Geneva Overholser Named Chair Of Center For Public Integrity

By: E&P Staff Former Des Moines Register Editor Geneva Overholser has been named chair of the board of directors for the Center for Public Integrity, the Washington, D.C.-based investigative reporting group.

Overholser succeeds co-founding board member and chairman Charles Piller.

Overholser currently holds the Curtis B. Hurley Chair in Public Affairs Reporting for the Missouri School of Journalism in its Washington, D.C., bureau. She was editor of The Des Moines Register from 1988 to 1995.

"With commercial pressure fast eroding public-interest journalism, nonprofit independent investigative reporting is essential," Overholser said in a statement. "The Center has long led in this field. Today's promising multi-media world gives us a chance to be an even stronger and more effective watchdog. I'm honored and eager to work with Bill Buzenberg and our wonderful staff and board to make that happen."

Overholser is a former chair of the Pulitzer Board, and she served as an editorial board member for The New York Times and an ombudsman at The Washington Post.