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Learn about The Cornerstone Award and nominate someone today!

Do you have a dedicated team member who works behind the scenes, ensuring the success of your operation? Perhaps the person is the go-to source for history or relationships in your community or a star production, administration, or circulation member.

We regularly champion the achievement of our journalists, but many others daily make invaluable contributions to our organizations. In the spirit of recognizing these people, we developed this new award and will present it each year during our New England Newspaper of the Year Awards program.

The Cornerstone Award is designed to recognize and honor unsung heroes in our news organizations who meaningfully and significantly contribute to the accomplishments of our publications without recognition. About these folks, we ask the question: “Where would we be without them?” These individuals are the lifeblood of our operations, consistently providing the support and commitment needed to keep our departments and publications thriving.

Submit a nomination letter detailing why your candidate deserves this prestigious recognition. Highlight the person’s dedication, service and the impact the individual has made on your team and organization.

All employees are eligible. There are no specific requirements other than demonstrating dedicated service and unwavering support. While a journalist may be recognized with this honor, the award intends to bring attention to someone working in the background.

The entry fee is $50 and the deadline to nominate someone is Friday, July 19, 2024.

The inaugural Cornerstone Award will be presented and celebrated during the New England Newspaper & Press Association (NENPA) and New York Press Association (NYPA) joint Fall Conference at The Omni in Providence, RI from September 19-21, 2024.

Learn more

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Webinar Recording Now Available: Reporting with State Education Data

We are excited to announce that the recording of our recent webinar, “Reporting with State Education Data,” is now available! Hosted by NENPA University and presented on June 13 by Sam Ribnick and Danielle Kane from the Massachusetts Education-to-Career Research and Data Hub (E2C Hub), this webinar was packed with valuable insights and practical guidance for journalists looking to enhance their education reporting.

Key Highlights from the Webinar:

  • New Tools and Resources: Discover the latest tools and resources for accessing and utilizing public education data on school programs, trends, and outcomes.
  • Impactful Data Stories and Dashboards: See hands-on examples of compelling data stories and dashboards that can elevate your reporting.
  • Step-by-Step Guidance: Learn how to create accurate, localized, and relevant data visualizations tailored to your audience.
  • Follow-Up Support: Benefit from ongoing support from the E2C Hub team for your data projects.

Whether you were able to join us live or not, we encourage all journalists to watch the recording. The insights shared are particularly useful for those reporting in New England, where similar databases are available, but the techniques and ideas presented apply to a wider audience as well.

This session is a must-watch for anyone looking to transform their approach to education data reporting. No prior data experience is necessary, so everyone is welcome to learn and grow with us.

If you have any questions or need further assistance with your data projects, don’t hesitate to reach out to the E2C Hub team at Danielle Kane, Outreach & Engagement Specialist, danielle.kane@mass.gov.

Thank you for your continued engagement and dedication to high-quality education reporting. Stay tuned for more resources and upcoming events from the E2C Hub!

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2023 Better Newspaper Competition List of Winners and Judges’ Comments Available

Congratulations to all the 2023 New England Better Newspaper Competition Award winners! We are excited to release the full list of winners with the judges’ comments included.

This year’s competition drew nearly 2,000 entries that were published during the contest year August 1, 2022 – July 31, 2023. The entries were evaluated by the New England Newspaper & Press Association’s distinguished panel of judges and were presented on March 23, 2024, during the New England Newspaper Convention.

Entries were judged in seven categories:

  • Colleges and Universities
  • Weekly Newspapers with a circulation of up to 5,000
  • Weekly Newspapers with a circulation of more than 5,000
  • Specialty and Niche Publications
  • News Services and Online News Sites
  • Daily Newspapers with a circulation of up to 15,000
  • Daily Newspapers with a circulation of more than 15,000

The results of the competition listed here recognize the excellent reporting, writing, revenue, and audience-building activities that are taking place throughout New England — the finalists and winners are listed, along with the judges’ comments. NENPA is proud to celebrate this truly extraordinary work!

