“I believe that real journalism is telling an uncomfortable story to an unwilling public because it’s the right thing to do. Not the marketable thing to do.”
— Carol Marin, founding Co-Director of the Center for Journalism Integrity and Excellence
Now more than ever, media plays a critical role in our society.
The Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence (CJIE) promotes the highest ideals of journalism by preparing a new generation of journalists for careers in investigative reporting. Launched in 2016 by Carol Marin, Don Moseley and DePaul University’s College of Communication, the CJIE is a bridge between the academic and professional world.
The Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence:
By learning from seasoned professionals and accessing Chicago’s vast resources, the CJIE empowers students to navigate a changing journalism industry with the principles of
truth, accuracy, fairness and context.
Center Director
Lisa Parker
Lisa Parker joined the DePaul Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence as director in the fall 2024, following a term as a Visiting Center Fellow. Prior to joining the center, Lisa was with NBC5 Chicago, where she ran the consumer investigative unit for 27 years. Parker is the recipient of 17 Midwest Emmys, three Gracie Allen Alliance for Women in Media awards, as well as various other state and local awards.
Senior Faculty Fellows
A longtime investigative reporting team, Carol Marin and producer Don Moseley have earned national recognition for their dedication to integrity in journalism, including multiple Peabody Awards. Marin and Moseley founded the CJIE and served as co-directors from 2016 to 2024.
Carol MarinCarol Marin is a reporter. That may be the best, shortest way to sum up her career. She is the political editor at NBC5 News in Chicago and a regular interviewer for public broadcasting on WTTW's Chicago Tonight. Marin's television news career includes a stint as a correspondent for CBS News working for the news magazines 60 Minutes II and 60 Minutes, and as a prime time anchor for both WMAQ-TV and WBBM-TV. In 2016, Marin co-founded and served as co-director of the DePaul University
Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence until 2024.
Don MoseleyDon Moseley's career spans over 48-years reporting and producing the news. Most of those years were spent as an investigative and political producer at WMAQ-TV, the NBC owned-and-operated station in Chicago. He was also a CBS News producer, providing stories to 60 Minutes, 60 Minutes II, the CBS Evening News, 48 Hours, CBS Sunday Morning and WBBM-TV. In 2016 Moseley co-founded and served as co-director of the Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence at DePaul University until 2024.
Past CJIE Fellows
The Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence hosts journalists as visiting fellows in the college. CJIE fellows contribute to Advanced Reporting courses and engage with students about relevant topics in the industry, which exposes students to insights beyond the classroom.
Rachel Hinton (CMN '17) is an enterprise reporter for the Better Government Association. Prior to this role she was the chief political reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, where she started her career as intern. During her time at DePaul Hinton was a CJIE Advanced Reporting student and managing editor of The DePaulia.
Dan Sinker is a journalist, entrepreneur, artist, designer and cultural critic who has spent his career at the cutting edge of cultural movements. His work is regularly published in The Atlantic, Esquire and The New York Times.
Ben Welsh (CMN '04) is the editor of the LA Times Data and Graphics Department. At the Times, Welsh was a member of the 2015 Pulitzer Prize-winning team that covered the terrorist attack in San Bernardino, California. He is a former Advanced Reporting student and the inaugural recipient of the CJIE's Distinguished Alumni Award.
Past Initiatives
The DePaul Documentary Project (DDP) was an active initiative at DePaul University between 2003–2016. A precursor to the Center for Journalism Integrity & Excellence, the DDP gave interns an opportunity to go behind the scenes for both print and broadcast journalism to see how stories and news columns are developed and produced.
DDP interns provided valuable research for projects that appeared on NBC5 News and in Carol Marin's columns in the Chicago Sun-Times. Students also accompanied Carol Marin and Don Moseley in the field as they gathered facts for stories.
Past interns now have jobs in newspapers, television and public relations across the country. Much like the CJIE today, the DDP offered real-world experience in a professional setting that helped students reach their full potential as new journalists.