InDepthNH founder to receive Freedom of Information award

CONCORD — Nancy West, founder and executive editor of InDepthNH.org, will receive the Michael Donoghue Freedom of Information Award by the New England First Amendment Coalition on June 1 in Boston.

The award is given annually to a journalist or team for a body of work that protects or advances the public’s right to know. The FOI Award is named for Michael Donoghue, who worked for more than 40 years at the Burlington Free Press and served on NEFAC’s board of directors. He has been an adjunct professor of journalism and mass communications at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont, since 1985.

West’s award is for continuing to persevere in journalism at a time when financial insecurity is threatening local newsrooms across the country. She serves as an investigative reporter and lead fundraiser for InDepthNH.org, which has grown to more than 2 million page views a year. West’s reporting last year included stories on the death of a mentally ill inmate, the lack of response by public officials to two tragedies involving homeless women, and the secrecy surrounding a car crash involving a Portsmouth Police Department employee.

West spent 30 years as a reporter for the New Hampshire Union Leader and began the nonprofit online news organization eight years ago. As Bob Charest, chairman of the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism board of directors, said: “There’s a good chance that a lifetime of investigative reporting work by West has not made her the most popular person in the room, but it has resulted in change and many marginalized people receiving fair treatment and favorable outcomes.”

The New England First Amendment Coalition will present the award during the 13th annual New England First Amendment Awards ceremony on June 1. The invitation-only event will be held at Tuscan Kitchen Seaport in Boston.

Also being honored will be former Boston Globe Editor Brian McGrory, who currently chairs Boston University’s journalism department. He will receive the 2023 Stephen Hamblett First Amendment Award.

Portland, Maine, resident Susan Hawes will receive the Antonia Orfield Citizenship Award for her successful public records battle against Cumberland County in Maine. The award is given to an individual who has fought for information crucial to the public’s understanding of its community or its government.