Mark Pothier, who left a senior editor’s position at the Boston Globe to become editor and chief executive officer of the Plymouth Independent, has received the coveted Yankee Quill Award, the top honor for journalists in New England.
“Mark Pothier earns the Yankee Quill award for decades of dedication to the betterment of journalism and his commitment to his community,” the Academy of New England Journalists declared in announcing the award, which was presented on Saturday at the annual New England Newspaper & Press Association convention in Waltham.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Pothier was the executive editor of MPG Newspapers, which included the Old Colony Memorial. In its award citation, the Academy said Pothier had transformed the Old Colony Memorial into “one of the most honored and admired’’ newspapers in New England. For his work in Plymouth, he was awarded a Nieman Fellowship in Journalism at Harvard. In 2001, The Globe hired Pothier.
During his 22 years at the Globe, Pothier was the editor of Globe South, senior Assistant Editor, Assistant Managing Editor/Opinion, Deputy Business Editor, and was a regular contributor to the Globe’s Sunday magazine. In 2013, he was a part of the newspaper’s coverage of the Marathon Bombing and its aftermath, for which he shared in the Pulitzer Prize that was awarded to the Globe.
Shirley Leung, the Globe’s business columnist and herself a former business editor, said his Yankee Quill award is richly deserved.
“Mark is that rare editor, beloved by reporters for his deft touch with copy and fellow editors for his sharp advice – not to mention his wry sense of humor that gets everyone through the daily grind. He approaches his work with empathy, humility, and perspective, and journalism is better for it,” Leung told the Independent.
Pothier is an unusual choice for the Yankee Quill award, since it is for lifetime achievement and its recipients are ordinarily retired. But not Pothier. After watching the Old Colony deteriorate to the point that it no longer does substantive journalism under the ownership of Gannett, Pothier decided last year to leave the Globe and join a group of concerned Plymouth residents who launched the Plymouth Independent. The Independent began publishing last November.
Plymouth Independent Board of Directors