All local media companies are invited to apply to join the fourth cohort of the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding to learn how to develop reporting projects that can be funded through philanthropy.
Applications are open and will be accepted until April 23. Up to 20 media companies will be invited to participate in the six-month program that will run from May through October 2023.
The LMA Lab for Journalism Funding is made possible with continuing support from the Google News Initiative, it has helped 70 news organizations raise more than $17 million to support local journalism since 2020. Newsrooms in the new cohort will learn best practices documented in LMA’s industry report Pathways to Philanthropy.
Suicide is a major public health issue, affecting individuals and communities across the world. The way in which media and online platforms report on suicide can have a significant impact on the mental health of individuals and the wider community.
Steve Curwood receives the award for his pioneering work and wide influence in broadening the understanding and importance of environmental journalism. He began his journalism career, after completing his A.B. at Harvard University, as a reporter and then as editor of The Bay State Banner newspaper. His award-winning newspaper career also included stints at the Boston Phoenix and the Boston Globe. He was the founder of the WBUR/NPR program Living On Earth, a board member and treasurer of the Society of Environmental Journalists, and has long been active with the National Association of Black Journalists. He is also a Lecturer in Environmental Science and Public Policy at Harvard University and a professor of practice at UMass, Boston.
Anne Galloway, founder and editor-at-large of VTDigger, is honored for her contributions to Vermont journalism. Galloway founded the news site in 2009 after a long career in newspapers, including as Sunday editor of the Rutland Herald and Times Argus. VTDigger has grown from a $ 16,000-a-year nonprofit website with no employees to a $2.8 million nonprofit online news operation with a staff of 32. Galloway, who started her newspaper career at The Hardwick Gazette, has won numerous awards and changed the journalism landscape in Vermont and beyond.
Mal Leary is being recognized as the connection between Maine residents and their state government for 45 years. He worked as a freelance correspondent for radio stations all across Maine and has also written for its major newspapers. His advocacy is so fierce and his knowledge of state law so deep, he has occasionally convinced state officials to squelch plans to introduce rules that would be antithetical to the public’s right to know. In recent years, Leary has extended his advocacy work to a national scale, serving as a president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition.
Lincoln Millstein earns the Yankee Quill award for the major imprint that he has left on local journalism’s digital presence in New England, and far beyond. After serving as city editor, business editor, and managing editor for features at the Boston Globe, he co-founded Boston.com and shepherded it through its formative years as CEO. He helped build the newspaper industry’s first forays into serious digital news businesses. He went on to run digital for Hearst Newspapers and spearheaded industrywide digital initiatives including the Yahoo! Consortium and the industry’s first private digital advertising exchange. But what stands out the most is his undying excitement about tough journalism and great storytelling.
Robert Bailey Thomas (1766-1846), founder of the Old Farmer’s Almanac, will receive the Yankee Quill award posthumously for his historic contribution to specialty weather and agriculture journalism. Thomas, who also served as editor for 54 years until his death in 1846, created a specialty New England publication that stands today as the oldest continuously published periodical in the United States. Distributed annually, it bloomed from a handful of subscribers in its first year to more than 3 million today.
Mark your calendar! The annual New England Newspaper Convention will be held May 5-6, 2023, at the Westin Waltham Boston Hotel.
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NEFAC Sunshine Week Editorial Released
NENPA is once again working with the New England First Amendment Coalition (NEFAC) to support this initiative in New England. Below is an editorial in support of Sunshine Week that you may publish in your newspaper, written by NEFAC Executive Director Justin Silverman.
Please join us in raising our collective voice for transparency and access to public information, and what it means for your readers and community, by either publishing the editorial during Sunshine Week, March 12-18, or by writing your own editorial.
Let us know that you’ll be participating, and we’ll collect all editorials submitted and feature them in our eBulletin at the end of the month.
Yes We Will Participate
Visit https://www.sunshineweek.org/ to download additional resources and for more information.
Contact Tara Cleary at t.cleary@nenpa.com with any questions.
