Joe Bergantino, director and co-founder of The New England Center for Investigative Reporting, has been awarded the 2014 Yankee Quill Award by the Academy of New England Journalists.
This award represents the highest honor for journalists in the New England area, and has been bestowed annually for more than 50 years.
Unlike many journalism awards, which acknowledge individual accomplishments, the Yankee Quill Award recognizes the “lifetime achievement of those who have had a broad influence for good, both inside and outside the newsroom.”
Bergantino was chosen as a result of his 22 years as the I-Team reporter for WBZ-TV in Boston, as well as his role in co-founding The New England Center for Investigative Reporting in 2009.
“The selection committee was thoroughly impressed with your passion for holding people of power, money and influence accountable to the public, and for your commitment to training the next generation of watchdog journalists through NECIR programs,” wrote Bill Ketter, Chairman of the Academy of New England Journalists, in a letter to Bergantino.
Bergantino was only 10 years old when he first published a neighborhood newspaper in his hometown of Watertown, Connecticut using a block printing set, an old typewriter and sheets of carbon paper.
In the more than 50 years since then, Bergantino has worked on newspapers in Connecticut, Virginia and New York but spent most of his distinguished career in broadcasting, including more than two decades at WBZ-TV, five years as an ABC News correspondent and two years as the investigative reporter at WPLG-TV in Miami.
Today, Bergantino’s passion for investigative reporting remains as strong as ever. He currently serves as executive director of The New England Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit newsroom which he co-founded in 2009. Based at Boston University and WGBH radio and TV, NECIR produces in-depth, investigative stories and conducts programs to train the next generation of investigative reporters.
Reflecting on the Yankee Quill Award, Bergantino expressed his appreciation for the support he has received over the years.
“Receiving this special honor provides a moment to reflect and say thank you to the people of New England for the opportunity to pursue my life’s goal: to hold the powerful accountable,” he said.
The Yankee Quill Awards will be presented at a conference October 9th in Natick.