The Investigative Reporting Workshop, an independent, nonprofit newsroom, based at the School of Communication at American University, was founded in 2008 by longtime investigative journalist Chuck Lewis and began publishing stories in 2009. Lewis retired on Dec. 31, 2022.
IRW’s goal is to hold the powerful accountable through original, data-driven investigative reporting produced by experienced journalists working with the next generation of reporters. IRW has partnerships with other newsrooms, including The Washington Post, and has developed free journalistic tools, including The Accountability Project, a groundbreaking resource for public data, and BankTracker, which chronicles the financial health of the nation’s banks and credit unions.