MANCHESTER, NH – Manchester Ink Link was honored Thursday night by the New Hampshire Press Association with recognition in 10 categories – including top honors in five categories, during its 2020 NH Distinguished Journalism awards presentation. The event was live-streamed from the Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications.
Publisher Carol Robidoux was named NH Journalist of the Year, recognized for her reporting on the issue of homelessness. Robidoux has been a journalist for 32 years and founded Manchester Ink Link in 2014. She previously served as Nashua Patch Editor, staff reporter for the NH Union Leader, and a news and features writer, columnist and youth section editor for the Bucks County Courier Times. She serves as a board member for the NH Press Association and Granite State News Collaborative and is a member of Local Independent Online News Publishers.
“It’s a joy to be recognized for the work we do every day. The field of journalism has evolved so much, especially in the past decade, and we will continue to do our best work every day, to serve our readers,” Robidoux said. “I could not do what I do without my No. 2, Assistant Editor Andrew Sylvia, who is the state’s hardest-working municipal reporter – although there are no Press Association awards for that category. He provides the meat-and-potatoes of what Manchester Ink Link is – a news site that provides news and information about all things Manchester, while welcoming the community to be part of something unique.”
Other top honors went to:
Nathan Graziano, named this year’s Columnist of the Year for a collection of his human interest columns, an honor he shared alongside Mike Cote of the Union Leader, with whom he tied for first place;
Peter Noonan, who earned a first-place award in the Graphic-Cartoon-Illustration category for Drawn & Quartered, a series of editorial cartoons;
Ryan Lessard earned first place in Business Reporting for his Brew News Mashup series which looked at how the pandemic was affecting local brewers;
Pat Grossmith and Stacy Harrison, who earned first-place awards for Spot News for their coverage and photographs of the May 20, 2020 incident outside Manchester Police headquarters when a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest was interrupted by a father and son who threatened them with a gun.
Manchester Ink Link was also recognized for General Excellence – Digital Presence, second place, for its comprehensive news site, which judges said was “what a hyperlocal news site should be,” behind NHPR, which won first place, and the Union Leader, which placed third. Manchester Ink Link site developer is Manon Michel.
Other second-place awards went to:
Stacy Harrison for her photo essay, ‘Night to Shine’ prom a magical experience for all.”;l
Keith Spiro for Best Use of Social Media for his Communicast series.
And third-place awards went to:
Kathy Staub for her Spot News story, ‘Activists surround homeless camp on courthouse lawn: ‘We are the perimeter for our unhoused neighbors’;
Constance Cherise, for Entertainment Reporting, for her profile story, Not the words of one who kneels, the unyielding Hazel Scott. Cherise was also recognized on Sept. 25 during Manchester NAACP’s Annual Freedom Fund Dinner with an Excellence in Journalism Award, for her work with the Ink Link.
The Granite State News Collaborative, a member organization of more than 20 local media, education, and community partners working together to produce and share news stories that engage and inform New Hampshire’s collective readership with a focus on solutions-based journalism, earned first place for Excellence in Collaboration and Partnership for its COVID-19 reporting. Manchester Ink Link is a founding partner of the Collaborative.
A video of the presentation is available for viewing via the New Hampshire Press Association Facebook feed.
