Lewis to speak about “The Buying of the President”

Lewis to speak about “The Buying of the President”March 18, 2004

Charles Lewis, author of “The Buying of the President 2004” and founder and executive director of the Center for Public Integrity, will speak at Syracuse University, March 23 from 3-4 p.m. in the Public Events Room, 220 Eggers Hall on “Who’s Really Bankrolling Bush and His Democratic Challengers-and What They Expect in Return.” The lecture is sponsored by the Campbell Public Affairs Institute at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit, nonpartisan watchdog organization in Washington that does investigative reporting and research on public policy issues. Since its inception in 1989, the center has grown to a full-time staff of 40 and issued more than 200 investigative reports, including 12 books. Under Lewis’ direction, the center’s reports have been honored 20 times by organizations including Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists. The center estimates that its findings have appeared in roughly 8,000 news media stories since 1990.

Lewis has written or co-written several of the center’s books and studies that systematically track political influence, including “The Buying of the President 2004” (Perennial, 2004) and “The Cheating of America” (Morrow, 2001). In 1998, he was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

The Village Voice called Lewis “the Paul Revere of our time” in early 2003 after he obtained a copy of the Justice Department’s draft legislation sequel to the USA Patriot Act and posted it on the center’s Web site. During the 1996 presidential election campaign, the center repeatedly uncovered political information that resonated with millions of Americans, including the Lincoln Bedroom scandal.

Lewis is the founder of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), an unprecedented network of 92 premier investigative reporters in 48 countries. In 2001, he created Global Access, a groundbreaking project to monitor and report on corruption, government accountability and openness worldwide.

From 1977-88, Lewis was an investigative reporter for ABC News and, at CBS, a producer for “60 Minutes.” Lewis has written for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor, Columbia Journalism Review, The Nation and many other publications. He serves on the board of the Fund for Investigative Journalism and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, Investigative Reporters and Editors and the Committee to Protect Journalists. Lewis holds a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University and a B.A. from the University of Delaware.