CT Mirror Towing Investigation Named National Award Finalist

A joint investigation by CT Mirror and ProPublica into Connecticut’s predatory towing industry has been named a finalist for one of American journalism’s most prestigious fairness awards, recognition that comes after the reporting triggered a bipartisan overhaul of state law.

The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard named CT Mirror and ProPublica finalists for the 2025 Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Journalism. The award recognizes reporting that advances fair news coverage and was established by members of the Taylor family, who published The Boston Globe from 1872 to 1999.

The investigation, called “On the Hook,” documented how Connecticut’s towing industry had built a system that stripped low-income residents of their vehicles and their belongings, often legally and with little state oversight. Reporters found that towing companies were selling cars within 15 days of towing them, one of the shortest turnaround times in the country. Companies were also routinely undervaluing cars to accelerate those sales, refusing to accept credit card payments, and holding personal belongings hostage to collect fees.

The response was fast

The state Department of Motor Vehicles said it was reviewing towing practices within days of the investigation’s publication. Lawmakers proposed sweeping changes to the state’s towing laws, and those changes passed later that year with support from both parties. Few investigations produce that kind of immediate legislative response.

Taylor Award judge Linda Robertson, a reporter at the Miami Herald, described the impact directly. “Through painstaking data reporting and sensitive interviews, the Mirror and ProPublica exposed abuse of power, financial malfeasance and lack of oversight by the state DMV,” Robertson said. “The impact of the project was immediate, prompting a bipartisan effort by state legislators to overhaul towing laws — a true example of David vs. Goliath eye-opening journalism.”

CT Mirror Executive Editor Elizabeth Hamilton said the recognition reflects the work of the full team involved. “We’re honored to be recognized by the Nieman Foundation as finalists for the Taylor Family Fairness Award alongside some of the country’s most respected news organizations,” Hamilton told CT Mirror. “This award reflects the extraordinary work of our journalists and our partners at ProPublica, and the power of deeply reported accountability journalism to produce real change.”

The team behind it

The project drew on a large reporting team. CT Mirror Investigative Reporter Dave Altimari, Housing and Children’s Issues Reporter Ginny Monk, former CT Mirror Data Reporter José Luis Martínez, and former CT Mirror Photojournalist Shahrzad Rasekh all worked on the project. From ProPublica, Data Reporters Sophie Chou and Haru Coryne, Data Reporting Fellow Ken B. Morales, and Engagement Reporter Asia Fields contributed to the investigation.

That’s eight journalists across two newsrooms, coordinating data analysis, field reporting, and community engagement to build a case that state regulators had not.

The Connecticut DMV’s towing regulations had long favored the industry over the people losing their cars. What “On the Hook” showed was that the gap between what the law allowed and what residents actually experienced was wide enough to drive a tow truck through.

Who won, and who else was nominated

The 2025 Taylor Award went to the Miami Herald and The Tampa Bay Times for “Alligator Alcatraz,” a four-part series revealing that Florida’s controversial detention center, which government officials said would hold only the “worst of the worst,” was actually holding hundreds of migrants who faced no criminal charges in the United States and had the legal right to remain in the country while their immigration cases were processed.

The New York Times was also named a finalist for “Exposed and Expendable,” an investigation by reporter Hannah Dreier, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner.

CT Mirror finished in company with two of the country’s largest and most heavily resourced newsrooms. That’s not a small thing for a nonprofit state news organization covering a state that often gets swallowed by New York media coverage.

Why it matters here

For Connecticut readers, the significance of the award is secondary to what the reporting actually changed. The General Assembly passed towing law reforms that directly affect anyone whose car gets towed in this state, which means anyone who parks in Connecticut. The new rules closed the loopholes that let companies flip vehicles in 15 days and hold personal property as leverage.

The Nieman Foundation will present the 2025 Taylor Award at a ceremony at Harvard. CT Mirror’s full reporting archive on the towing investigation remains available through the publication’s website.