Morristown Green editor to receive award at Byrne Kean dinner, Oct. 15

By Marion Filler

MorristownGreen.com editor Kevin Coughlin will receive the Local Impact in New Jersey Journalism award at the fourth annual Byrne Kean Dinner on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024.

Coughlin is being recognized for his “dedication in covering all aspects of the community — families, events, schools, the arts and local government,” according to the nonprofit Corporation for New Jersey Local Media (CNJLM), host of the event at The Park Avenue Club in Florham Park.

NJ Spotlight News Senior Correspondent Joanna Gagis will emcee. Honoring the bipartisan legacies of Governors Brendan Byrne and Tom Kean, the gala builds upon their “Byrne-Kean Dialogues” in the Star-Ledger by showcasing excellence in New Jersey journalism.

Award recipients include Colleen O’Dea, senior writer and project editor at NJ Spotlight News; Colleen Wilson, transportation reporter for NorthJersey.com/The Record; and Robin Wilson-Glover, the recently retired, longtime editor for NJ.com and Mosaic, who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The award in a new Student Impact in NJ Journalism category will go to Zoe Van Gelder and Ishani Bakshi. The Lenfest family and Lenfest Institute will receive the Loretta Weinberg Award, which honors non-journalists who have made a significant impact on New Jersey journalism.

“It is important to recognize the critical role that quality professional journalism plays in creating an informed citizenry and fostering civic engagement in a democratic society,” said Amanda Richardson, the executive director of the CNJLM. “These awards not only highlight the best work of individual journalists, but also the importance of preserving and expanding news reporting at both the state and local level.”

Coughlin, a former Star-Ledger reporter, helped launch Morristown Green as founding editor of the newspaper’s pilot project in 2007. In 2010, the Morristown resident re-launched the online publication as his own venture, and continued to experiment.

There were early partnerships with an environmental organization and a church, and a series of MG film- and music festivals, poetry nights and lectures, and colorful parade appearances. Throughout, he has covered the boards, councils and committees where Greater Morristown’s future plays out — at long night meetings where he often is the only reporter in attendance.

This 24-7, intensely local life as a one-man-band may seem like a stark contrast to Coughlin’s days on the technology beat for a major newspaper. But the Rutgers grad and former M.I.T. Knight Science Fellow said he is grateful for the experience.

“So many wonderful people have helped me — people from all walks of life, who believe that a free press is essential to a strong, vibrant, healthy community. It’s a privilege to live and work here,” Coughlin said.

He added that he is humbled and honored by the award, and heartened by its recognition of the example set by Governors Byrne and Kean, and of hyperlocal news.

“Hyperlocal sites are an increasingly vital source of news for communities across New Jersey, and I am proud to be part of this crazy quilt of underpaid and overworked journalists who have become guardrails for our fragile democracy.”

A ‘TRANSFORMATIONAL’ DECISION

O’Dea is being recognized for her data reporting and multimedia/multi-platform reporting on issues that range from gun violence and police shooting to budget, taxes, state government and elections.

“Unbiased, data-driven reporting is more important than ever in the current political climate,” said O’Dea, one of two winners of the Statewide Impact in NJ Journalism award. “I feel honored to be able to continue to provide New Jersey residents with objective reporting on significant issues that affect their lives.”

Wilson will be honored for her groundbreaking investigative work regarding the woes of New Jersey Transit.

“Thank you to the Corporation for New Jersey Local Media for hosting an event that recognizes the work of local reporters — I’m lucky to be a part of this amazing community of peers,” Wilson said.

Wilson-Glover said she felt honored to receive the Lifetime Achievement award “from such a valuable and impactful organization, a nonprofit that helps to dispel disinformation, improves our civic discourse and bolsters quality journalism in New Jersey.”

Van Gelder and Bakshi are being recognized for co-authoring an article about the new push for voting rights among teens for Public Square Amplified.

“Reporting local news as a high school student comes with a unique kind of persistence, rigor, discipline, and problem-solving skill,” said Van Gelder. “Working with Public Square Amplified has been a truly character-defining experience, a constant exercise in honing all those traits, and one of my best decisions.”

“I am so glad young voices like Zoe and mine are being given the opportunity to explore civic and social issues from a new lens– it is truly the path forward!” added Bakshi.

Nine years ago, Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest decided to convert the Philadelphia Inquirer to nonprofit ownership. A wave of nonprofit conversions followed, from the Chicago Sun-Times and Salt Lake Tribune to Montclair Local and the New Jersey Hills Media Group. Loretta Weinberg Award salutes the Lenfests’ “transformational” vision.

Honorees for the New Jersey Journalism Impact Awards were selected by a committee headed by Kim Pearson, professor at the Department of Communication, Journalism and Film at the College of New Jersey.

“The achievements by this year’s nominees and winners offer hope to everyone concerned about the health of New Jersey’s news and civic information ecosystem,” said Pearson. “They are remarkable in their commitment to truthful, comprehensive and engaging reporting on the issues that are most meaningful to their communities and to our democratic functioning.

“They are remarkable, as well, in their breadth – seasoned journalists and newsroom managers alongside rising stars, storytellers versed not only in shoe-leather reporting but also in data and multimedia, stories across the full range of beats – some of which rarely get the attention they deserve.

“They fully reflect the spirit and mission of the Byrne-Kean Awards’ commitment to fostering informed and inclusive civic participation.”

Proceeds from the gala will benefit CNJLM, which was founded in 2020 in response to the drastic disappearance of local newspapers throughout New Jersey and across the nation.

Tickets and sponsorships for the fourth annual Byrne Kean Dinner are available here .

This report includes information from the CNJLM announcement.