Peter Kovacs, editor of The Advocate in Baton Rouge and New Orleans, has been chosen as winner of the National Press Foundation’s 2016 Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year Award.

Kovacs will receive the award at NPF’s annual journalism awards dinner on Thursday, Feb. 16, at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Washington, D.C., along with other award winners. Learn more about the NPF dinner and awards here.

Learning of the award, Kovacs said: “The Advocate is owned by a fearless and dedicated Louisiana family, and we have a terrific publisher and a talented staff. But our chief asset is our readers and advertisers, who believe as we do that great news coverage is vital to building informed, prosperous communities.”

Kovacs has been a newspaper editor in Louisiana for more than three decades at The Times-Picayune and The Advocate. He moved to Baton Rouge, joined The Advocate in 2013, and helped expand its reach in Louisiana by launching separate newspapers serving New Orleans and Acadiana, as well as more than a dozen weekly titles covering the Baton Rouge and New Orleans markets. From 1983 to 2012 he held a variety of positions at The Times-Picayune, including managing editor/news. During his time there, the newspaper won four Pulitzer Prizes, including two for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina. He came to New Orleans from Alabama, where he was an editor and reporter for The Birmingham News. He is a graduate of Brown University and has served on various boards, including the Associated Press Managing Editors and the Manship School. He is a member of the Baton Rouge Rotary.

2016 Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year Award
Peter Kovacs / The Advocate