Al Baker. Courtesy photo.

The New York Unified Court System has overhauled its communications operations with a unit to be led by Al Baker, a former journalist who was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team at Newsday in the 1990s.

The courts' newly formed Communications Department is a fundamental restructuring of public outreach, with a design "to ensure that all New Yorkers are aware of the courts' efforts, commitment and programming to ensure equal justice and access to justice for all," Chief Judge of the State of New York Rowan D. Wilson, Chief Administrative Judge Joseph A. Zayas and First Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Norman St. George said in a joint statement announcing Baker's appointment on Wednesday.

Baker is set to start in his new job on Oct. 12.

He has three decades of experience, including working for the Daily News, Newsday and The New York Times and he most recently served as the executive director of media relations in the New York Police Department's Office of Public Information.

He was a member of a Newsday team that won the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800 in 1996.

The Unified Court Systems' Communications Department, led by Baker, will include three strategic new divisions for delivering the judiciary's message across a range of platforms—the offices of Public Information, Public Affairs and Web Administration.

Working together, these divisions will cultivate public awareness of the work of the courts in a newly integrated communications office, the statement read.

"A vital part of our plan is to better educate the public about the role of courts, and the work our judges and employees do every day that is far beyond what is required of them, so that the public learns about the courts not just when someone released pretrial is arrested for a new crime, but also when a judge spends her weekends coaching public school students, or runs a summer program for youth of color at her own cost, or when court officers go to a prison on the weekend to play basketball with incarcerated individuals and educate them about life after prison," Wilson said in a statement. "Our nation's recent failure at civics education is well-documented. We are not going to be part of that failure; we are going to be part of the solution."

"Al Baker is the perfect person to lead that mission. He is a highly accomplished, respected journalist with decades of experience in journalism, media relations and strategic public relations and, most importantly, an impeccable reputation for telling the truth. I have every confidence that OCA's new Communications Department, with its broadened scope and multidisciplinary team, will flourish under Al's guidance and meet the challenge of increasing the public's understanding of the New York State Courts' important work and get the good word out about the many initiatives being implemented across the State to enhance access to the courts and court services and improve the quality of justice–and life–for New Yorkers," Wilson continued.

The statement made no mention about court system spokesman Lucian Chalfen, who was hired in 2016 on then Chief Judge Janet DiFiore's arrival into the top judicial post.

To a question about whether the restructuring was adding or reducing jobs, and his future with the organization, Chalfen said in an email: "At OCA the restructuring is connecting three formally separate units using existing staff formally assigned to those units. An assessment will be made by Mr. Baker as to whether any changes to resources are necessary."

The Wilson, Zayas and St. George statement did say that Baker will embark "on a thorough assessment of the existing communications systems to develop comprehensive lines of communication."

Said Baker: "I am deeply grateful to Chief Judge Wilson, Chief Administrative Judge Zayas, First Deputy Chief Administrative Judge St. George and the entire state Unified Court System for entrusting me with ensuring that our voices can be heard by the broadest possible canvas of dedicated journalists and across our own narrative channels. From my own newspaper days, to my essential job in the NYPD at a time of  national reckoning on race and policing, to my new role in New York's judiciary, the proud theme of my life's trajectory has been public service—and I'm privileged now to bring the cumulative experience of my efforts to bear in service of this integral new mission."