WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 -- The Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit watchdog organization, announced Monday it was awarded a two-year, $700,000 grant from the Ford Foundation to extend Well Connected, its investigation of the telecommunications industry, to a global level. The Washington-based center, founded by former network TV journalist Charles Lewis, conducts investigative research and reporting on public policy issues. The Well Connected project compiled a database of US media ownership and a series of stories exploring the relationship between the broadcast industry and the Federal Communications Commission. It also produced the book Networks of Influence, about the industry's lobbying efforts. With the new funding, the center said it will expand the project to global media and telecommunications ownership, among other areas. It will also compile a list of the 100 most powerful communications firms in the world and explore how their ownership, holdings and regulation affect information pipelines globally. For more information, visit: www.publicintegrity.org