The Center for Investigative Reporting announced today the appointment of Robert Salladay, CIR’s current editorial director, to help launch a new strategic initiative for documentaries that will bring great investigative reporting to screens large and small.

Salladay, who joined CIR in 2009 and previously served as managing editor, will work with a small team focused on developing a documentary film unit integrated with CIR’s Reveal radio show and podcast and its digital news operation. It also will draw from the work of investigative reporters and producers from around the world. Salladay will work with CIR’s director of video, Amanda Pike, and head of studio, Christa Scharfenberg.

“This is a great opportunity to take the story engine at CIR and bring its deeply reported and compelling journalism to new audiences in a big way,” he said. “I’m extremely proud of our newsroom and its ability to tap into great stories and produce on multiple platforms – radio, text, apps and video.”

The new documentary film unit will build on the success of the Reveal radio show and podcast to find and produce original, high-quality documentary films for digital, streaming, broadcast and feature-film platforms.

“Bob’s leadership has been instrumental in the development of our content strategy for audio,” said Joaquin Alvarado, CIR’s CEO. “We’re excited to get started on transforming our approach to video.”  

CIR will begin a nationwide search for the right person to fill its editor-in-chief role and to lead the organization’s news operations.

“Our focus on public service journalism based on deep, fact-based reporting with storytelling across multiple platforms will continue,” said Robert J. Rosenthal, CIR’s executive director. “Bob has done tremendous work as a leader of our team for over six years and we’re excited about CIR’s continuing evolution.”

Executive Chair of the Board Phil Bronstein added, “CIR’s board congratulates Bob in his new role and we all remain committed to continuing to lead the field in courageous and high-impact investigative reporting. Most importantly, our stories will continue to engage communities that are affected by the issues we cover.”

The search for a new editor in chief will begin next month. CIR is committed to developing a diverse pool of candidates. A position description and application process will be posted in early October.