He joined the staff of the Louisville Courier-Journal and Times in 1961, where he received a National Headliner Award for his series on "Our Costly Congress."

[7][8] The investigative reporting recognized tends to involve violations of the law, inefficiencies in government; or conflicts of interest and questions of impropriety.

The three-judge panel of the Worth Bingham Prize considers the impediments the journalist faced during his or her research, their style of writing, and the impact their piece has had on the public.

[2] Notable recipients include Seymour Hersh of Dispatch News Service in 1969, for uncovering the My Lai massacre during The Vietnam War; and Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein in 1972, for their reports on the Watergate scandal involving Richard Nixon.

Woodward won the award a second time in 1987, for his reporting on secrecy and covert action in United States foreign policy.