Milwaukee's Katches Named to Center for Investigative Reporting Post

By: Joe Strupp Mark Katches, deputy managing editor at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, has been named editorial director of the Center for Investigative Reporting, in charge of the center's new California initiative.

Katches, a native Californian who spent 20 years as a reporter and editor in the state, joined the Journal Sentinel in 2006 and helped start its nine-person investigative unit.

He helped lead the team to a 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for a story on a $50 million Milwaukee County pension scandal.

"We are very pleased to have Mark Katches direct our editorial team for this new California reporting initiative," Robert Rosenthal, CIR's executive director, said in an announcement. "He is a first-rate journalist with a long track record of leading award-winning teams that produce high impact stories in innovative ways."

Added Louis Freedberg, Director of CIR's California reporting venture: "Katches' deep roots in California, as well as his extensive experience as a journalist reporting and investigating critically important California issues, will help us develop new strategies for informing and engaging Californians about crucial issues that affect them in their daily lives and their communities."

Katches served on the board of Investigative Reporters and Editors from 2004 to 2008, the release said. He also taught journalism as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California from 2003 to 2006.

"California is a state facing immense challenges," Katches said in a statement. "It has never been more important for a strong watchdog team to hold those in power accountable."