Brodsky Prize Winners Announced
Coe-Brown Northwood and Hollis-Brookline Seniors Share Sixth Annual Brodsky Prize
Three Additional NH Students Honored for Excellence in High School Journalism
Manchester, NH – Samuel Marcotte, a senior at Coe-Brown Northwood Academy, and Aiden Barker, a Hollis-Brookline senior, are the co-winners of first place honors for the 2023 Brodsky Prize, recognizing journalistic excellence by high school students.
"I vividly remember more than 30 years ago, when my son Jeffrey was co-editor of his school newspaper, and the innovative mind-set and action he showed as top editor of the publication. I look back fondly on the impact the newspaper had on his life at the time. I’m proud that The Brodsky Prize continues Jeff’s passion for journalism,” said Howard Brodsky, Prize cofounder and a member of the judging committee.
Judging criteria for The Brodsky Prize includes a student's journalistic initiative and enterprise, as well as what Jeffrey Brodsky calls "a contrarian nature and out-of-the-box thinking." The Brodsky Prize was created five years ago by Jeffrey Brodsky, who was co-editor of his high school newspaper, The Little Green, at Manchester Central High School during the early 1990s. He hopes to encourage “boldness and innovation” by a new generation of student journalists.
Jeffrey Brodsky started The Brodsky Prize in 2018 to honor, encourage and reward high school journalists around the state. In 2015, Columbia University also established the Jeffrey H. Brodsky Oral History Award to honor future generations of journalists and historians in conducting innovative and outstanding research. With this year’s announcement, “We have awarded more than $50,000 to truly outstanding high school and collegiate journalists,” Brodsky said.
Co-winners Marcotte and Barker will use their $2,500 awards to attend college—Marcotte to study economics and journalism at Saint Anselm College, and Barker to study journalism and graphic design at Northeastern University. Both expressed gratitude for the Prize and their enthusiasm for future journalism studies. “I am beyond honored to receive this award as it demonstrates not only my passion for journalism, but also the hard work I've put into every one of my journalism pieces, from newspaper articles, to social media posts, to podcast episodes. I will use this award to help further my education,” said Barker. Marcotte added, "I am extremely grateful and excited to be given this award. This scholarship will go directly to my college education where I will use my opportunities to improve my writing skills. My love of learning is why I wish to become a journalist. This prize will allow me to be that much closer to my dream career."
There were three additional 2023 Brodsky Prize recipients. Second-place winner Michael Blair of Manchester Central High was awarded $1,000. Two finalists received $100 each: Madison Harressey, Pinkerton Academy, and Vick Mahindru, Manchester High School West.
Jeffrey Brodsky, now 49, received his BA in Political Science from Washington University in St. Louis, and his MA in Oral History from Columbia University in New York. He became a historian and documentary producer before illness forced his retirement and return to his hometown of Manchester, NH.
The Brodsky prize is open to all New Hampshire public and parochial high school students. Longtime judges are Howard Brodsky, Jeffrey's father, and Chairman of CCA Global Partners; Misbah Tahir, the former Little Green co-editor, now a biotechnology finance executive; former Union Leader and NH Sunday News president and publisher Joseph McQuaid, and Leah Todd Lin, New England regional manager of the Solutions Journalism Network. The Nackey S. Loeb School of Communications helps oversee the award program and provides one of the judges, Executive Director Laura Simoes.
More information on The Brodsky Prize, including past winners, is available at thebrodskyprize.org. More information about the Loeb School and the NH Solutions Journalism Lab can be found at loebschool.org.