Second Soles fellow relishes watchdog work

Nathaniel Heller, AS '99, is the second UD graduate in political science and international relations to accept the James R. Soles Fellowship at the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that investigates and analyzes public service, government accountability and ethics-related issues.

Charles Lewis, AS '75, a former investigative reporter and producer for CBS-TV's 60 Minutes, founded the center in 1990 and established the fellowship two years ago to honor his mentor, Jim Soles, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Political Science and International Relations.

The first Soles fellowship went to Dan Steinberg, AS '98, who recommended the experience to Heller. Heller says meeting Lewis convinced him he liked the center's watchdog work. "Washington, D.C., has the greatest collection of power brokers in the world," he says. "These are people who can make things happen."

One of Heller's accomplishments while at the center is an article on Sen. John McCain he co-wrote for its online newsletter, The Public i. The article looked at the then-Republican presidential candidate's relationship with AT&T.

According to Heller's article, McCain is an outspoken advocate of campaign-finance reform and built his candidacy on the argument that special interests play too big a role in politics. "However, when it comes to AT&T Corp.--and a mega-merger it sought--the facts suggest a different scenario," Heller wrote.

Last spring, McCain introduced a bill in the Senate that would have helped AT&T win federal approval for its buyout of MediaOne Inc., a multi-billion dollar deal that eventually turned AT&T into the country's largest cable operator. Two weeks after he introduced his bill, Heller says, AT&T employees and their spouses contributed $10,000 to his presidential campaign.

Heller says the article received a lot of attention. In fact, a journalist on the campaign trail asked McCain about the article the day after it was published.

"It forced the media to look at McCain and the fact that he operates in the same environment as every other politician," Heller says. There was even a joke about McCain and the information in the article on Saturday Night Live.

The Center for Public Integrity does not take sides, Heller says. Instead, it researched all the candidates in the presidential primaries and presented its findings to the public.

The center has earned the respect of politicians and the media alike, Heller says, and has been dubbed "a watchdog in the corridors of power" and "an honest broker of information to the public."

Another of the center's recent projects, The Buying of the President 2000, examines the special and often secret interest groups that invest in the politicians who are pursuing presidential office. This book received a great amount of media coverage, and Heller says his work on it is the proudest achievement of his internship.

He also worked on "Under the Influence," a 50,000-word online report that sheds light on the influential people behind the presidential candidates. For this project, Heller wrote about Reform Party presidential candidate Patrick Buchanan, as well as McCain.

In recent months, he also has written about sleepover guests at the Texas governor's mansion, as well as Democratic Party super-fund-raiser Terry McAuliffe's business relationship with a high-ranking Army general. Currently, he is preparing a series of stories on the political activities of genetics companies.

The Soles fellowship has been a challenging experience, Heller says, and it helped him learn about reporting and how to deal with fellow reporters. He says getting people to call back is always a problem.

After he finishes his fellowship, Heller plans to enter graduate school at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., enrolling in the master of science in foreign service program.

"My career goal is to become involved in the development and implementation of American foreign policy," Heller says, noting that working with the center has changed his views. "I am really into journalism and investigative reporting," he says.

--Brandt Kenna, AS 2000