Steve Damish, 2009 Visiting Journalist

Steve Damish '83

2009 Donald Murray Visiting Journalist.

>>Read the article on Steve Damish's visit in Foster's Daily Democrat, March 29, 2009

The University of New Hampshire Journalism Program welcomes Steve Damish ’83 as the Donald Murray Visiting Journalist for 2009. In this role, Damish, the managing editor of The Enterprise in Brockton, Mass., will visit UNH journalism classes during the week of March 23-27 and present a talk titled “Journalism - It's (still) a Wonderful Life” at 5 p.m., Tuesday, March 24, in MUB Theatre I. The event is free and open to the public.

Despite the challenges the print media faces in this era of online competition, Damish contends that never before have newspaper reporters and editors had more reach, more impact, more say - or more fun doing their jobs. In his talk, Damish will explain why, more than ever, news organizations need properly trained journalists, that newspaper reporters and editors are not facing extinction, but are instead in the midst of an evolution - one that will reward those with the ability to endure and adapt.

In his 25 years of working as a newspaper reporter and editor, Damish has received more than two dozen national and regional awards for everything from humor writing to column writing to investigative reporting. In 2007, Damish was named the New England Newspaper Association Journalist of the Year for "Wasted Youth," a series of stories he co-wrote and edited that exposed the OxyContin and heroin epidemic among young adults in southeastern Massachusetts. The series also earned Damish a variety of other national and regional honors, including four first-place national prizes and two second place honors in column writing, investigative reporting, community service, and feature writing. "Wasted Youth" was named a national finalist for public service reporting by The Associated Press Managing Editors organization, and earned first place for health reporting, social issues reporting, investigative series, general news coverage and Web reporting by The New England Press Association. The series was also featured as the centerpiece for an A&E documentary called "Intervention In-Depth: Heroin Hits Home."

Most important to Damish is that the series prompted changes in how New England and federal agencies deal with youth addiction.

In addition, the follow up to "Wasted Youth," "Wasted Youth - Deadly Surge," earned first place in the Community Service Award in the 2008 Suburban Newspapers of America competition. "Deadly Surge" also won first place for "Best In-Depth" reporting.

The Donald Murray Visiting Journalist Program is named in honor of the late Donald Murray, the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer who started the UNH journalism program in 1963. Terry Williams ’80, publisher of The Telegraph of Nashua, led the fundraising drive for the program, with primary support coming from The McLean Contributionship and from UNH journalism alumni. Sponsored by the journalism program, the Donald Murray Visiting Journalist Program brings accomplished alumni journalists to campus each year for week-long residencies during which they conduct classes, work with students and student media, and give a public lecture. Recent visiting alums include former TV anchorwoman Natalie Jacobson and sportswriter Jackie MacMullan.

Sponsored by the UNH Journalism Program, the UNH English Department, the Telegraph of Nashua, and the McLean Contributionship.

For more information about Mr. Damish, please see the press release attached below. You are also encouraged to visit website of The Enterprise: http://www.enterprisenews.com/.