If you have any questions about the results please contact NENPA executive director, Linda Conway at l.conway@nenpa.com.

DOWNLOAD 2023 BNC WINNERS NOW!

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Start getting your Newspaper of the Year Awards entries ready!

Attention NENPA members: the 2024 New England Newspaper of the Year Awards competition is about to open next week! Now is the time to start preparing your entries to showcase your best work.

We will be honoring the region’s best daily, weekly, specialty, and online news publications with the prestigious “New England Newspaper of the Year” award. This unique competition, judged by New England newspaper readers, will cover a range of circulation categories.

To enter, editors need to complete the online form, include a cover letter, and submit two editions from the contest year (June 1, 2023 – May 31, 2024).

Categories include:
– Weekday newspapers
– Sunday newspapers
– Weekly community newspapers
– Specialty publications
– Online news sites

Entries will be sorted into competitive divisions (small, medium, large) within their categories.

Additionally, entries are being accepted for these prestigious awards:
– Publick Occurrences Award: Best individual or team stories, series, spot news, columns, or photojournalism.
– Bob Wallack Community Journalism Award: Celebrates long-term community service and contribution.
– Allan B. Rogers Editorial Award: Best local editorial of the past year.
– New England First Amendment Award: Exceptional work upholding the First Amendment.
– AP Sevellon Brown New England Journalist of the Year: Recognizes journalism of distinction in New England.

Get your submissions ready and learn more about each award on our website.

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Join Us Thursday, June 13 for Reporting with State Education Data!

Are you ready to transform how you report on education data? Join us for an exclusive workshop hosted by Sam Ribnick and Danielle Kane from the Massachusetts Education-to-Career Research and Data Hub (E2C Hub) this week on Thursday, June 13 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM.

Discover how the E2C Hub simplifies accessing and utilizing public data on school programs, trends, and outcomes. This session will introduce you to our latest resources, showcase compelling data stories and dashboards, and guide you through creating accurate, localized, and relevant data visualizations for your audience.

All journalists can attend because other New England states have similar databases and the story ideas presented are great to enhance your education reporting an important aspect of any publication’s community engagement strategy.

Highlights of the workshop include:

  • Exploring new tools and resources for education data reporting
  • Hands-on examples of impactful data stories and dashboards
  • Step-by-step guidance on working with education datasets
  • Follow-up support from the E2C Hub team for your data projects
  • No prior data experience is necessary – everyone is welcome!

Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate your reporting skills. Secure your spot today and take the first step towards becoming a data-savvy storyteller.

P.S. Participants may receive follow-up support for their data projects from the E2C Hub team!

Register Now!

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Watch the recording of Community Asset Mapping 101

Many communities, especially those in historically marginalized areas, often feel disconnected from the news intended to serve them. This disconnect highlights the need to bridge the gap between journalists and the community, ensuring that reporting genuinely reflects and benefits the community it serves.

Why This Matters

To better serve your audience and enhance your DEIB practices, community asset mapping is a crucial strategy. This exercise helps identify and utilize the strengths and resources within your community, transforming your reporting to be more inclusive and impactful.

Webinar Details

Speaker: Letrell Deshan Crittenden, Ph.D., Director of Inclusion and Audience Growth at the American Press Institute

In this engaging session, recorded on May 30, 2024, Dr. Crittenden guides you through the essential steps of creating a community asset map.

You will learn to:

  • Distinguish between sources and assets
  • Understand the advantages of asset mapping over traditional source listing
  • Identify different types of community assets
  • Strategize and execute the creation of an asset map

By the end of the session, you’ll have a foundational starting point for your asset map and clear next steps for completing and refining it. This skill is invaluable for any journalist, regardless of their role in the newsroom.

