CT SPJ inducts three people into CT Journalism Hall of Fame and honors contest winners

The Connecticut Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists honored three inductees into the CT Journalism Hall of Fame and winners of the 2023 Excellence in Journalism awards at our annual dinner on Wednesday, December 4th.

Attendees had the opportunity to connect with journalists from across Connecticut while celebrating award-winning reports and stories from last year.

The 2024 CTSPJ Hall of Fame inductees are (in alphabetical order):

OWEN CANFIELD, 1934-2019

Owen Canfield was a U.S. Air Force Korean Conflict veteran and a journalist/columnist at The Hartford Courant for decades. A 7-time Connecticut Sportswriter of the Year, Canfield taught sports writing classes at the University of Connecticut and Central Connecticut State College. He was a long-time columnist for The Register Citizen in Torrington, where he also began his career in the 1960s, when the paper was known as the Torrington Register. He died in November 2019. His work has been celebrated for its warmth, storytelling, and focus on the human experience.

JACQUELINE R. “JACKY” SMITH

Jacqueline R. Smith is the ombudsman of Stars and Stripes, the newspaper for the U.S. armed forces and is treasurer of the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information. She was the editorial page editor of The News-Times in Danbury and The Norwalk Hour, Hearst Connecticut Media publications. She began her journalism career as a part-time Hartford Courant correspondent with a high school education. Mid-career she earned a B.S. in Journalism from Southern Connecticut State University, summa cum laude; and a master’s degree in writing with honors from Wesleyan University. She has taught journalism at the University of Hartford and SCSU. Jacky was a reporter for The Day of New London, where she won first place in the New England AP News Executive Association for her investigations into wrongdoing in the management of the Electric Boat Division of General Dynamics Corp. in Groton. Jacky was a business writer and columnist for the New Haven Register. As a reporter at the Record-Journal in Meriden, her investigation into the dearth of minority teachers in the Wallingford School district, outlining how officials skipped over black and Latino candidates, earned her first place in the National Education Writers annual competition. She also served as city editor and assistant managing editor at the Record-Journal, managing editor of The News-Times and editor of the New Milford Spectrum. She and her husband, James, also a journalist and a 2024 Hall of Fame inductee, have four daughters.

JAMES H. “JIM” SMITH

James H. Smith is a retired newspaper editor, past president of the New England Society of Newspaper Editors, a member of the New England Newspaper Hall of Fame, and past president of the non-profit Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information.

He served as city editor and sports editor of the Hartford Courant, and editor of the Connecticut Post and led the Post to its first New England Newspaper of the Year Award. He also led The Day of New London, The News-Times of Danbury, the Record-Journal of Meriden and the New Britain Herald to their first New England Newspaper of the Year awards.

He received the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ Distinguished Writing Award for his columns on the First Amendment, which were published in “Best Newspaper Writing 2003” published annually by the Poynter Institute. He was also honored by the Academy of New England Journalists with the Yankee Quill Award.

Jim earned his master’s degree in writing from Wesleyan University and has a B.A. in American History from SUNY Brockport.

He is married to Jacqueline R. Smith, a journalist who was inducted alongside him to the CTSPJ Hall of Fame. They have four daughters.

The following journalists were also recognized for winning the three named awards from the 2023 Connecticut SPJ Excellence in Journalism contest.

STEPHEN A. COLLINS PUBLIC SERVICE AWARD

For a story having a significant impact in the public interest

Connecticut’s elder care reckoning

Jenna Carlesso and Dave Altimari
Connecticut Mirror

THEODORE DRISCOLL AWARD FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING

For a story containing information, obtained through reporter initiative, not readily available to the news media or public

CT hospitals in peril

Dave Altimari, Jenna Carlesso and Katy Golvala
Connecticut Mirror

FIRST AMENDMENT AWARD

For a story which increases public understanding of the role of the press in a free society

Transparency failures sow distrust in city marred by corruption

Jacqueline Rabe Thomas, Joshua Eaton and Brian Lockhart
Hearst Connecticut Media