Investigative report of the year

Recently, the Associated Press awarded the Star Investigative Report of the Year Award to to B.J. Pollock, Bob Haenel and Stephen Palkot (Fort Bend Herald)  for their four-part series regarding personal information being posted on the Internet by the Fort Bend County Clerk's Office.

Investigative Report of the year "A remarkable look at how a zealous county clerk has been selling public records and putting people's lives on the Internet, raising important issues about the balance between the public's right to know and the right to privacy,"   Send this article to a friend Get the Newsletter - It's FREE

This marks the first time the Fort Bend Herald has won one of the prestigious Star awards presented by the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors. Publisher Clyde King said, "This is a tribute to the hard work the three Herald staff members put in on this series. We are proud of them and proud of the series about this important issue facing our county and the entire nation."

"One of the things that works splendidly for this body of work is that the topic moves clearly across the newsroom - from punchy, straightforward investigative pieces to columns that bring context and, finally, an editorial that calls for reform," the judges said.

The public records series by Pollock, Haenel and Palkot also won first place in the Team Effort category.

Judges in that division said, "The sustained efforts on explaining and exploring the consequences of putting county documents on the Internet is a classic example of sustained journalistic focus. The thrust of the story is one of privacy - the Social Security numbers, banking information and medical records - that are suddenly there for the world to see, all because of a county's exuberant decision to save time, money and space by making use of cyberspace. The series of articles, columns and an editorial is concise, clearly written and well-researched."

●  County Clerk sold millions of  records    B.J. Pollock
●  'Public record' takes on new meaning in county  B.J. Pollock
●  Records officials differ on Internet availability  Bob Haenel
●  County records: 'Damage is done,' says expert  B.J. Pollock

●  Information found on Internet aids ID theft  Stephen Palkot
●  Change in record policy can curb risk    Bob Haenel
●  Cyberspace records: More secure options available    Bob Haenel
●  Texas Supreme Court to address records access   Bob Haenel

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