About the New England Equity Reporting Fellowship:
Founded in 2021 by the Granite State News Collaborative, New England News Collaborative, New England Newspaper & Press Association, and Solutions Journalism Network, in partnership with the Endowment for Health, this fellowship aims to enhance news coverage on race and identity issues in New England and foster an inclusive newsroom culture.

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Join Us May 30 for an Essential Webinar on Community Asset Mapping

Many communities feel disconnected from the news that is meant to serve them, especially in historically marginalized areas where the gap between journalists and the community can feel insurmountable. It’s time to bridge that gap and ensure your reporting truly reflects and benefits the community you serve.

Why This Matters:
To better serve your audience and improve your DEIB practices, community asset mapping is a crucial strategy. This exercise will help you identify and utilize the strengths and resources within your community, transforming your reporting to be more inclusive and impactful.

Join Us for an Exclusive Webinar:
Date: Thursday, May 30, 2024
Time: 12:00 – 1:00 PM EDT
Speaker: Letrell Deshan Crittenden, Ph.D., Director of Inclusion and Audience Growth at the American Press Institute

In this engaging session, Dr. Crittenden will guide you through the essential steps of creating a community asset map.

You will learn to:

  • Distinguish between sources and assets
  • Understand the advantages of asset-mapping over traditional source-listing
  • Identify different types of community assets
  • Strategize and execute the creation of an asset map

By the end of the session, you will have a foundational starting point for your asset map and clear next steps for completing and refining it. This skill is invaluable for any journalist, regardless of their role in the newsroom.

Register for the webinar

About the New England Equity Reporting Fellowship:
Founded in 2021 by the Granite State News Collaborative, New England News Collaborative, New England Newspaper & Press Association, and Solutions Journalism Network, in partnership with the Endowment for Health, this fellowship aims to enhance news coverage on race and identity issues in New England and foster an inclusive newsroom culture.

Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance your reporting skills and make a lasting impact on your community. Sign up today and take the first step toward truly inclusive journalism.

Register for the webinar

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NENPA U Spring and Summer Webinar Schedule Released!

We are happy to announce our Spring/Summer NENPA University webinar schedule. NENPA U hosts webinars and collaborates with various organizations to provide diverse professional development opportunities year-round.

The curriculum tackles essential topics relevant to newspaper and media professionals, covering news, diversity, advertising, circulation, production, marketing, website content, revenue, and administration. Industry experts lead sessions, and our workshops ensure top-notch training for individuals in the newspaper and media sectors. NENPA U is supported by the Journalism Education Foundation of New England.

If you have suggestions for a new training session, would like to be contacted about future workshops, or have any questions or problems registering for these webinars, contact Tara Cleary at t.cleary@nenpa.com. We value your input and are here to help you in any way we can.

May 30 – Community Asset Mapping 101: Basic tips on developing a low-cost community asset map to report for, not about, the community

Join the New England Equity Reporting Fellowship Community of Practice on Thursday, May 30 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM for an engaging free webinar designed for editors and journalists focusing on developing a low-cost community asset map, a crucial tool for news organizations striving to report for, not just about, communities!

Led by Letrell Deshan Crittenden, Ph.D., Director of Inclusion and Audience Growth at the American Press Institute. Participants will learn:

  • The difference between sources and assets
  • The benefits of asset-mapping before source-listing
  • The types of community assets
  • The strategy and execution of creating an asset map

Participants will leave the session with a starting point for the asset map and the next steps to complete it and then continue to iterate upon it. Any journalist, no matter their specialty in the newsroom, can benefit from this foundational skill.

Register here

June 13 – Reporting with State Education Data

Join Sam Ribnick and Danielle Kane from the Massachusetts Education-to-Career Research and Data Hub (E2C Hub) on Thursday, June 13 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM to learn how the E2C Hub makes it easier for the public to find and use public data on school programs, trends, and outcomes in their reporting. In this workshop, we’ll explore the new resource, look at a few examples of data stories and dashboards, and show you how to work with education datasets to create data visualizations that are accurate, local, and relevant to your readers. Participants may receive follow-up support for their data project from the E2C Hub team. No data experience is necessary.

