Princeton alumna Laura Robertson ’24 was awarded the 2025 Nellie Bly Cub Reporter Award for her story “Death and Profit in New York’s Jail Infirmaries” published in New York Focus. The award, presented by the New York Press Club, honors the “best journalistic effort by an individual with three years professional experience or less,” according to the organization’s website.
The story investigates the relationship between for-profit private medical corporations and inmate deaths in New York county jails. Robertson began work on the story in Fall 2023 in the journalism course, “Investigative Journalism: In-depth Reporting,” taught by Joe Stephens (Journalism). Her reporting was also supported by a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism.
“Laura’s work on this story is the definition of impressive — hard core digging married to clear, muscular writing,” said Stephens. “She was so committed to bringing this tale home from the beginning, and relentless in tracking down and painstakingly verifying the facts.”
At Princeton, Robertson majored in history and earned certificates in journalism, Persian language and culture, and Latin American studies. She is currently a freelance journalist and a general assignment reporter for The Nome Nugget, a weekly newspaper in Nome, Alaska.
Read “Death and Profit in New York’s Jail Infirmaries” on the New York Focus website.
Read the full announcement on the New York Press Club website.
