The Courier Journal – winner of 11 Pulitzer Prizes throughout its 154-year history – and its parent company Gannett have transferred its library of photographs and negatives to UofL Archives and Special Collections.

Members of Louisville’s Bingham family, which owned the newspaper from 1918 to 1986, have made a separate donation to support the collection, including preserving it, preparing it for use by the public, and developing programming to enable the public to engage with it.

Their combined generosity is creating the Barry Bingham Jr. Courier-Journal Photo Collection, announced UofL Interim President Lori Stewart Gonzalez. The unique journalistic collection is of local, state and national importance.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Courier Journal, Gannett, Emily Bingham, Molly Bingham and the rest of the Bingham family for making this historic gift possible,” Gonzalez said. “Generations of readers saw these photos in their daily newspaper each morning, and now, future generations will continue to be able to study and appreciate the insight they provide into the history of our city, state, nation and world.”

“This gift will allow the Courier Journal to retain the legacy of our work through this collection of historic photographs,” said Courier Journal Editor Mary Irby-Jones. “It is important for us to preserve and share our work with others so our community can learn about the history of Louisville as captured through our photographers in the field for more than 150 years. The Courier Journal is honored to entrust this priceless archive to the care of the University of Louisville for the purpose of making the collection available to the community for research and scholarship.”

“For most of a decade, it has been our dream to honor our father by finding a permanent, public home for the Courier Journal’s photographic collection,” Emily and Molly Bingham said in a joint statement. “This visual treasure is a testament to his dedication to high quality journalism, his passion for photography, his love of archives and his commitment to public access to information. He is up there somewhere today, smiling and joyfully twirling his trademark handlebar mustache.”

About the Barry Bingham Jr. Courier-Journal Photo Collection

The collection, consisting of images created by the photo department that served both the Courier Journal and the afternoon Louisville Times newspapers, chronicles daily happenings and major events from approximately the mid-1930s to the early 2000s when digital photography began to replace the use of film to capture images. The collection doubles the size of UofL’s photo holdings. It might have dated back further, but the Great Flood of 1937 destroyed much of the newspaper’s photo and negative library.

“The collection chronicles the civil rights movement, World War II, the Kentucky Derby through the years, presidential visits, changes in the built environment, and numerous public appearances and behind-the-scenes images of world leaders and celebrities,” said Archives and Special Collections Director Carrie Daniels. “Basically, all of the changes happening within our country were captured in these photographs.”

“It’s an incredible collection,” Elizabeth Reilly, photo archivist, said, “and with any large-scale acquisition like this, it will take years to process, organize and add information to the collection, to make images discoverable and usable by the public.

“A small portion of the collection will be available online, and, as we process the amazing imagery it contains, we will be opening up bigger and bigger parts of the collection to the public, making it accessible to everyone who wants to see it.”

Reilly credited Barry Bingham Jr., the third and last Bingham family member to serve as the paper’s publisher, for his devotion to setting high standards for the photography his newspaper published. The Courier Journal won two Pulitzer Prizes for photojournalism during his tenure.

“He was a huge supporter of high-quality photojournalism,” Reilly said. “He grew and improved the quality of photography in the newspaper through investments, hiring talented photojournalists, and giving them time and travel budget to capture visual information beyond the news moment or press release. That commitment to quality is reflected in the collection and adds to its national significance.”

Daniels cited the increase in scholarship and creative potential that the collection will bring to UofL.

“Our Photographic Archives already contain 2-to-3 million historical, documentary and fine art images dating from the 19^th century to today that capture faces, buildings, landscapes and events from around the world, with a focus on Louisville and Kentucky. These images have appeared in scholarly or artistic work, including filmmaker Ken Burns’ documentaries, Dustbowl, Prohibition and Baseball. This dramatically increases our ability to provide images that everyone, including scholars and artists, will be able to use going forward, and we are very excited about that,” she said.

Note: Forty images from the collection have now been digitized and are .

“C´Ç˛Ô˛µ°ů˛ąłŮłÜ±ô˛ąłŮľ±´Ç˛Ô˛ő.”

At first it was that simple text without context from someone that puzzled Michael Lindenberger that surprising day, but the unexpected message soon was reinforced by an excited call from his boss. He was working from home, as were several other co-workers, when the journalists learned they were Pulitzer Prize winners.

They scrambled back into the Houston Chronicle office to share in their victory, small-scale and COVID-era style, as the four 2022 winners for for 2021 pieces about voter suppression in Texas. The series, called “The Big Lie,” detailed tactics to restrict voting, rejected claims of widespread voter fraud and advocated for voting reforms.

The UofL alumnus, 51, called the achievement “super affirming.”

“It was fun not just to win myself but to see my team and others win,” Lindenberger said, adding that the work of the editorial board and other staff members also elevated that of the winning four. “It was a real team success.”