Register here

June 18 – Media 3.0

Join Christian Scherbel of Smartico and Guy Tasaka of Tasaka Digital on Tuesday, June 18 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM to learn how the local media website of the very near future needs to be the community hub — where all local consumers come to start their news and information journey. You are the single trusted source in your community; the community expects you to aggregate the information from trusted sources. Those sources include TV stations, business journals, government websites, and local universities. Your role should be to inform and vet sources. Your posting of the content tells your audience that the source is accurate and trusted.

Registration is opening soon.

July 9 – Election Fact-Checking Tools and Best Practices

In this RTDNA/Google News Initiative training on Tuesday, July 9 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM Mike Reilley, UIC senior lecturer and founder of JournalistsToolbox.ai will explore ways to fight back against misinformation and disinformation during election coverage. We’ll use tools such as Google Fact-Check Explorer to track fact-checked images and stories. We’ll use Google Scholar to background candidates and claims. We’ll break down doctored videos with WatchFramebyFrame and Deepware. We’ll also look at the innovative Rolliapp.com to track disinformation spreaders on social channels. Participants get a handout with links to tools and exercise materials you can take to your newsroom. Before the training, set up a free Rolliapp.com “press pass” account as it takes a couple of days to get approved.

Registration is opening soon.

July 18 – AI for Sales and Marketing

Join Kevin Berrier, Marketing Director, MDDC Advertising Services on Thursday, July 18 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM for an insightful webinar where we’ll explore the transformative power of artificial intelligence in enhancing sales and marketing strategies. Discover how AI technologies can streamline processes, personalize customer interactions, and drive revenue growth. Whether you’re a sales professional, marketer, or business owner, this session will provide valuable insights into leveraging AI to stay ahead in today’s competitive landscape. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to unlock the potential of AI for your sales and marketing efforts!

Registration is opening soon.

August 8 – How to have an effective classified marketplace

Join us on Thursday, August 8 from 12:00 – 1:00 PM for a revenue focused presentation by Steve Rosenfeld, Bluefin Technology Partners. You will learn how an effective online marketplace site is a critical component of any newspaper’s new media strategy it expands the value publishers bring to their advertisers and readers. Publishers can now leverage the power of their online and print classified inventories and strengthen their unique relationships with businesses and consumers to create the ultimate local marketplace experience.

August (date TBD) – How to use recently released MCAS data in your local education coverage

Our friends at the MA E2C Hub are presenting another webinar to train journalists in Massachusetts on how to use the MCAS test data in their local coverage and some story ideas to get you started. Presented by Sam Ribnick and Danielle Kane from the Massachusetts Education-to-Career Research and Data Hub (E2C Hub).

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2024 Bob Wallack Intern Stipend Applications Open Until May 31

Editors at New England Newspaper & Press Association member publications are invited and encouraged to apply for a $500 stipend for one of their 2024 summer interns.

They are awarded to aspiring community journalists in honor of former New England Press Association Executive Director Bob Wallack.

If you would like NENPA to consider your intern for this special award, please submit a letter that briefly outlines:

  • Your intern’s background and aspirations
  • The type of experience you’ll be providing for him/her in the coming months
  • The level of contribution that you expect the intern to make at your newspaper this summer
  • Why you believe this intern merits this special compensation. (In other words, will the money be well spent on this student?)

Please submit your nomination by Friday, May 31, 2024, to Linda Conway, l.conway@nenpa.com, using the subject line Summer Intern Stipend.

We can also advertise your internship positions to journalism students and help you fill them. Send your internship information to students@nenpa.com.

About the Bob Wallack Community Journalism Fund

Bob Wallack

Longtime New England journalist and former New England Press Association Executive Director Bob Wallack died in January 2014 after a brief illness at the age of 63.

