About the Hal Hovey Award

NYC Reporter Wins
Governing/Stateline.org Award

William Glaberson, a reporter for the New York Times, is the recipient of the fourth annual Hal Hovey Award, presented by Governing Magazine and Stateline.org for outstanding journalistic coverage of state and local government. Glaberson is being honored for "Broken Bench," a three-part series which documents the idiosyncrasies and abuses of New York's town and village courts and the state's halting efforts at reforming them.

William Glaberson

Glaberson's year-long investigation uncovered shocking details about the little-noted court system. Judges, he found, lack basic knowledge of proper courtroom procedures, and these shortcomings repeatedly have led them to deny the New Yorkers who appear before them fundamental legal rights. Critics have been complaining about these arrangements for at least eight decades with little success, but since Glaberson's series appeared, New York's highest-ranking jurist has pledged more than $10 million to reform the town and village courts and legislative leaders have begun hearings on expanded oversight.

"Rarely does a newspaper series change the minds of policymakers," says Alan Ehrenhalt, Governing's executive editor, "But Glaberson's reporting, with its stunning anecdotes, meticulous research and impressive grasp of historical context, appears to be doing just that. Other investigative journalists can look to 'Broken Bench' as a model to follow in their own work."

The award, which includes a $3,000 cash grant, is presented at Governing's annual Outlook in the States conference in Washington, D.C. It is named in memory of the late Hal Hovey, a dedicated public official, meticulous scholar, tireless reporter and constructive critic of state and local government, who died in 1999 after a 30-year career that included major contributions to both journalism and public service at all levels.

Governing, now 20 years old, is an independent national magazine devoted to coverage of state and local government. It has a circulation of 85,000. Stateline.org is a non-partisan, non-profit online news publication that reports each weekday on state government. Created in 1999, it is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

The entire Glaberson series (each a .pdf file) is available here:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

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