As deputy opinion editor, Lindenberger directs the day-to-day editorial operation and edited much of the submitted copy along with his boss. He also wrote some of the entries, including one installment that gave a nod to his home state under the headline “The Big Lie: What happens when a GOP state tells the truth about voter fraud? Ask Kentucky.”

Lindenberger already knew whom to ask in Kentucky, and his experience likely gave him an advantage in securing the high-level interviews. He figures he has interviewed nearly every Kentucky governor since Wallace Wilkinson in the early 1990s, so he was able to add Andy Beshear to the list that already included Beshear’s father and former Gov. Steve Beshear. And he also knew from his UofL days fellow student Michael Adams, the Kentucky secretary of state who worked with Beshear on a bipartisan approach to expanding voting options in the state during the pandemic.

“We try to do our own research and our own reporting when we can, and I think that makes a difference,” he said about the Chronicle’s editorial operation.

Louisville readers may recall Lindenberger’s byline from the Courier Journal, where he served as a bureau chief, and LEO, for which he was chief political writer, or before that, from the Louisville Cardinal student newspaper, where he wrote and served two terms as its top editor in the mid-1990s.

“The Cardinal was fantastic training for journalists like me,” he said. The staff grew and the paper sent reporters throughout the country to report on some stories. Lindenberger recalled that lessons he learned while working there – “leadership, management and just journalism” – helped shape his career. “It was a truly great time.”

Then-Cardinal adviser Bob Schulman later became a good friend and served as an important mentor, teaching about fairness, the connection of the press to a community and the role of the press in a free society, Lindenberger recalled.

“All that was extraordinarily useful,” he said.

He also credited several faculty members, in particular, Charles Breslin, Paul Weber and Phil Laemmle, as meaningful influences.

The student wrote some UofL Magazine stories then and did research for some historical markers on campus, including the one that shows the resting spot of the ashes of Louis Brandeis beneath the portico of the law school that is now named for the Supreme Court associate justice.

The Louisville native wrapped up his bachelor’s degree in political science in 2003, having returned home after a reporting stint at the Dallas Morning News.

“I was deeply interested in the law,” he said. So he kept going, working on his law degree at night while writing for the Courier Journal. Lindenberger decided to finish it up full time, ultimately in 2006, after the newspaper closed some bureaus and made him rethink and expand his career options.

Although he interviewed with some law firms as he was winding up his second degree, he felt the pull back to his newsroom roots.

“My heart was still in journalism,” he said.

Lindenberger returned to the Dallas Morning News in 2007 as a senior reporter, enjoyed the honor and “great experience” of a Knight journalism fellowship in 2012-13 at Stanford University and was promoted to a Washington, D.C., correspondent for the paper. He was recruited back to work in Dallas, this time on the editorial staff, all the while relying on his legal experience.

“The law degree did two things for me,” he said.

Starting with contract work while he was still in school, Lindenberger contributed to Time magazine and Time.com more than 100 articles for almost a decade “writing for a very international audience about legal affairs for one of the most prestigious publications in the country,” he said.

And when he returned to Dallas after UofL, he was covering areas he described as “very political and policy heavy,” particularly about transportation issues in high-growth areas of Texas. “These were hugely important stories.”

“I was equipped with a legal education that allowed me to not ever be intimidated by anybody,” Lindenberger said. “That context and that capacity proved extraordinarily important as I became more and more an investigative reporter.”

After his varied roles at the Dallas paper, the Houston Chronicle hired him for its opinion team four years ago.

“We definitely had a goal of doing the kind of work that the best of our peers do,” he said.

Lindenberger said the editorials in the Pulitzer-winning series showed that widespread voter fraud in Texas “just doesn’t exist,” despite claims, and that voter suppression tactics were not new, dating back to Jim Crow-era efforts to limit minority votes. One part of the series called for U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to resign, and others were critical of the Texas Legislature.

“We really do believe…  that the work we do changes lives. We change opinions and that changes lives because it changes conditions in the state,” Lindenberger said, adding that effort takes a long time.

“You don’t write one editorial and suddenly everyone starts taking climate change seriously. It’s time and time again. It’s honest recording or use of the facts – and writing that makes people care about it.”

And the good news of the Pulitzer arrived after some personal losses and challenges for Lindenberger and for colleagues during the pandemic.

“All that together, and then to realize that the work we did in spite of all that stuff, to know that the work we were able to accomplish was judged to be the best in the country that year was really, really gratifying,” he said.

To keep our New Year-induced optimism strong, the Courier Journal has identified 20 of the “most influential people” in Kentucky to watch this year, a list featuring many familiar faces from UofL.

That includes President Neeli Bendapudi.

The “hasn’t shied away from making high-profile, high-stakes decisions, including the admittedly risky move in 2019 – with the support of UofL’s trustees – to acquire the financially struggling Jewish Hospital as well as other local KentuckyOne Health facilities.”