Bob’s career in community journalism spanned over four decades and took him to three different New England states. He worked for a variety of daily and weekly community newspapers in positions ranging from a reporter, general manager, and publisher. He also served as Executive Director of the New England Press Association during the 1990s.

Former colleagues of Bob’s have launched a fund in his memory that will support both community journalism and young people in our industry — two of Bob’s lifelong passions. In addition to this stipend for interns, NENPA bestows an annual Bob Wallack Community Journalism Award, recognizing a New England newspaperman or woman for exemplary community journalism. Previous recipients include Steve Damish of The Enterprise in Brockton, Mass.; Thor Jourgensen of The Daily Item in Lynn, Mass.; Stanley Moulton of the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, Mass.; Ray Duckler of the Concord (NH) Monitor; John Flowers of the Addison Independent in Middlebury, VT, Edward W. Forry of the Dorchester Reporter, Dorchester, MA, James D Haggerty III of the Daily Times Chronicle, Woburn, MA, Steve Collins of the Sun Journal, Lewiston, ME, and Wayne Braverman of the The Bedford Citizen, Bedford, MA.

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Hundreds Gathered for 2024 New England Newspaper Convention

Vermont publications gather for a group shoot with their awards after the New England Better Newspaper Competition Awards banquet on March 23, 2024.

The New England Newspaper Convention, held on March 22-23, 2024, at the Westin Waltham Hotel in Waltham, Massachusetts, brought together journalists, photographers, designers, publishers, students, professors, vendors, and media advertising professionals. The event featured a variety of engaging sessions, including workshops, award presentations, and insightful talks by speakers and panelists.

While not every attendee went home from the Beter Newspaper Competition Awards banquet with one or more awards, some media organizations were seen carting off stacks of framed certificates presented across dozens of categories. Many who attended the full convention said they were rewarded with great insights from speakers, presenters, and panelists who led spirited, information-packed break-out sessions on each day.

Hall of Fame inductees gather for a group shot after the dinner on March 22, 2024.

Friday evening, colleagues, staffers, and family members gathered to see George Brennan of The Martha’s Vineyard Times; David Brooks of the Concord Monitor;  Melvin B. Miller of the Bay State Banner; and (posthumously) Frank Dingley of the Lewiston Evening Journal inducted into the New England Newspaper Hall of Fame.

The newest Academy of New England Journalists members gather for a group shot after receiving the Yankee Quill Award at a luncheon on March 23, 2024.

Other honorees shared the spotlight during Saturday’s Yankee Quill Award luncheon, as the New England Academy of Journalists honored George Brennan of The Martha’s Vineyard Times, Ellen Clegg of The Boston Globe, Izaskun “Sassy” E. Larraneta of The Day, Ed Miller of The Provincetown Independent, and Mark Pothier of The Boston Globe.

ProPublica Editor-in-Chief Stephen Engelberg addresses the crowd during the keynote presentation at the New England Newspaper Convention on March 22, 2024.

The keynote activities to kick off the convention, commenced Friday, March 22 at 11 am welcoming ProPublica Editor-in-Chief Stephen Engelberg to discuss “The Power of Collaboration.” He briefed attendees on how ProPublica has built a complex network of partners, collaborators, and colleagues at every level of the news media, from national newspapers to local television.

Engelberg stressed how developing each of these relationships began with thorough communications including agreeing upon how each involved party would be credited, how editing between or among co-publishers would be handled, and how potential crisis outcomes like lawsuits would be handled.

“We have institutionalized being everywhere with localized news networks,” he explained after he and his team determined “how we could become more deeply rooted” in areas of the country that might be lacking investigative resources, or those that have over time become news deserts.

When asked by departing NENPA Presiden Terry Williams of the Keene Sentinel about what that kind of collaboration looks like on the front lines, Engelberg said it often involved “putting reporters on the ground for weeks and months,” not hours and days.

