redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue (left) and Publisher Kenny Katzgrau with the trophy for LION publishers 2024 Community Engagement Award. (Photo courtesy of LION Click to enlarge.)
By BRIAN DONOHUE
Redbankgreen received an award from a national association of independent news outlets at a conference in Chicago last week, with judges praising the site for providing “essential information to the citizens of Red Bank” during an historic town-wide election last year.
Local Independent Online News (LION) publishers awarded redbankgreen the Community Engagement Award, given annually to web sites in three separate revenue tiers that display “general excellence in journalistic impact by demonstrating an intentional and systematized approach to community engagement that consistently tells stories for, with, and by the people they are working to serve.”
redbankgreen‘s submission focused on its coverage of the May 9, 2023 municipal election. The work included organizing the Faceoff Over Red Bank’s Future a live-streamed debate with all 13 candidates vying for council seats and two for mayor.
The debate was hosted – and all the election coverege written – by recently retired redbankgreen founder John T. Ward. In a bit of foreshadowing, Ward’s eventual successor as editor, the guy writing this, assisted with organizing and served as timekeeper and referee.
“It’s a real honor to get that kind of recognition from a group of very dedicated and passionate peers across North America,” said redbankgreen Publisher Kenny Katzgrau, who accepted the award at a ceremony in Chicago Thursday night. “It’s even cooler that the project that we won for included me, John and Brian – the whole redbankgreen team – well before we knew that having Brian join full time might ever become a possibility.”
LION is an organization whose mission is to help its 575-plus member independent news outlets in the US and Canada build more sustainable businesses. The annual Sustainability Awards awarded 21 news organizations chosen from more than 200 entries in various categories.
In awarding redbankgreen, the judges wrote:
“Red Bank Green did not phone this in. The questions they asked of each of the dozen candidates were thoughtful, holistic, and gave each of them an opportunity to really paint a picture of what good governance and community engagement means to them. That they stepped up to the plate to host the roundtable shows that they went above and beyond merely reporting the facts but graduated to cultivating community and filling an immediate void therein. This is a great example of how traditional methods are still sound ways to engage with a community and provide a service!”
For Donohue and Katzgrau, receiving the award also took some of the sting out of the previous night’s disappointment. Both were in attendance at Wrigley Field when the Chicago Cubs manager pulled pitcher Shota Imanaga after seven hitless innings, depriving the longtime baseball fans of the coveted chance to see a no-hitter in person. Fans settled for the still-rare “combined no hitter” completed by three separate pitchers.
redbankgreen editor Brian Donohue may be reached via email at [email protected] or by calling or texting 848-331-8331 or yelling his name loudly as he walks by. Do you value the news coverage provided by redbankgreen? Please become a financial supporter if you haven’t already. Click here to set your own level of monthly or annual contribution.
