A Gloucester couple, veterans of the media industry, were inducted into the Maine Press Association’s Hall of Fame at a ceremony last month for their contributions to Maine’s journalism industry.
John Christie, a former editor of the Gloucester Daily Times, and Naomi Schalit previously had resided and worked in Maine, and other states.
The association’s Hall of Fame was established in 1998 to honor people working in the news industry that have Maine connections who have made “outstanding contributions to the profession.”
Schalit and Christie founded the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting in 2009 to focus on producing “hard-hitting and non-partisan investigative journalism,” according to the Maine Press Association. The center operates The Maine Monitor, a digital nonprofit newsroom focused on journalism related to Maine.
“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 — to deliver fearless, in-depth journalism that serves Mainers with information they need and that holds institutions and decision makers accountable.”
In a statement, the Maine Press Association called Christie and Schalit “pioneers of Maine’s non-profit media landscape.”
They relied on donations, rather than paywalls and advertisements, believing the non-profit model would sustain the organization.
Christie is a media executive with a 40-year career as a writer, editor, general manager and publisher for newspapers owned by Tribune Co., Dow Jones and Co. and the Seattle Times Co. In June 2009, he retired after nine years as the president and publisher of Central Maine Newspapers. In 2014, he received the Yankee Quill Award for lifetime achievement by the New England Academy of Journalists, which honors achievement and distinction in New England journalism.
Schalit has written for magazines and newspapers around the country and spent time as opinion page editor at the Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel. She is the senior editor for politics and democracy at The Conversation.
Gail McCarthy may be contacted at 978-675-2706, or gmccarthy@northofboston.com.