“You have to believe wherever you are, that there are great stories that have to be told,” he added. And “you have to ask yourself, what’s happening in statehouses and local governments if somebody isn’t there” reporting it.

“There’s a whole bunch of (bad) things that never happened because we did our jobs,” Engelberg concluded, “your showing up matters. And in an era of shrinking resources, working with other people will get you what you need.”

Friday Breakout Sessions

Tim Griggs, the founder of Blue Engine, delivered great advice on paid revenue development during his March 22, 2024 session.

Following Friday’s lunch period, individual sessions were conducted beginning with back-to-back break-outs. Outgoing NENPA President Williams noted that NENPA and the New England Association of Communication Executives partnered in presenting “The Readership Imperative: Building Audience,” a two-part session that explored the ways and means to increase paid readership and retain audiences and membership. 

“The opening session was led by Tim Griggs, founder of Blue Engine, a leading consultant working with publishers on increasing those who pay for content,” Williams said. “Following that, John Harrison, vice president of customer experience at Wallit, moderated a panel discussion on the tactics New England newspapers have taken to increase digital subscriptions.”

On the panel, in addition to Griggs, were Tim Dwyer, publisher of The Day in Connecticut; Allie Ginwala, audience engagement editor for the Concord (N.H.) Monitor; Jim Falzone, publisher for North of Boston Media Group; and Gary Lavariere, chief revenue officer for the Berkshire Eagle in Massachusetts, Williams added.

The first tier of sessions also brought in Bill Ostendorf from Creative Circle talking about “Writing headlines for readers.” And for those hoping to hone their Q&A skills, a spirited panel including Dugan Arnett of the Boston Globe; Jenifer McKim from GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting, and Emily Sweeney of the Boston Globe shared “Journalism Fundamentals: Interviewing techniques and sources.”

Among the many pearls of wisdom dispensed, McKim responded to one question urging young and upcoming journalists to “be confident and curious.” She also echoed Engelberg telling attendees, “relationship building is important.”

As Sweeny facilitated, she brought Dugan into the conversation. He detailed how he set about building a relationship with a local police chief over a period of many months, sharing tips and tactics that helped him produce a widely read report in the Globe.

Rich Saltzberg, speaking during the Journalism Fundamentals: Access to Public Records and FOIA Requests session on March 22, 2024.

The next set of afternoon sessions introduced Jeff Potter of The Commons presenting “InDesign Tricks and Techniques for Newspaper Production.” At the same time, a panel featuring Ethan Genter of Vineyard Gazette, freelance journalist Rich Saltzberg, Justin Silverman from NEFAC, and the Globe’s Sweeney enlightening participants with “Journalism Fundamentals: Access to Public Records and FOIA Requests.”

Charles St. Amand from Suffolk University helped participants during his session on March 22, 2024, improve their skills at being their own copy editors.

The final two break-outs of the day brought back Ostendorf talking about “Why branded content should be your premiere advertising offering this year.” Separately, Charles St. Amand from Suffolk University closed out the “Journalism Fundamentals” track helping participants improve their skills at being their own copy editors.

“There are a lot of words that are mis-used and confused,” St. Amand said, reminding engaged attendees, “Copy editors serve as gatekeepers guarding your publication’s reputation.”

Saturday Break-Outs

Early birds who were up for the opening sessions on March 23 were able to choose from three presentations.

Mike Reilly, creator of the JouralistsToolbox.ai, presented Introduction to AI Tools, the first of his three sessions on March 23, 2024.

Mike Reilly, who created the JouralistsToolbox.ai, and is affiliated with the University of Illinois-Chicago presented the first of three sessions: “Introduction to AI Tools,” aiming to instruct journalists on how to harness the tools to save time, and introduce folks to MidJourney and Adobe Firefly to create photo illustrations; along with basic editing tools; writing prompts and updates to tools such as Google Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude, and others.

“A lot of folks are afraid of AI,” Reilly observed, but added that journalists could still benefit from the advanced technology as long as they “approach AI with cautious curiosity.”

