She copy-edits much of the six-day Caledonian-Record in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. She writes and produces two or three full education pages each week including Kid Scoop every Tuesday. She referees high school varsity basketball, boys and girls, and regularly skies Burke Mountain where Rosie Smith and her husband, Mark Smith, have a vacation home.

The Smith family has owned this storied newspaper, established in 1837 since Mark’s grandfather bought it in 1919. The pair have even delivered the paper themselves when drivers quit unexpectedly.

But Rosie Smith’s heart is with education and supporting local schools in the paper’s 12,000 combined print and digital circulation in the “Northeast Kingdom”—three counties in the very north of Vermont plus two counties in northwestern New Hampshire.

Three prominent local businesses support Kid Scoop on the education pages: an automobile dealership, a local bank, and an insurance company for the newspaper’s health plan. “We’ve been friends with all these people for years, and they love the relationship they have with the children and teachers,” Rosie explained. “They’ve been supporters since day one. They enjoy getting thank-you notes from teachers and children.”

During the recent Covid years, Rosie said Kid Scoop became more important. “Parents were using Kid Scoop at home, especially when the schools were doing remote learning.” One student wrote a class assignment about a moose. “It was so good I actually published it on our education pages,” Rosie said. School news comes in regularly which Rosie features on her designated education pages.

Kid Scoop is designed to engage the children in civics education through reading and discussing news about area leaders and local improvement projects.

Activities on the Kid Scoop page are created to teach reading, writing, and math skills, as well as content for geography, history, science, and literature lessons.

“I’ve loved Kid Scoop since I first saw it back in 1998. I want to keep it in our paper, always,” Rosie said.

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The writer of this article is Ellen Creane. She has experience as a freelance reporter for newspapers, an ESL college instructor, a former NIE manager at three newspapers, and marketing communications professional. To reach her for your project, email ellencreane@gmail.com. Also, see her LinkedIn profile.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Legal Hotline and Election Legal Guide are available for journalists covering the 2022 midterm elections who have questions about their newsgathering rights or encounter legal issues while reporting.

The free Legal Hotline will be staffed on Election Day by Reporters Committee attorneys in Washington, D.C., to help journalists nationwide who may face issues while reporting at the polls. A network of volunteer media lawyers in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas will also be on call to assist journalists.

Contact the Reporters Committee Legal Hotline at 1-800-336-4243, hotline@rcfp.org, or submit a request through our online form if you have questions about reporting on the midterm elections or run into issues while covering the elections.

Journalists can also consult the Reporters Committee’s Election Legal Guide, available in English and Spanish. The guide, which Reporters Committee attorneys updated in advance of this year’s midterms, covers exit polling, newsgathering in or near polling places, ballot selfies, and access to ballots and election records. It also includes more detailed information about election laws in battleground states.

Read more at RCPF

This Local Media Association Digital Innovation contest recognizes the best in local digital media in 16 categories such as best local website, best virtual event, best-branded content strategy, and more. It is a highly competitive contest designed to recognize both large and small media companies for their outstanding and innovative work.

The Keene Sentinel won 1st Place, in the Best Reader Revenue Strategy category. This award recognizes exceptional strategy and execution of a new consumer revenue initiative.

Judge’s notes: The Keene Sentinel came up with a creative idea to partner with local businesses and give new subscribers multiple incentives, and the retention rate has been high, even when the offers expire.

• College/University Division – Download Information

• Editorial/Multimedia/Photography Division – Download Information
• Advertising/Circulation/Promotion Division – Download Information
• College/University Division New in 2022! – Download Information

The Poynter Institute recently announced the 15 journalists selected from more than 100 applicants for its prestigious Power of Diverse Voices: Writing Workshop for Journalists of Color, including Boston Globe journalist Diti Kohli.

Diti Kohli is a general assignment reporter on the business desk. She covers everything from the economy and housing to retail and labor. In the past, Diti worked as the digital producer for the business and living arts team, as well as an intern at the Tampa Bay Times and BostInno. She graduated from Emerson College in 2021.

The group will convene Nov. 10-13 at Poynter in St. Petersburg, Florida, for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic moved the program online.

Learn more and see the list of all journalists selected at Poynter.

Fredric Rutberg, president and publisher of New England Newspapers, Inc., received a Governor’s Award in the Humanities at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston on October 26.

Rutberg was selected for helping revitalize a historic newspaper, The Berkshire Eagle (owned by New England Newspapers, Inc.), and for championing a vibrant and free press.

“I must say it’s a big honor, and to be even considered among the list of previous awardees is humbling,” Rutberg said in an interview before the ceremony.

Rutberg, was one of four honorees in the 2022 Governor’s Awards in the Humanities hosted by Mass Humanities.

Read more at The Berkshire Eagle