File Photo
Eleven years ago this week the Branford Eagle was born. We started as a column and a few years later, in 2009, we grew our staff to become an online news site. We are part of the New Haven Independent, which is published by the not-for-profit Online Journalism Project.
We have had quite a run.
In 2016, The Branford Eagle staff, all veteran reporters and photographers, won 15 Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) excellence awards for stories and photographs that captured all aspects of Branford life. Our staff took home first place awards for court, crime, business, and religion coverage. Sally E. Bahner, Diana Stricker, Mary Johnson, Bill O’Brien and our editor, Marcia Chambers, were all honored for their work. Chambers also won three awards for her Legal Eagle radio show which airs on the Independent’s station WNHH in New Haven.
Bahner is the former editor of the Branford Review, a former columnist for several newspapers and an avid writer about cats and their world. Stricker, who worked for the Branford Review until it folded, was a reporter for the Tribune-Review in Greensburg, Pa., and the Patriot News in Harrisburg, Pa. Chambers has been a reporter for The New York Times and the Associated Press, and a columnist for the National Law Journal. Johnson, who freelanced for the Branford Review, has provided readers with stunning photo coverage. So has Bill O’Brien, our photographer and reporter whose work is known statewide.
In 2015, The Branford Eagle staff took 18 SPJ awards, including seven first-place awards for spot news, video storytelling, general reporting, in-depth reporting, feature series and sports photos taken by O’Brien, who covers high school sports for the Eagle.
In 2014, CTNow’s Advocate voted the Branford Eagle the best hyperlocal news site in the New Haven area. And that year the SPJ honored the Branford Eagle with 17 awards, including three first place awards. Our awards encompassed reporting on all aspects of life in Branford.
In 2013, SPJ awarded the Branford Eagle and its reporters and photographer 16 citations, including first place awards for its online coverage in 2012 of Superstorm Sandy.
Entries are judged by out-of-state judges, all of whom are professional journalists. In all, there were around 1,000 entries in the various media categories. SPJ was founded in 1909 and has chapters across the nation.
We feel honored and privileged to cover our town.
Sending a Contribution
Our readers tell us they expect and rely on our professional coverage. You can help us provide that coverage by giving us a birthday gift. We are a 501C‑3 and all contributions are tax-deductible.
Please send a contribution in the amount you can afford to:
Online Journalism Project
P.O Box 2067, Short Beach Station
Branford, CT 06405.
Please mark “Branford Eagle” on your check.
There has never been a more urgent moment for professional journalism in this nation.
Thank you, Branford readers for your ongoing support. Keep the Eagle soaring!
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