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.
