Credits

For the Fund for Independence in Journalism

Charles Lewis, the founder of the Center for Public Integrity, created and directed this project. He is the president of the Fund for Independence in Journalism in Washington, a distinguished journalist in residence at American University, and the coauthor of five books, including the bestseller, The Buying of the President 2004 (HarperCollins). He founded the Center for Public Integrity in 1989 and was its executive director for 15 years. From 1977 to 1988 he did investigative reporting at ABC News and at CBS News's 60 Minutes. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 1998 and PEN USA's First Amendment Award in 2004.

Mark Reading-Smith is the senior researcher/editor and writer at the Fund. In 2002 he was an intern at the Center for Public Integrity and conducted research for its best-selling book, The Buying of the President 2004. He is a graduate of Michigan State University.

Benjamin Turner was a researcher/editor at the Fund. He originally came to the organization as an intern. He helped to build the chronological database for this project and also was a researcher for the Fund's "Truth Project." He is a graduate of American University and is currently pursuing a law degree at the Syracuse University College of Law.

Matthew Lewis, a researcher/editor at the Fund, is a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he founded and edited a popular website for college sportswriters, The Heptagon, and worked for publications including The Wisconsin State Journal, Scout.com, and Rotowire.

Jeanne Brooks, the managing director of the Fund, previously worked for the New Hampshire Commission on the Status Women, where, among other projects, she assisted with the Women's Prison Project. She is a graduate of the University of New Hampshire.

Stephanie Carnes was a research intern at the Fund in the summer of 2007. She is an honors graduate of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and is currently working on a joint graduate degree in international law and international relations in Brussels, Belgium.

Jennifer Spector was a research intern at the Fund in the summer of 2006. She is currently a senior at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mike Holmes was a research intern at the Fund in 2005. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Howard University and is currently pursuing a master's degree in international affairs at Georgetown University.

Julia Dahl was an editor for the project. She is a freelance journalist in Brooklyn, New York, who reports regularly for the New York Post and The Real Deal and teaches writing for MediaBistro. Her articles have appeared in Salon, Slate, Seventeen, and Marie Claire, among many others. She is a graduate of Yale University and has a master's degree in journalism from American University.

Han Nguyen, a web development consultant for this project, was the Center for Public Integrity's software architect from 2002 to 2006 and the lead web developer for more than 20 of its projects and reports. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary in 1995.

For the Center for Public Integrity

Bill Buzenberg, the executive director of the Center for Public Integrity, has been a journalist and news executive at newspapers and in public radio for more than 35 years, most recently as the senior vice president of news at American Public Media/Minnesota Public Radio. From 1990 to 1997, he was the vice president of news and information at National Public Radio. He has won numerous awards, including the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award, public radio's highest honor.

Many other members of the Center for Public Integrity's staff also worked on this project, including Helena Bengtsson, Sara Bularzik, Lisa Chiu, Caitlin Ginley, Alan Green, C. Benjamin Haag, Bill Hogan, Josh Israel, Sarah Laskow, Tuan Le, Peter Newbatt Smith, and Devin Varsalona. For bios, please go to the Center's staff page.