Prize nominations when a Center internal investigation discovered that the journalists involved had collected data by using a stolen password to log into the database of an intergovernmental agency. Lawyers both inside and outside of the organization concluded that such action likely was illegal.¹⁰

The executive editor of the Center at the time was John Solomon, was had formerly worked as executive editor of the Washington Times. Solomon demanded that the Center withdraw it from consideration for the Pulitzer Prize due to the scandal. Solomon later claimed he received a bonus that he referred to as “hush money,” a claim denied by Center leadership who stated the payment was for him carrying two titles. Solomon also stated that working in leadership at the Center during the tuna story scandal “was like watching Watergate.” Solomon was described as having left because “it had become clear that Buzenberg and the board weren’t going to take the “corrective action” he sought in the wake of the tuna ordeal.”  ¹¹

Leadership

According to tax filings, as of 2023, the chief executive officer of the Center for Public Integrity was Paul Cheung.  According to LinkedIn, Cheung was the CEO of the organization from 2021 to 2024. He was previously the director of journalism and technology innovation at the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, director of visual journalism at NBC News, director of interactive and digital news production at the Associated Press, and the national president of the Asian American Journalist Association. He has also held positions at the Miami Herald and the Wall Street Journal. As of June 2024, Cheung is the president of the Committee of 100. ^{12 2}

As of June 2025, the staff page on the Center for Public Integrity’s website had been taken down. ⁴

The former chief executive officer of the Center for Public Integrity was John Dunbar, a former Associated Press reporter. He became the CEO in 2016 after working for the organization since 2011. He worked at the Center in the 1990s and late 2000s. ¹³

Board Members of the organization included employees of organizations such as Google, the New York Times, Time, Covington & Burling LLP, and the McCormick Foundation. Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist, is a board emeritus. ¹⁴

In 2025, Wesley Lowery stepped down as a member of the board of directors of the Center for Public Integrity after facing multiple accusations of sexual assault. Lowrey is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who previously reported on claims of inequality and racism in America. ⁵

Funding

The Center for Public Integrity has received contributions from several left-of-center nonprofits and foundations including the Ford Foundation, Omidyar Network Fund, Foundation to Promote Open Society, Knight Foundation, and MacArthur Foundation. ¹⁵

According to tax filings, in 2023 the Center for Public Integrity reported $3,834,099 in revenue, $6,141,454 in expenses, and $5,223,841 in assets. Of those expenses, the Center for Public Integrity reported directed $3,839,203 to program services, including producing investigations, short stories, and graphics on the environment, democracy, poverty, and inequality. Of its revenue, the organization reported receiving $3,522,492 from gifts, grants, and other contributions, an increase form its 2022 receipts of $3,522,492 but a decrease from the gifts and grants received in 2021 ($5,181,020), 2020 ($4,993,910), and 2019 ($7,136,190). ²

1. “About Us.” The Center for Public Integrity. Accessed June 20, 2025. https://publicintegrity.org/about/.
2. The Center for Public Integrity. Return of an Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2023.
3. Chan, Sewell. “Center for Public Integrity is Shutting Down.” Columbia Journalism Review. March 31, 2024. Accessed June 20, 2025. https://www.cjr.org/news/center-for-public-integrity-shutting-down.php
4. “Staff.” The Center for Public Integrity. June 20, 2025. https://publicintegrity.org/?page_id=51161.
5. Morais, Betsy. “Journalists Attest to Experiences of Sexual Misconduct with Wesley Lowery.” Columbia Journalism Review. May 21, 2025. Accessed June 20, 2025. https://www.cjr.org/feature-2/wesley-lowery-sexual-assault-journalists-attest-experiences.php
6. “Charles Lewis, Founder.” The Center for Public Integrity. Accessed June 20, 2025. https://publicintegrity.org/about/charles-lewis-founder/.
7. Baskin, Roberta. “Taken Aback”. American Journalism Review. February–March 2008.Accessed May 25 2018 http://ajrarchive.org/Article.asp?id=4468
8. Cohen, David. “Huffington Post Investigative Fund to Become Part of Center for Public Integrity” Adweek. October 19 2010 Accessed June 26 2018. https://www.adweek.com/digital/huffington-post-investigative-fund-to-become-part-of-center-for-public-integrity/
9. “Profile Margaret Ebrahim “School of Communications,  American University. Accessed May 21 2018. http://www.american.edu/soc/faculty/ebrahim.cfm
10. “Tuna and turmoil at CPI”. Politico. December 5, 2011. Accessed May 21 2018. https://www.politico.com/story/2011/12/tuna-and-turmoil-at-cpi-069763
11. Blake, Mariah. “Something Fishy?”. Columbia Journalism Review. July/August 2012. Accessed June 26, 2018. https://archives.cjr.org/feature/something_fishy.php
12. ^[1] “Paul Cheung (He/Him).” LinkedIn/ Accessed June 20, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulcheung630/details/experience/.
13. “A New Title for an Old Friend” Center for Public Integrity:” Accessed May 21 2018. https://www.publicintegrity.org/2016/11/15/20471/new-title-old-friend
14. “Board of Directors.” The Center for Public Integrity. Accessed June 20, 2025. https://publicintegrity.org/about/board-of-directors/.
15. Data compiled by Foundationsearch.com subscription service, a project of Metasoft Systems, Inc. from forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service. Queries conducted May 24, 2018.