Five New England journalists will receive the prestigious Yankee Quill Award this spring for their contributions to the betterment of journalism in the six-state region.  

The journalists will be honored with the award on March 23, 2024, said George Geers, chair of the sponsoring Academy of New England Journalists.

The Yankee Quill, which began in 1959, is bestowed annually by the Academy of New England  Journalists through the auspices of the New England Society of News Editors. It is considered the highest individual honor awarded to newspaper, TV, radio, magazine and other journalists in the six-state region. Winners are selected based on a history of lifetime achievement showing a broad impact in New England Journalism. 

Selection for the award is not based on any single achievement, or for doing your job each day, but rather on the broad influence for good over the course of a career.  

This year’s Yankee Quill awards will be presented at a luncheon as part of the annual convention of the New England Newspaper and Press Association on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at the Westin Waltham Boston Hotel in Waltham, Mass. Tickets are on sale now. For more information please visit the convention website.

The 2024 honorees are:

George Brennan receives the award for his long legacy of dogged accountability reporting, fearless crime reporting, sharp editorials, keen management, and patient mentoring of young journalists. He devoted 38 years to the pursuit of journalism and excelled at effectively holding public officials accountable, earning numerous awards. His wide influence in inspiring and mentoring young journalists has had a broad impact on New England journalism.

Ellen Clegg is honored for her wide contributions to journalism. She spent nearly 40 years at the Boston Globe, beginning as a night editor in 1978 and serving in a variety of roles including deputy managing editor, president of the Boston Globe Foundation, and editorial page editor. Ellen has done far more than practice journalism — she has been a hands-on advocate for the future of journalism, researching and publishing a book about innovative local and regional news projects around the country. Ellen is also the co-founder of Brookline.News, a nonprofit news project covering Brookline, Massachusetts.

Izaskun Larrañeta is being recognized as not only a leader in journalism but also as a community advocate. She has a deserved reputation for being a careful listener, and in her leadership roles, she has made the reporters of The Day better listeners, too, as well as being more attuned to the viewpoints of people who are rarely the subject of news coverage. She has been a leader in helping reporters and editors understand the issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and has been a critically important bridge to the growing Hispanic community of Southeastern Connecticut. She has been a role model and a mentor to women and members of minority communities who might otherwise hesitate to choose a career in journalism.

Edward Miller will receive the Yankee Quill Award for the impact he has had on local journalism. In his 30-plus years of experience in journalism and publishing, he founded two independent weekly newspapers, taught writing at Harvard and Sarah Lawrence College, and has authored several books, including one on how to produce a small newspaper. His latest project is the creation of the Provincetown Independent which he helped establish after the demise of many local newspapers on Cape Cod.

Mark Pothier earns the Yankee Quill award for decades of dedication to the betterment of journalism and his commitment to his community. He began his career at the Old Colony Memorial, where he spent 14 years developing the weekly newspaper into one of the most honored and admired weeklies in New England. Mark is best known for his two decades at the Boston Globe, where he was charged with overseeing all coverage by the Globe’s business staff. He was part of the Globe’s Pulitzer Prize winning team that covered the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings and their aftermath. He retired from the Globe after 22 years and started a news outlet, the Plymouth Independent, with a small group of residents as a solution to the deterioration of local news coverage in their community.

The New England Newspaper and Press Association is pleased to announce that four New England journalists will be inducted into the New England Newspaper Hall of Fame, recognizing the most outstanding newspaper professionals from throughout our six-state region and their extraordinary contributions to the industry.

More than 100 individuals have been singled out over the past 20 years for their extraordinary contributions to their newspaper, the news industry, and their communities.

The Hall of Fame awards will be presented at a celebratory dinner as part of the annual convention of the New England Newspaper and Press Association on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Westin Waltham Boston Hotel in Waltham, Mass. Tickets are on sale now. For more information please visit the convention website.

The 2024 honorees are:

• George Brennan, The Martha’s Vineyard (MA) Times
• David Brooks, Concord (NH) Monitor
• Frank Dingley, Sun Journal, Lewiston, ME
• Melvin B. Miller, The Bay State Banner, Boston, MA
  

George Brennan retired from newspaper work at the end of 2022 with a long legacy of dogged accountability reporting, fearless crime reporting, sharp editorials, strong management, patient mentoring, and a litany of awards both personally and for the papers he captained. George devoted 38 years to the pursuit of journalism and excelled at effectively holding public officials accountable, reporting on major crimes, and inspiring and mentoring young journalists.

David Brooks was busy “engaging” with his readers across many platforms long before the term “engagement” became central to the future of local news organizations. This intimate connection has included print, websites, blogs, newsletters, podcasts, radio, and live events. He’s been doing it in New Hampshire for more than 35 years, and as technology evolves, the list grows. At the center of it all, is the expert reporting that’s made him among the most trusted voices in the state. To those in the newsroom, David is the fountain of information who takes young reporters under his wing. He’s the first in the office in the mornings and the one who willingly jumps into the fray when stories break.

Melvin B. Miller used his voice for more than five decades to dive deeper into issues ranging from politics, social justice, and economic development that have local and national impact. He was the founder, publisher, and editor of the Bay State Banner for 57 years. A weekly newspaper advocating for the interests of Greater Boston’s African American community, The Banner has meticulously told the stories of the minority community – stories often overlooked in mainstream media. 

Frank Dingley stood as the giant of Maine journalism from the start of the Civil War to the end of the First World War. Dingley, who died in 1918, was the Lewiston Evening Journal’s longest-serving and most influential editor. In its heyday, the Journal was one of the best and most innovative dailies in the country. Dingley mentored some of America’s finest journalists along the way and grabbed some astonishing scoops of his own, including a firsthand account of the sinking of the Titanic from a former Lewiston resident he tracked down within hours of her arrival in New York City.

The sixth annual Student Press Freedom Day is Feb. 22. It is an opportunity for us all to recognize the increasingly critical role student journalists play in our communities, but also to support the student press through legislation, legal and educational resources, and mentorships.

Justin Silverman of the New England First Amendment Coalition and Josh Moore at the Student Press Law Center are co-writing a forthcoming op/ed your publication can run in celebration of Student Press Freedom Day. NENPA will distribute the op/ed through our email lists on Feb. 16, 2024.

Student Press Freedom Day is an initiative by the Student Press Law Center where students, advisers and press freedom groups work together to:

• Raise awareness of the vital work of student journalists
• Highlight how censorship threatens that important work, and
• Empower student journalists to take action to restore their First Amendment Freedoms.

Each year, Student Press Freedom Day grows in scope as more students write op-eds, create videos, host events, tell their stories and build momentum for New Voices campaigns in their state.

The theme for Student Press Freedom Day 2024 is Powerfully Persistent.

Learn more about Student Press Freedom Day