FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT Justin Silverman | 774.244.2365 | justin@nefac.org
Photo by Hakim Raquib and used with permission.
The New England First Amendment Coalition will honor Sarah-Ann Shaw, the late trail-blazing journalist and community advocate who mentored a generation of young reporters, with its 2024 Stephen Hamblett First Amendment Award.
Named after the late publisher of The Providence Journal, the Hamblett Award is given each year to an individual who has promoted, defended or advocated for the First Amendment throughout his or her career.
“Sarah-Ann personified the First Amendment,” NEFAC President Gregory V. Sullivan said. “She was a pioneering journalist who inspired many younger media professionals in New England newsrooms. She worked throughout her life to tell stories that would otherwise go untold and to advocate relentlessly for those in her community.”
NEFAC will honor Shaw, who died in March at the age of 90, at a private ceremony later this month. The coalition will also present its Michael Donoghue Freedom of Information Award and Antonia Orfield Citizenship Award during the program.
Supporters of NEFAC and the 14th annual New England First Amendment Awards include Boston University, The Boston Globe, Hearst Connecticut Media Group, Emerson College, Morgan Lewis, Northeastern University, Roger Williams University, University of Connecticut, The Day, University of Rhode Island and WCVB-Boston.
Within journalism circles, Shaw is perhaps best known for her contributions to the public affairs program “Say, Brother” (renamed “Basic Black” in 1998) which debuted on WGBH in 1968 and for becoming the first Black female reporter hired to a local network news show when she joined WBZ-TV in 1969.
During her time with the stations, Shaw covered many issues facing under-represented communities and not otherwise receiving much media attention, such as education and prison reform. She spent 31 years at WBZ, working as a general assignment reporter and anchoring public affairs programs.
Shaw gave “a face and a voice to Boston’s disadvantaged — the homeless, the hungry, women in need of help and children in need of better lives,” according to WBZ. She “reported on all of the good in the communities throughout Massachusetts.”
Shaw’s journalism work inspired colleagues and those who would later begin news careers of their own. As Liz Walker, a former WBZ colleague of Shaw, told The Boston Globe: “Sarah educated you, whether you wanted to be educated or not.”
Peter Brown, who worked at WBZ from 1982 to 2004, said that Shaw acted like an ombudsman in the newsroom, speaking her mind freely and voicing concerns to management if a story didn’t hit the mark. “Every newsroom needs a Sarah-Ann,” Brown said. “An honest voice who will not cower or hold back.”
Shaw’s many journalism honors include the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Black Journalists, the New England Society of Newspaper Editors’ Yankee Quill Award and induction into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Previous recipients of the Stephen Hamblett First Amendment Award:
Brian McGrory, former editor of The Boston Globe and current chair of the Boston University journalism department (2023); Raney Aronson-Rath, executive producer of FRONTLINE (2022); Yamiche Alcindor, White House Correspondent for PBS NewsHour (2021); A. G. Sulzberger of The New York Times (2020); Stephen Engelberg of ProPublica (2019); Jane Mayer of The New Yorker (2018); Margaret Sullivan of The Washington Post (2017); U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont (2016); retired federal judge Nancy Gertner (2015); James Risen of The New York Times (2014); Philip Balboni, co-founder of GlobalPost and founder of NECN (2013); Martin Baron, former executive editor of The Washington Post (2012); and Anthony Lewis, the late journalist and author (2011).
NEFAC was formed in 2006 to advance and protect the Five Freedoms of the First Amendment, including the principle of the public’s right to know. We’re a broad-based organization of people who believe in the power of an informed democratic society. Our members include lawyers, journalists, historians, academics and private citizens.
Our coalition is funded through contributions made by those who value the First Amendment and who strive to keep government accountable. Please make a donation here.
NEFAC is supported by the Estate of Gloria Negri. Additional funding is provided by Leadership Circle donors including the Rhode Island Foundation, The Boston Globe, Paul and Ann Sagan, and the Robertson Foundation. Major Supporters of NEFAC’s work are Hearst Connecticut Media Group, Boston University, the Academy of New England Journalists, Connecticut Public, WCVB-Boston and WBUR-Boston.