The Maine Monitor and its publisher, The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, recently brought on a new reporter and two business-side employees as the independent, nonprofit news outlet continues to grow and deliver in-depth reporting that informs Mainers about the issues impacting our state.

Reporter Emily Bader joined the Monitor on April 24 to cover health care and general assignment stories. She most recently was the health care reporter for the Sun Journal, where she wrote a deeply reported series about the opioid epidemic, Legacy of Pain. She was also a University of Southern California Center for Health Journalism Data Fellow.

Prior to that, she was a staff writer for the Lakes Region Weekly.

Emily has earned several awards, including the Maine Press Association’s Bob Drake Young Writer Award in 2021, the New England Newspaper & Press Association’s Publick Occurrences Award in 2022 and most recently, the Maine Public Health Association’s journalism award.

Emily was born and raised in Los Angeles and earned her bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Wellesley College. She lives in Portland.

Amelia Metcalfe serves as development officer for the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, which operates The Maine Monitor, and will engage with individual and foundation donors to communicate about the work and successes of The Maine Monitor and to fund and grow the Monitor’s news operation.

Amelia previously worked as a development specialist for Crisis and Counseling Centers where she wrote grants, assisted in donor development, and delved into the complexities of the behavioral healthcare system.

Amelia graduated from the University of Maine at Farmington, Summa Cum Laude with double majors in Creative Writing and English. She was the recipient of the Senior Bachelor of Fine Arts Award.

Amelia lives in Newport with her cat and partner. When she’s at home, Amelia can be found reading and writing about fantastical things.

Deborah Fahy is the new administrative coordinator for The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting/The Maine Monitor. In this capacity, Deb will help ensure fiscal and operational accountability and transparency.

Deb formerly clerked for the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety for the Maine State Legislature and before that served as executive director of the Harlow Gallery in Hallowell for nearly 15 years. Deb stays connected to the arts through a number of volunteer roles, including the Hallowell Arts & Cultural Committee, the Artists Rapid Response Team and others.

Deb lives in Hallowell where she and her husband Greg Fahy raised two sons and now spend time hiking, birdwatching and caring for two (indoor) rescue cats.

The new staffers come after a record-setting year that saw new marks in reporting, audience, and fundraising. In recognition of the generous donations in 2022, NewsMatch awarded The Maine Monitor $21,000 in grant money on April 5.

RELATED: Maine Monitor releases its first annual impact report

During the end of year appeal, more than 190 new donors joined the community supporting The Maine Monitor’s investigative news reporting that seeks to inform Mainers about the issues impacting their lives.

The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting is a 13-year-old nonprofit whose mission is to fill the gap between diminished in-depth, investigative reporting and the need of Mainers to be fully informed about their state. The Maine Monitor’s stories are available for free on its website and via its newsletters, and provided at no cost to Maine news organizations for republication.

Newsroom’s work recognized

Three members of The Maine Monitor newsroom received acknowledgement for their work over the past several weeks. 

Samantha Hogan, the Monitor’s criminal justice system and government accountability reporter, was named a finalist for the Livingston Awards, the American Bar Association’s Silver Gavel Awards, and the Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards, all for her Eavesdropping in Maine Jails series. 

The series revealed that six Maine county jails recorded nearly 1,000 private attorney-client calls in a single year and some of the recordings were shared with police and prosecutors before trial. The Monitor has continued its reporting as state lawmakers and Securus Technologies, the phone provider for 14 of 15 jails in Maine, have proposed changes to prevent private phone calls from being recorded in the future. 

Because of the Monitor’s series, lawmakers are set to weigh recommendations from a study group aimed at preventing Maine jails and prisons from recording attorney-client phone calls and to improve prisoners’ confidential access to lawyers. 

The Livingston Awards annually recognizes exceptional young journalists under the age of 35 for their reporting excellence. Among the Livingston finalists for work produced with a local news angle are journalists from the Washington Post, Miami Herald, Los Angeles Times, Baltimore Sun, Buzzfeed News, New Bedford Light (in partnership with ProPublica), Tampa Bay Times, and Mississippi Today. The winner will be announced June 13. 

The Silver Gavel Awards recognize work that has been exemplary in helping to foster the American public’s understanding of law and the legal system. In the Monitor’s division, the Monitor is a finalist alongside AL.com. The winner of the award will be announced May 24. 

In the Investigative Reporters and Editors contest, judges strongly praised the Eavesdropping series: “An exhaustive investigation revealed a disturbing violation of state law and federal constitutional rights. The Maine Monitor punched above its weight with this series of stories.” 

The division’s co-winners were investigations by the Philadelphia Inquirer and Atlanta Journal-Constitution, respectively.

Ellie Wolfe, meanwhile, received an honorable mention accolade from the Best of the Church Press Awards, presented by the Associated Church Press, for her story on how Maine religious leaders are hoping to stem a statewide drop in attendance.

And, videographer Roger McCord, host of the Chasing Maine video series, was named a finalist for a New England Emmy award for his video, The Feeding Frenzy. Other finalists in the category include News Center Maine (three entries), Maine Public, WBZ (CBS Boston), and WCAX in Vermont. The winner of the award will be announced June 10. 

Readers can support the work of The Maine Monitor nonprofit newsroom by making a donation.

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