The publication also highlights Bendapudi’s efforts toward eliminating barriers to student success.

“In 2020, you can expect us to not rest on our laurels but to continue driving forward toward our goal of being an even greater place to learn, to work and in which to invest. In the new year, we will increase our focus on experiential learning, student mental health and providing greater access to student financial aid,” the president told the publication.

Also recognized is Daniel Cameron, who made history last year when he became Kentucky’s first black attorney general. Cameron graduated from UofL with a bachelor of science degree in 2008 and then from the Brandeis School of Law in 2011. Cameron played on the UofL football team during his time as an undergraduate.

He is expected to be offered a prime-time speaking slot at the August 2020 Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has already been considered as a potential U.S. Senate candidate in 2026.

Kevin Cogan, chairman and CEO of the Jefferson Development Group, is also one to watch as his company is leading the development of the One Park project. According to the publication, Cogan, a UofL graduate, has pushed for years for approval of the $200 million-plus mixed-use development to “transform the 3.5-acre triangle near Cherokee Park.”

In 2016, around the world tuned into the Rio de Janiero Summer Olympics. There’s no reason to believe that number will be much different this summer during the 2020 Tokyo Games and one of the story lines those viewers could witness is that of 2019 UofL graduate Mallory Comerford.

Comerford is a member of the USA Swimming National Team and a four-time NCAA gold medalist. As the publication notes, “all of Comerford’s accomplishments have been building toward the 2020 Olympics Games in Tokyo.” Her first step? Getting through the Olympic Trials in Omaha, June 21-28.

Dr. Melissa Currie, chief of the UofL Division of Forensic Pediatrics, oversees the state’s most severe cases of suspected child abuse. The Courier Journal acknowledges her unique position in 2020 as Kentucky has the highest rate of child abuse and neglect in the country.

The story notes, “Currie, as a founding member of the Kosair Charities Face It campaign to eliminate child abuse in the region, will continue to work with the group to expand efforts to educate the public about the warning signs of abuse. She is also a key member of the independent panel that will continue to look for ways to reduce child abuse deaths and injuries.”   

The Family Scholar House is a statewide entity that provides stable housing and child care while single parents earn college degrees. Five Family Scholar House campuses have housed over 500 people who have earned their degrees while in the program. The original FSH opened in 2008 in partnership with UofL’s College of łÉČËÖ±˛Ą and Human Development.

The Courier Journal expects 2020 to be a big year for FSH, with the potential of over 100 scholars graduating in a single year for the first time. Accordingly, the publication recognized CEO and president Cathe Dykstra as a person to watch.

This year, Matt Gibson officially assumed the role of CEO and president of the Kentucky Derby Festival. The organization manages more than 70 community events starting in April with Thunder Over Louisville. Gibson, a UofL graduate, is the first new CEO for the organization in more than 20 years.

Treva Hodges, mayor of Charlestown, Indiana, is the first female mayor of any city or town in Clark County. The 40 year old also completed her PhD in Comparative Humanities at UofL in July 2019. Among her goals for the town of 8,000 residents: to make it more financially transparent.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell graduated with honors from the University of Louisville in 1964 with a major in political science and served as president of the student body. He founded the McConnell Center in 1991 based on his belief that “Kentucky’s future depends on inspiring talented, motivated leaders.” The center pursues its mission through the McConnell Scholars program, public lecture series, civic education program, military education program and the Senator Mitch McConnell and Secretary Elaine L. Chao Archives.

The Courier Journal notes that 2020 is important for McConnell because it will be up to him and the Senate to facilitate a trial to decide whether or not recently impeached President Donald Trump stays in office. McConnell, who is the longest-serving U.S. senator in Kentucky’s history, is also up for re-election in the fall.

Among those chosen are UofL president Neeli Bendapudi, UofL Football coach Scott Satterfield and UofL Women’s Basketball guard Asia Durr. 

About Bendapudi, the publication writes: 

“When Bendapudi joined UofL in May, many Louisville fans and alumni hoped her arrival would mark the end of a turbulent period in the school’s history. Bendapudi’s optimism and experience in academia, most recently as provost of the University of Kansas, earned her a warm reception. She spent much of her first six months on the job seeking input from professors, donors and students. She plans to develop a new strategic plan next year, among other initiatives. She already has made history as the first woman and the first person of color to serve as UofL’s permanent president.”

Satterfield was chosen because he is tasked with trying “to lead the Louisville football program out of the doldrums.” 

The publication continues: “So far he has cleaned house on the coaching staff and brought in some new faces, started work on his first recruiting class and hired a strength coach to lead winter workouts. Can he put together enough improvement to make it show at Cardinal Stadium in 2019?”

Finally, Durr is recognized for being one of the most explosive basketball players in the college game and among the top scorers in Louisville history. According to the Courier Journal, Durr is a contender to be named National Player of the Year and is a projected first-round pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft.