California Watch creates distribution network

California Watch, a project of the Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley, has created a distribution network for its stories, giving its reporters a larger audience than the project's website and its relationship with KQED. It also gives CalWatch a new source of revenue besides grants and memberships.

The network will include the San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, San Diego Union Tribune, Orange County Register, Bakersfield Californian, and the Fresno Bee.

“It’s our hope that many more news organizations, both large and small, will join us in the coming months," said California Watch Editorial Director Mark Katches. They're looking for both newspapers and broadcasters to sign up.

Investigative journalism site launches

CaliforniaWatch.org, a project of the nonprofit Center for Investigative Reporting, has launched its Web site, loaded with original reporting, databases and story ideas. Lance Williams and Chase Davis will cover money and politics. Corey Johnson has the K-12 schools beat. Erica Perez is covering higher education. On the health and welfare beat is Christian Jewett. The project has a data analyst, Agustin Armendariz. Radio reporter Michael Montgomery will focus mostly on criminal justice issues. In the spring, the project plans to hire two more reporters — one to cover public safety issues and another on the environment.

Searchable databases currently available on the site include stimulus contracts, lobbying, campaign finance, university fees, crime statistics and the census.

"For 32 years, CIR has done valuable investigative reporting, much of it with 'Frontline' and '60 Minutes.' But never before has CIR had a team of investigative journalists this large, and never before have we had the flexibility to pursue stories that focus on what arguably is the most important, most complicated, and most messed-up state in the nation," writes Robert "Rosey" Rosenthal, former Chron managing editor who is now executive director of the Center for Investigative Reporting.

Lance Williams leaves Chron for CIR

The Center for Investigative Reporting in Berkeley announced today that it has hired the Chronicle's Lance Williams, who covered the BALCO scandal, as an investigative reporter covering money and politics for CIR’s new California Watch project.

With Mark Fainaru-Wada, he wrote "Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports." The book, combined with the Chronicle articles, prompted Sen. George Mitchell’s investigation of baseball’s steroid era and led to many reforms.

In 2006, Williams and Fainaru-Wada were held in contempt of court and threatened with 18 months in federal prison for refusing to testify about their confidential sources on BALCO. The subpoenas were later withdrawn.