The Center for Public Integrity
The Center for Public Integrity was a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit investigative newsroom (1989–2025) producing data-driven reporting on inequality and democracy, with proprietary public-records tools and award-winning podcasts, funded by foundations and reader donations.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1989
- HeadquartersWashington, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What The Center for Public Integrity does
The Center for Public Integrity was a nonprofit investigative newsroom founded in 1989 by Charles Lewis, a former ABC News and CBS News '60 Minutes' producer, and operated from Washington, D.C., until it closed in 2025. The organization's stated mission was investigating inequality and holding powerful interests accountable, with reporting organized around five editorial beats: democracy, economic well-being, education, environment, and health. Its core product set combined long-form investigative journalism with two proprietary data tools — The Accountability Project (TAP), which aggregated public records for use by outside journalists, and Copy, Paste, Legislate, which modeled connections between bills proposed across multiple states — and podcast series including The Heist and Integrity Out Loud. Under Lewis's leadership through 2004, the Center produced approximately 300 investigative reports and 14 books and earned over 30 national journalism awards; the Center also founded the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in 1997, which later published the Panama Papers.
The Center did not accept advertising or charge readers for content. Revenue was generated through donations and grants from individuals and institutional foundations, with anchor support from the Reva and David Logan Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, and the Fund for Investigative Journalism. Distribution was free and multi-channel: a website, email newsletters segmented by topic, podcasts on major audio platforms, an active social presence, and a republishing program that syndicated investigations through partnerships with USA Today, Arizona Republic, NPR, the Associated Press, Univision, Indian Country Today, and Stateline. Key customer segments were general public readers, republishing media partners, journalist users of TAP, and foundation/major-donor supporters.
The Center won the 2020 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting with USA Today and Arizona Republic and the 2025 Philip Meyer Journalism Award for '40 Acres and a Lie,' among other recognitions. In 2025 the Center ceased operations; the Project On Government Oversight's POGO Investigates newsroom is preserving publicintegrity.org as an archive.
The Center for Public Integrity firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Center for Public Integrity
- Legal name
- The Center for Public Integrity
- Website
- https://publicintegrity.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1989
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Center for Public Integrity was a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit investigative newsroom (1989–2025) producing data-driven reporting on inequality and democracy, with proprietary public-records tools and award-winning podcasts, funded by foundations and reader donations.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Center for Public Integrity industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Investigative Journalism
- NAICS
- Newspaper Publishers (513110), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)
- SIC
- Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Data Journalism & News Intelligence Publishers (Indexes, Election/Market Data) (MPAJADAK), Public Transparency Portals & Open Data Reporting (EDADAIAN)
Keywords
Where The Center for Public Integrity is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Washington
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
The Center for Public Integrity business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
The Center for Public Integrity product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit investigative newsroom that produced data-driven journalism exposing inequality and threats to democracy from 1989 until its closure in 2025. It published investigative reports across democracy, economic well-being, education, environment, and health topics, while developing proprietary data tools (The Accountability Project, Copy, Paste, Legislate) that enabled journalists nationwide to access and analyze public records at scale.
Product overview
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit investigative newsroom that operated from 1989 until 2025, offering a suite of data tools and journalistic content focused on investigating inequality and holding powerful interests accountable. The organization's main digital products include The Accountability Project (a public records database for journalists), Copy, Paste, Legislate (legislative tracking tool), and podcast series including The Heist and Integrity Out Loud. The newsroom produced investigative reports across topics including democracy, economic well-being, education, environment, and health. The Center closed its doors in 2025, with its archives preserved by the Project On Government Oversight (POGO).
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The Heist: Award-winning podcast series about government discrimination against Black farmers
- Integrity Out Loud
- The Accountability Project (TAP)
- Copy, Paste, Legislate
Products and services
- The Accountability Project (TAP)
Quantifiable outcome
- Exposed voting access inequality across 26 states following 2020 election
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use The Center for Public Integrity
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
The Center for Public Integrity technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
The Center for Public Integrity partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Project On Government Oversight (POGO)coreAfter the Center for Public Integrity closed in 2025, POGO's newsroom 'POGO Investigates' preserved the website as an archive.
- USA Today / Arizona RepubliccoreWon the 2020 Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting together for the 'Copy, Paste, Legislate' series revealing copycat legislation across all 50 states.
