StaffThe Center is currently headed by conservative political operative
Floyd G. Brown.[SUP]
[2][/SUP] Also on staff is
Caleb Heimlich, Director of Programs.[SUP]
[3][/SUP] [h=2]Funding[/h]From 1997 to 2002, the Western Journalism Center received $150,000 from the
William H. Donner Foundation , $25,000 from the
Armstrong Foundation , $98,500 from the
Castle Rock Foundation , and $3,000 from the
Roe Foundation.[SUP]
[4][/SUP] [h=2]Background[/h]"The center provided
Christopher Ruddy with 'additional expense money, funding for
Freedom of Information Act requests, legal support and publicity' during his investigation of the death of
Vince Foster while working as a reporter for the
New York Post and the
Scaife-owned
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. This included buying full-page ads in major newspapers reproducing Ruddy's work and co-producing a video about the Foster investigation with Ruddy. The center accepted $330,000 in donations from
Scaife-connected foundations in 1994-95. The center has been involved in an ongoing lawsuit against the
Internal Revenue Service over a tax audit it alleges was politically motivated. Farah is, like [Brent]
Bozell, also a member of the secretive
Council for National Policy," ConWebWatch reported.[SUP]
[5][/SUP] In March 2009, the Center sent out an email to conservatives promoting conspiracy theories regarding
Barack Obama's citizenship.[SUP]
[6][/SUP] [h=3]WorldNetDaily[/h]
WorldNetDaily was "started in May 1997 as a project of the Western Journalism Center. WorldNetDaily describes itself as 'a fiercely independent newssite committed to hard-hitting investigative reporting of government waste, fraud and abuse.' WorldNetDaily.com, Inc., headquartered in Cave Junction, Ore., but incorporated in Delaware, was spun off in 1999 as a for-profit subsidiary of the non-profit Western Journalism Center with the backing of $4.5 million from investors. Farah and the Western Journalism Center own a majority of WND, according to Farah; the rest of the stock is owned by about 75 private investors," ConWebWatch reported.
