Nick Penniman
Encyclopedia
Nick Penniman is the president of the Democracy Fund, a foundation whose mission is to reduce the influence of well-financed interests over US politics.
in 2009. Supported by large foundations and the Huffington Post, the operation established a nonprofit newsroom of seasoned journalists who reported on a variety of timely topics, most notably the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and its aftermath. The fund was favorably profiled in media publications like the American Journalism Review and the Columbia Journalism Review. In 2011, the Fund merged with the Center for Public Integrity, one of the largest investigative operations in the country.
In the two years previous to the the investigative fund, Penniman founded the American News Project and served as the Washington director of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy
, where he worked closely with broadcaster Bill Moyers
. Moyers and Penniman first met in 1999, when Penniman was running a national grassroots organization called the Alliance for Democracy, which focused primarily on campaign finance reform and corporate globalization.
From 2005-2006 Penniman was the publisher of The Washington Monthly
magazine. Before that he was the executive editor of an independent news and opinion website called TomPaine.com
perhaps best known for the "op ads" it regularly ran on the opinion page of the New York Times.
He has also worked as the program director of the Campaign for America's Future
, a multi-issue national nonprofit organization; the associate editor of the American Prospect, a monthly liberal magazine; editor of the Lincoln Journal, a weekly newspaper; and associate editor of the Missouri Historical Society
.
He has served on multiple nonprofit boards and advisory boards, including the Homeless Empowerment Project, which publishes Spare Change News, and the Roosevelt Institution.
in 1992 with a degree in philosophy. While there, he started a number of student groups, was a member of the executive committee of the Thelomathesian Society (the student senate), an adviser to the board of trustees and the recipient of the top prize for poetry writing.
, where he attended the St. Louis Country Day School
. His father, Nicholas G. Penniman IV, was publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
and a senior executive with Pulitzer, Inc.
.
Career
Previous to the Democracy Fund, he was executive director of the Huffington Post Investigative Fund, which he founded with Arianna HuffingtonArianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington is a Greek American author and syndicated columnist. She is best known as co-founder of the news website The Huffington Post. A popular conservative commentator in the mid-1990s, she adopted more liberal political beliefs in the late 1990s...
in 2009. Supported by large foundations and the Huffington Post, the operation established a nonprofit newsroom of seasoned journalists who reported on a variety of timely topics, most notably the financial crisis of 2007-2008 and its aftermath. The fund was favorably profiled in media publications like the American Journalism Review and the Columbia Journalism Review. In 2011, the Fund merged with the Center for Public Integrity, one of the largest investigative operations in the country.
In the two years previous to the the investigative fund, Penniman founded the American News Project and served as the Washington director of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy
Schumann Center for Media and Democracy
The Schumann Center for Media and Democracy was established in 1961, by Florence Ford and John J.Schumann Jr. The foundation states that its purpose is to renew the democratic process through cooperative acts of citizenship, especially as they apply to governance and the environment...
, where he worked closely with broadcaster Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers is an American journalist and public commentator. He served as White House Press Secretary in the United States President Lyndon B. Johnson Administration from 1965 to 1967. He worked as a news commentator on television for ten years. Moyers has had an extensive involvement with public...
. Moyers and Penniman first met in 1999, when Penniman was running a national grassroots organization called the Alliance for Democracy, which focused primarily on campaign finance reform and corporate globalization.
From 2005-2006 Penniman was the publisher of The Washington Monthly
The Washington Monthly
The Washington Monthly is a bimonthly nonprofit magazine of United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C.The magazine's founder is Charles Peters, who started the magazine in 1969 and continues to write the "Tilting at Windmills" column in each issue. Paul Glastris, former...
magazine. Before that he was the executive editor of an independent news and opinion website called TomPaine.com
TomPaine.com
TomPaine.com is a website with news and opinion on United States politics from a liberal perspective, named after the political writer Thomas Paine. It features a mixture of original articles and links to articles on other websites....
perhaps best known for the "op ads" it regularly ran on the opinion page of the New York Times.
He has also worked as the program director of the Campaign for America's Future
Campaign for America's Future
Campaign for America's Future is an American political organization with a strongly progressive orientation. Its main issues of concern include the environment, energy independence, health care reform, Social Security, and education...
, a multi-issue national nonprofit organization; the associate editor of the American Prospect, a monthly liberal magazine; editor of the Lincoln Journal, a weekly newspaper; and associate editor of the Missouri Historical Society
Missouri Historical Society
The Missouri Historical Society was founded in St. Louis in 1866. Founding members created the historical society "for the purpose of saving from oblivion the early history of the city and state."- Organization :...
.
He has served on multiple nonprofit boards and advisory boards, including the Homeless Empowerment Project, which publishes Spare Change News, and the Roosevelt Institution.
Education
He graduated from St. Lawrence UniversitySt. Lawrence University
St. Lawrence University is a four-year liberal arts college located in the village of Canton in Saint Lawrence County, New York, United States. It has roughly 2300 undergraduate and 100 graduate students, about equally split between male and female....
in 1992 with a degree in philosophy. While there, he started a number of student groups, was a member of the executive committee of the Thelomathesian Society (the student senate), an adviser to the board of trustees and the recipient of the top prize for poetry writing.
Early life
He grew up in St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, where he attended the St. Louis Country Day School
Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School
Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School or "MICDS" is a secular, co-educational, private school for about 1,200 students in grades Junior Kindergarten through 12, separated into three different sections: JK-4th grade , 5th-8th grade , and 9th-12th grade . Its 100 acre campus is located...
. His father, Nicholas G. Penniman IV, was publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
and a senior executive with Pulitzer, Inc.
Pulitzer, Inc.
Founded by Joseph Pulitzer , Pulitzer Inc., owned 14 daily newspapers across the United States, and one weekly chain. Its papers included the St...
.