Three new members will be inducted into the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame on October 19.
Naomi Schalit, John Christie and Larry Mahoney were selected by the MPA Hall of Fame Committee and will be inducted during lunch at this year’s fall conference in Bar Harbor.
After decades-long careers in journalism in Maine, Naomi Schalit and John Christie founded the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, which now publishes the Maine Monitor. With the goal of delivering fearless, hard-hitting, nonpartisan journalism, the pair took on some of the state’s thorniest and most complicated issues, showing the public all the dimensions of a complex problem.
In 2009, the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting was founded and its first article, researched and written by John, examined the role of money, influence and personal relationships in Governor John Baldacci’s handling of tax reform legislation.
When they finished their reporting, they gave it away for free to any newsroom across the state that wanted to publish it. The first story also appeared in the Bangor Daily News, the Lewiston Sun Journal, the Ellsworth American and the Mount Desert Islander. MCPIR was ready to go.
Christie and Schalit were pioneers of the nonprofit media landscape in Maine and believed the model would sustain the organization. Fifteen years later, the company has grown from two to 11 employees and delivers its content to more than 10,200 subscribers.
Larry Mahoney has been the sports face of the Bangor Daily News for more than 50 years.
During his time at the BDN, Mahoney has covered sports at every level and is a fixture on the sidelines and in the press boxes of high schools and colleges across the state. He probably has more knowledge of local athletes than anyone else in Maine.
Mahoney has been the sportscaster for the University of Maine men’s hockey team since its inception and covered the team’s NCAA championships in 1993 and 1999. He also covered the high school field hockey state championships in 1976, the first year the team ever existed in Maine.
In 2023, Mahoney wrote 598 bylined stories, a typical year by the newspaper’s estimate. That would mean Mahoney has written about 30,000 stories over the course of his career – so far.
Mahoney has also been named Maine Sportswriter of the Year six times by national media associations.
Established in 1998, the MPA Hall of Fame honors newspapermen with ties to Maine who have made outstanding contributions to the profession. Members can be found on the MPA website at http://mainepressassociation.org/hall-of-fame/.
Tickets for the Oct. 19 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which will be held during lunch, are available by contacting MPA Executive Director Diane Norton at [email protected] or 691-0131.
