SOUTH PORTLAND — Callie Ferguson, of the Bangor Daily News, and Josh Keefe, formerly of The Maine Monitor, were the inaugural recipients of the Center for Integrity in News Reporting Award of Excellence in Maine for their series “Stop Punching Him,” which investigated a March 2024 arrest in rural York County by the Maine State Police when a trooper pinned a handcuffed man to the ground and repeatedly punched him in the face while arresting him.
The incident was captured on cruiser cameras, providing a visual record that the newsrooms’ joint investigation found conflicted with how responding officers described the event in their written reports. The episode raised questions about the agency’s use of force policy and its process for reviewing complaints, according to the newsrooms: Instead of disciplining the officer, the agency cleared him of any wrongdoing and promoted him. The determination fit into a broader perfect record in the state’s largest police force, the newsrooms found: the agency reviewed nearly three dozen complaints about use of force in the past decade; none were found to be excessive.
Rufus Friday, executive director of the Center for Integrity in News Reporting, attended the Maine Press Association Better Newspaper Contest awards ceremony Saturday evening at the DoubleTree Hilton Hotel in South Portland to present the honor as well as the $5,000 prize, which will be split between the two reporters.
In selecting “Stop Punching Him” as the prize winner, one judge wrote the series is “a shining example of what solid, public-interest news reporting should look like and that serves its readers (and the community at large) well.”
Andy Molloy, an award-winning photojournalist who spent 30 years at the Kennebec Journal; Mike Lowe, whose 40-year career at the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram established him as one of Maine’s most accomplished and respected sports journalists; and Tux Turkel, who retired from the Portland Press Herald in 2023 after more than four decades covering energy, environmental and utility issues, were selected by the MPA’s Hall of Fame Committee as the 2026 inductees.
In the General Excellence competition for print newspapers, the Sun Journal was judged the best daily newspaper in Maine. The contest judges, who hailed from the Tennessee Press Association, wrote the Sun Journal had the “best use of headlines and storytelling in entries.”
In the Weekly 1 division, for newspapers with less than 2,000 print circulation, the Calais Advertiser took top prize. “The complete package,” judges wrote. “The writing and coverage topics provided valuable insight into the community and county, while the strong photography brought the area’s people and activities to life.”
The Weekly 2 winner was the Mount Desert Islander. “‘Excellence’ certainly defines the first-place winner in this category,” judges wrote in their comments. “Writing is outstanding, and coverage is complete, touching what seems like every aspect of community life.”
Kathleen Phalen Tomaselli, of The County, won the inaugural Judith Meyer Freedom of Access and Information Award in the Weekly division while Callie Ferguson and Sawyer Loftus, of the Bangor Daily News, took top honors in the Daily/Weekend division. Formerly known as the Freedom of Information award, the prize was renamed this year to honor Judith Meyer’s incredible dedication to the First Amendment, her work with the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition and the Right to Know Advisory Committee, and the countless hours she has spent testifying on a whole host of legislative issues related to the press.
Callie Ferguson, of the Bangor Daily News, was named the Journalist of the Year and Allison McCann, of The Maine Trust for Local News, was named the Business Person of the Year.
Emily Niedermeyer, of the Ellsworth American, won the Bob Drake Young Writer’s Award while Christine Dunkle, of the Midcoast Villager, was recognized with the Unsung Hero of the Year Award. Melissa Pritchard, of the Maine Trust for Local News, received the Mentor of the Year Award.
The MPA thanks its 2026 MPA conference sponsors: Press Forward Maine, JB Brown & Sons, Preti Flaherty, Mitchell Tardy Jackson, Journalism New England, Broadreach Public Relations, Bernstein Shur and Maine Media Credit Union.
Complete results from the awards are available by clicking here. Judging comments and the ability to view many of the winning entries can be seen by clicking here.