Steiger pushed for story about foundation now funding ProPublica

Michael Calderone of Politico reports Tuesday that former Wall Street Journal managing editor Paul Steiger pushed the paper to write a story last year about a foundation that is now funding an investigative journalism program, ProPublica, that Steiger is running.

Calderone wrote, “But before the veteran editor even launches his new venture, questions have been raised within the Journal about Steiger’s role in overseeing a July 2006 front page philanthropy story that prominently featured Herbert and Marion Sandler—the billionaire California couple, and progressive Democratic donors, who are funding Pro Publica with a guaranteed $30 million.

“Considering that journalists are expected to be a professionally skeptical lot, who regularly examine the cozy relationships between politicians and their financial backers, for example, it’s no surprise that the Steiger/ Sandler friendship has drawn attention internally.

“In May 2006, Steiger generated the philanthropy story idea and insisted from the outset that the Sandlers be highlighted, according to a source close to the situation.

“Staffers in the Journal’s Boston bureau, said the source, initially tried to rebuff the editor’s pitch, but eventually were forced to report the 2,600-word piece.”

Read more here. Calderone wrote that Steiger said that he was ‘not sure’ about being ‘involved in generating the idea.’ But, he said, he was ‘certainly involved in the final process of that piece.'”