The Center for Public Integrity named Paul Cheung as its new CEO on Monday.
Cheung, who most recently worked at the Knight Foundation as the director of journalism and technology, previously worked at NBC, The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal and the Miami Herald.
He succeeds Susan Smith Richardson, who became deputy editor of The Guardian US earlier this year. Cheung is the first Asian American to lead the Center for Public Integrity, which was founded in 1989 and is an investigative, nonprofit news organization.
Poynter asked Cheung what drew him to the position.
“The compounding effects of the pandemic, our country’s racial reckoning, political polarization and the spread of mis/disinformation has exacerbated the effects of inequity in America,” he said in an email. “After three decades of public accountability journalism leading to numerous law and policy changes and recognized with the Pulitzer Prize and numerous other honors, Public Integrity decided to focus on investigating inequality last year under the leadership of former CEO Susan Smith Richardson. This mission deeply resonated with me and I want to take action to do something better for my community and my family by holding those people and systems who are perpetuating or worsening inequality accountable as well as uplifting those who are solving the problems of inequality.”
Cheung, who serves on the board of the News Leaders Association and is a past president of the Asian American Journalists Association, starts in early August. You can read more about what he hopes to achieve in a Q&A with the Center for Public Integrity.
