Lincoln McKie Jr.
Journalist & Journalism Teacher
Link McKie has had an extraordinary career spanning more than 45 of service for the betterment of journalism across all six states. He has been the voice of solid journalism throughout his career.
As a reporter, he was striving to hold public officials’ feet to the fire, in accountability to the public and in pursuing access to meetings and to records that belong to the public, especially against efforts to keep them secret; investigating and exposing wrongdoing by public officials. As a newsroom manager, Link was creating opportunities for aspiring journalists to enter and prosper in the newsroom, leaving each newspaper at which he managed better than when he arrived, in newsroom training and in the quality of the news report. As a consultant, Link has been available almost non-stop to advise how to handle sticky newsroom situations or to offer career advice for young journalists.
As a journalism professor for about 25 years, Link has exposed scores of undergraduate and graduate students to the practical experience of being reporters and writers; creating networking opportunities for them and assisting students in obtaining career news jobs. While many professors teach a pair of 15-week semesters each year, Link is in the trenches 52 weeks a year working the newsroom lab and producing the NENPA Bulletin – which is one of the benchmark publications among press associations. He is well-known in the profession as being a stickler for following ethical principles in his newsrooms and later in teaching the important codes of ethics.
Link and his newspapers have won their share of top honors. During his early reporting days (1971-1973), United Press International for New England cited him in its annual contest for work on the city staff at the Worcester Telegram. The Sunday Telegram, while he was managing editor, won Newspaper of the Year from NENA in 1987. The Worcester Telegram also received merit awards in both 1987 and 1988 from NENA. During his three years at the Sun, the newspaper won Awards of Merit from NENA in the Newspaper of the Year competition. In two of the three years the Sun ranked first and tied for first in number of awards in its circulation category in the New England AP annual competition. The Sun, in its first year in NEPA, won its 1993 General Excellence Award.