Why running the Center has been my greatest honor

Introduction

It has been my great honor and privilege to serve as executive director of The Center for Public Integrity for the past eight years. I informed the Board of Directors in February that I will step down at the end of this year as executive director and begin the next chapter in my career.

As I move on in 2015, I can truly say the Center has never been in a stronger position in its 25-year history. Just in the past year, we have won our first Pulitzer Prize, launched some of our most ambitious investigative projects, distributed our work to the largest audience in the Center’s history via the Web and our media partners and established a solid financial position.

My tenure here has been the most rewarding, demanding and invigorating chapter of my 40 years in journalism, including the seven years I was head of NPR News, and the 11 years I spent as an NPR correspondent. I am extremely proud of The Center for Public Integrity’s accomplishments. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to our great reporters, editors and the entire staff, who have helped make the Center one of the best investigative news organizations in the nation and the world.

I am also grateful to all of our many foundation funders and the thousands of individuals who have supported our work. It is vital that this level of financial support continues. Working with a superb development department and an engaged Board of Directors, I have been able to raise more than $50 million during these past eight years.

The Center’s Board of Directors has formed a search committee to begin the process of seeking a new executive director starting in 2015. It is my goal is to make sure the Center continues to thrive throughout the transition period and continues to build on its solid record of success.

The high quality investigative work of the Center can never be taken for granted. We truly act in the service of democracy by revealing abuses of power, corruption, and betrayal of public trust by powerful public and private institutions. Transparency and accountability have been our mantras.

My passion while working in newspapers, on public radio and at the Center, has always been to report and disseminate tough, accurate, independent reporting on significant issues of interest to all. I am certain the Center will continue in that essential tradition in the years ahead. Meanwhile, we have much more work to do this year.

Thank you all.

Until next week,

Bill