California Watch, part of the nonprofit
Center for Investigative Reporting, began producing stories in 2009. The official launch of the California Watch website took place in January 2010. The team is best known for producing well researched and widely distributed investigative stories on topics of interest to Californians. It works with many news outlets, including newspapers throughout the state, all of the ABC television affiliates in California,
KQED radio and television and dozens of websites. The
Center for Investigative Reporting created California Watch with $3.5 million in seed funding. The team won several industry awards for its public interest reporting, including the George Polk Award in 2012.