- Columbia Journalism InvestigationscorePartnership for investigative projects including the Harm's Way climate relocation series and other data-driven investigations. Collaborated on analyzing federal disaster data and demographic patterns.
- Type InvestigationscoreCollaborative partner on investigative reporting, including the Harm's Way climate series and other investigations into environmental and social justice issues.
- Associated PressminorRecent partnership for content collaboration and investigative reporting.
- NPRminorMedia partner for investigative content distribution.
- UnivisionminorPartnership for translating and distributing investigative content in Spanish, including the Spanish version of the Harm's Way climate series.
- Indian Country TodayminorRecent media partner for coverage of Indigenous communities and issues.
- StatelineminorRecent partnership for state-level policy and democracy coverage.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
The Center for Public Integrity competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Intercept: Nonprofit investigative newsroom focused on adversarial accountability reporting, funded by donations. Comparable mission and donor-supported revenue model with significant overlap in democracy/government accountability coverage.
- Reveal (Center for Investigative Reporting): U.S. nonprofit investigative newsroom producing accountability journalism through a multi-platform model including podcasts. Directly comparable in nonprofit structure, investigative focus, and podcast-based distribution.
- Type Investigations: Nonprofit investigative reporting collaborative that partnered with CPI on the Harm's Way climate series. Directly comparable in producing partner-shop investigative journalism for major outlets like USA Today and NPR.
- The Marshall Project: Nonprofit investigative newsroom focused on the U.S. criminal justice system, supported by donations and foundations. Same nonprofit investigative model with thematic specialization, directly comparable in structure and revenue mix.
- ProPublica: Leading U.S. nonprofit investigative newsroom producing data-driven accountability journalism funded by donations and grants. Directly comparable to CPI in mission, donor-supported funding model, and investigative output.
- Mother Jones: Nonprofit investigative magazine covering politics, inequality, and corruption, funded by donors and foundations. Directly comparable nonprofit investigative model and topic mix (inequality, democracy).
- Project On Government Oversight (POGO): Nonprofit government accountability organization that is currently preserving CPI's website archive. Direct overlap in mission (government accountability, transparency) and nonprofit investigative model.
- Columbia Journalism Investigations: University-based investigative reporting collaborative partnering with CPI on climate and demographic investigations. Comparable data-journalism methodology and partnership-driven distribution model.
- International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ): Global nonprofit investigative network founded by CPI founder Charles Lewis, known for the Panama Papers. Directly comparable nonprofit investigative model with global data-journalism methodology overlap.
Broad incumbents
- USA Today: Large national newspaper that jointly won the 2020 Goldsmith Prize with CPI for 'Copy, Paste, Legislate'. Comparable investigative coverage of state legislation but with a for-profit, broad-scope model rather than nonprofit specialized focus.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
The Center for Public Integrity social profiles
Digital presenceThe Center for Public Integrity financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Center for Public Integrity leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
The Center for Public Integrity funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Center for Public Integrity M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Center for Public Integrity
What does The Center for Public Integrity do?
The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit investigative newsroom that produced data-driven journalism exposing inequality and threats to democracy from 1989 until its closure in 2025. It published investigative reports across democracy, economic well-being, education, environment, and health topics, while developing proprietary data tools (The Accountability Project, Copy, Paste, Legislate) that enabled journalists nationwide to access and analyze public records at scale.
Is The Center for Public Integrity a public or private company?
The Center for Public Integrity is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently closed.
When was The Center for Public Integrity founded?
The Center for Public Integrity was founded in 1989. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Center for Public Integrity based?
The Center for Public Integrity is headquartered in Washington, United States, in the North America region.
Who are The Center for Public Integrity's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Intercept, Reveal (Center for Investigative Reporting), Type Investigations, The Marshall Project, ProPublica, Mother Jones, Project On Government Oversight (POGO), Columbia Journalism Investigations and International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). USA Today is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does The Center for Public Integrity have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Center for Public Integrity.
What industry is The Center for Public Integrity in?
The Center for Public Integrity's product category is Investigative Journalism. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJADAF, Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations, with a secondary code of MPAJADAK, Data Journalism & News Intelligence Publishers (Indexes, Election/Market Data). Its NAICS code is 513110 and its SIC code is 2711.