The Maine Monitor’s journalism and the history of the organization that publishes it, The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, were recognized during the Maine Press Association’s annual fall conference on Oct. 19.
John Christie and Naomi Schalit, co-founders of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, were formally inducted into the MPA Hall of Fame.
The MPA Hall of Fame, established in 1998, honors those from the newspaper industry with Maine connections who have made outstanding contributions to the profession. Christie and Schalit were announced as inductees in August, alongside Bangor Daily News sports reporter Larry Mahoney.
After decades working in Maine journalism, Christie and Schalit founded the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting in 2009 to focus on producing nonpartisan investigative journalism.
“Their contributions to journalism in Maine are exceptional,” said the center’s executive director Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm. “John and Naomi launched the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting with a clear vision: deliver fearless, in-depth journalism that serves Mainers with information they need and that holds institutions and decision makers accountable.”
In an August news release, the Maine Press Association called Christie and Schalit “pioneers of Maine’s nonprofit media landscape.” The pair relied on donations rather than paywalls and advertisements, believing the nonprofit model would sustain the organization.
The Maine Monitor also received 11 accolades for its coverage, published between April 2023 and March 2024, of important Maine topics, including the court system, the environment, health care, the Lewiston mass shooting, and the Wabanaki Nations.
The newsroom received first place recognitions for Digital General Excellence, and for usage of Maine’s Freedom of Access Act for Rose Lundy’s investigation into Maine’s residential care facilities and Samantha Hogan’s investigation into Maine’s probate court system.
In a change from previous years, when The Monitor competed against weekly news outlets, the news organization was placed in a division alongside daily news outlets, including the Bangor Daily News, Portland Press Herald, Sun Journal, Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel, Times Record and Spectrum News Maine.
The newsroom has now earned 201 accolades from the Maine Press Association since it began participating in the MPA competition in 2015 (as The Maine Monitor, The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, and Pine Tree Watch).
First Place
Courts Story: Maine law enforcement officers often lack direction for how to conduct welfare checks by Emily Bader and Emmett Gartner
Environmental Story: There’s federal money to shield communities from disasters. Why isn’t Maine getting more of it? by Kate Cough
Continuing Story: Maine’s troubled court system (five stories examining the indigent defense system and probate courts) by Samantha Hogan
Outdoors Story: Off the coast of Maine, puffins are rebounding and feasting on a new snack by Derrick Z. Jackson
Second Place
Investigative Report: Maine’s long-term challenges (two stories published with ProPublica and one published with the Rural News Network) by Rose Lundy
Health Story: The last maternity unit in Washington County gets creative to stay open by Kate Cough
Outdoors Story: Trekking through tribal lands as the Penobscot Nation plans to reacquire 30,000 acres by Nate Hathaway
Features/Lifestyle Video: The Songwriter: Dave Gutter talks being a Grammy winner by Roger McCord
Third Place
News Story: Maine’s vast rural expanse complicates the search for Lewiston shooting suspect by Emily Bader, Samantha Hogan and Emmett Gartner