Adriana Lacy from Brandeis University presented Innovative Strategies for Monetizing Newsletters in 2024 on March 23, 2024.

Consultant and educator Adriana Lacy from Brandeis University presented “Innovative Strategies for Monetizing Newsletters in 2024.” Separately, The Globe’s Tim Rasmussen focused on the rapidly evolving landscape of video journalism, focusing on crafting compelling narratives within the constraints of short-form content in his session: “Video: short-form storytelling for the newsroom.”

Reilly’s #2 session picked up continuing to educate attendees on “Data Journalism Fundamentals,” covering data scraping web pages with Google Sheets, and scraping PDFs with Tabula and PDFtoExcel.com, along with building graphics with Flourish.studio.

Dr. Mario R. Garcia presented the challenges facing editors transforming their news operations to become mobile-first operations, while also ushering in AI on March 23, 2024.

At the same time, NENPA introduced Boston Press Photographers Association member and independent photojournalist Angela Rowlings for a dive into the world of photojournalism and photo editing.

Afternoon sessions commenced with “three-peater” Reilly closing out his convention visit concentrating on “Fact-checking and the election,” where he revealed hands-on tools for fact-checking election-related content: Google reverse image search, Tineye, WatchFramebyFrame for videos, Fact-Check Explorer, and others.

A session entitled “Two Revolutions in the Newsroom: Mobile Storytelling and Artificial Intelligence” brought in Dr. Mario R. Garcia with case studies and discussion around the challenges facing editors transforming their news operations to become mobile-first operations, while also ushering in Artificial Intelligence.

And Saturday’s mid-afternoon panel delivered a master class on “Investigative Reporting,” with Noah Bombard from the MA Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities; Antonia Noori Farzan of the The Providence Journal; Michael Gagne of The News-Times; Chris Larabee of the The Greenfield Recorder; Tiffany Tan from VTDigger; and Christopher Wheelock of the Sun Journal.

Saturday afternoon sessions wrapped with Yankee Quill honoree Clegg joining Northeastern University journalism professor Dan Kennedy discussing their recently released book, “What Works in Community News: Media Startups, News Deserts, and the Future of the Fourth Estate,” a groundbreaking study of the journalism startups that are solving the local news crisis one community at a time.

During Saturday’s lunch break, those who were not attending the Yankee Quill event were offered an opportunity to screen “Bad Press,” a timely documentary that premiered at Sundance in 2024. The documentary tells the true story of journalist Angel Ellis and the fight for press freedom in the Muscogee Native American Nation.

Angel Ellis, director at Mvskoke Media, and Becca Landsberry, executive director of the Native American Journalists Association joined the room on March 23, 2024 for a discussion after the screening of their documentary BAD PRESS.

The screening was followed by a lively Q&A over Zoom, featuring Ellis, director at Mvskoke Media, and Becca Landsberry, executive director of the Native American Journalists Association. 

The documentary opened with the shocking news that the Muscogee Nation, one of the few Native American tribes with a free press, had abruptly shut it down. The tribe’s government revoked the Free Press Act, giving them control over the news outlet, Mvskoke Media.

This act of censorship ignited a fire in Ellis, a tenacious reporter who refused to be silenced.  She rallied a voter-supported amendment to the tribal constitution aiming to guarantee a free press forever. The film follows the high-stakes battle as the tribe approaches a new election, turning the fight for press freedom into a thrilling political race.

During the Q&A the presenters’ passion for the project and the fight for press freedom resonated with the audience, evidenced by the insightful questions posed. The powerful combination of the film and the live discussion suggested that “Bad Press “will play a significant role in supporting press freedom on other tribal reservations.

Journalists, newspaper professionals, and other members of the media are reminded to mark their calendars for the NENPA Fall Conference being presented in partnership with the New York Press Association, which is scheduled for September 20 – 21 in Providence, Rhode Island.

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