Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting Executive Director Micaela Schweitzer-Bluhm has been named one of four finalists for the Institute for Nonprofit News’ Emerging Leader of the Year Award, which honors an “emerging luminary” with less than five years in executive leadership in INN’s network of nonprofit, nonpartisan news organizations.
Schweitzer-Bluhm was nominated in recognition of her work transforming the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, which publishes The Maine Monitor. Her strategic vision, public outreach and adept management continue to drive the growth of the news organization and bring about an increasing awareness and appreciation of The Monitor’s reporting by the people of Maine. She has professionalized the nonprofit’s operations, finances and staffing, resulting in improved sustainability and impact.
Schweitzer-Bluhm has increased philanthropic giving to the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting by individual donors and both local and national foundations. With increased support, The Maine Monitor has expanded its newsroom and coverage areas.
She has also made it clear to members and readers that the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting and its publication The Maine Monitor are not only producing news, but working to transform the news ecosystem for the benefit of all Mainers. Over her tenure, she has worked tirelessly to bring The Monitor’s journalism and subject matter experts into the communities around the state through sustained outreach, including panel discussions moderated by reporters, forums, coffee hours, film showings and community conversations.
Last year, Schweitzer-Bluhm initiated a dedicated listening tour, moderating 16 conversations across Maine and initiating partnerships with local news and community organizations for each stop. The listening tour provided our organization with a deeper sense of what Mainers need from their local newsrooms and how The Monitor can best serve the state with the reporting it deserves.
As a direct result of the listening tour, Schweitzer-Bluhm identified a dire need for hyperlocal journalism, particularly in the rural far eastern and western areas of the state. She then worked with the newsroom leadership to launch Monitor Local to meet the information needs of people in downeast and western Maine by delivering public service reporting on town council meetings, school budget debates, zoning conversations, tax deliberations and more.
Schweitzer-Bluhm is always looking at how The Monitor fits into and can support a healthy news ecosystem in Maine. As part of those efforts, she serves as a board member of the Maine Press Association and the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition. She was part of the small group that conceived of the Maine Independent News Collaborative, which seeks to protect and strengthen the locally owned news organizations that participate, and fostered relationships with the Bangor Daily News and NOTUS that yielded editorial partnerships with both organizations. She has also been instrumental in expanding training initiatives for young journalists in Maine, cultivating relationships to establish a regular cycle of student opportunities.
Other finalists include Khadijah Bland of The Kansas City Defender, Betsy Ladyzhets of The Sick Times and Tonya Hart of Cardinal News. The winner will be announced at an awards reception in Pittsburgh on June 16.