HONOR SUNSHINE WEEK BY REQUIRING HYBRID ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT MEETINGS
By Justin Silverman
During the early months of COVID-19, governors in New England states issued executive orders allowing municipalities to meet online so long as the public could attend remotely. The democratic benefits of this arrangement quickly became evident. According to a public official quoted in a 2020 study, the changes “made it a lot easier for residents who have other things to do, to be heard. People with family obligations, elder care, or child-care issues.”
The executive orders that prompted these changes, however, have long since expired. New England states have resorted to a patchwork of live streams, short-term remote meeting requirements, and in some cases, reverted back to pre-COVID policies and in-person meetings only.
There’s a better way forward.
Permanent changes need to be made to state laws to require both in-person and remote access to government meetings. People with young children, health issues, disabilities, work commitments or other circumstances that prevent in-person attendance at these meetings are at risk of again being shut out of the democratic process. At the same time, there are benefits to in-person meetings that must continue along with this expanded access.
Now is an ideal time to contact your state representatives and make this need known. Sunshine Week is March 12-18 and is a celebration of open government and freedom of information. The sunshine reference is attributed to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis who famously wrote that “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” In other words, an informed citizenry is the best check against government corruption. We should use the occasion to demand the permanent changes necessary for all members of the public to effectively engage with the government and stay informed.
The 2020 study — published in the Journal of Civic Information and authored by Jodie Gil and Jonathan L. Wharton — involved nearly 100 municipalities in Connecticut following the state’s COVID-19 emergency orders. It found that the majority of these municipalities experienced the same or increased participation during their public budget deliberations as they had previously. While these towns also experienced learning curves and other unexpected challenges, the authors’ findings reinforce what many of us have come to believe during the last three years: the public is more likely to participate in meetings when given multiple ways to do so.
Massachusetts lawmakers recently recognized this reality with legislation (HD3261/SD2017) that could serve as a model for other states. The bill would apply to all executive branch agencies and municipal bodies subject to the state’s Open Meeting Law. It phases in over seven years a requirement that they meet in person and also provide remote access and participation, but demands swift compliance by state agencies and elected municipal bodies. Non-elected municipal bodies with logistical or budgetary concerns can apply for hardship waivers. The legislation even creates a trust fund that will financially support those needing assistance. The waivers, however, are available only until 2030. There must be universal compliance by that time.
While each state has its own local considerations, there’s no reason why other open meeting laws cannot ultimately require hybrid access. (Don’t know what legislation is introduced in your state? Use the legislation trackers at nefac.org/FOIguide.) Remote meeting technology is becoming more prevalent, less expensive, and greatly needed by citizens unable to attend in person. At the very least, open meeting laws should be changed to incorporate the following:
Hybrid Access | The public needs in-person access to government meetings along with the ability to attend and participate remotely. Both forms of access are critical. While remote meetings will make government accessible to those who cannot otherwise attend, citizens still need face-to-face time with their representatives without their commentary being muted or disconnected from a Zoom line.
Hard Deadline | The ultimate goal is to have all public bodies meeting in a hybrid form. The ease of reaching this goal will vary from one government agency to the next. States should set a clear and hard deadline for all government bodies to comply, taking into consideration challenges such as staffing, funding, and logistics.
Funding | A common argument against hybrid meetings is the cost of the required equipment and technology. While these costs have decreased significantly, they can still impose a burden on small towns with limited funding and staffing. States should earmark funding specifically for the purpose of hybrid meetings and help those municipalities that genuinely need the assistance. Consider it an investment in democracy.
There have been few silver linings to emerge from COVID-19. Remote access to government meetings is one of them. It provides equity and engagement in our democracy that many members of our communities would not otherwise enjoy. We need to change our open meeting laws now to make sure this access is available long after the pandemic has run its course.
Justin Silverman is the executive director of the New England First Amendment Coalition. The non-profit non-partisan organization is the region’s leading advocate for First Amendment freedoms and the public’s right to know about government. Learn more at nefac.org.
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