YJI founder praises student journalists at Hall of Fame induction

Portsmouth, New Hampshire, U.S.A. – Thirty-two years after she began teaching Connecticut teens about journalism, Jackie Majerus was inducted into the New England Newspaper Hall of Fame to honor her stellar career as a reporter and educator.

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Sixteen current and former students from around the globe nominated her for her work as a journalist for several daily newspapers and as the top editor for the educational news nonprofit Youth Journalism International that she founded and nurtured.

“During a decades-long period when New England’s newspapers were paring back or shutting down – and journalists everywhere worried about the profession’s future – Jackie Majerus did something remarkable,” they said. “She never lost faith in the power of good journalism.”

During her March 13 acceptance speech at a Hall of Fame dinner in Portsmouth, she said that she gets “to work with the best young minds on the planet. So I can tell you with confidence that journalism has a bright future – because I see it every day.”

“Jackie loves journalism to her core,” said Mike Soltys, a longtime ESPN executive who introduced her.

Soltys, who serves on the YJI Board of Directors as its Treasurer, pointed out that she’s never collected a paycheck despite working full-time for YJI since 2011.

“One of the things I loved most about being a reporter was when my work helped to spur positive change or encouraged people to think about something in a different way,” Majerus said. “It’s a glorious feeling and it’s what I want for my students.”

Majerus, who lives in Maine, began YJI in 1994 when she worked as a reporter for The Bristol Press, a daily newspaper in ESPN’s hometown.

Rachel Glogowski, a YJI alum in Boston, said, “In addition to an estimable career uncovering the truth and reporting it, Jackie has gone above and beyond the call of duty by investing in the profession’s future, building a legacy and cultivating commitment to a fair and free press around the globe.”

Majerus has mentored students in scores of countries on every continent, publishing more than 750 young reporters and photographers along the way – and had a “meaningful relationship” with each of them, Soltys said.

Her students know they are a part of something special.

YJI co-founder Steve Collins, stuent Dorothy Quanteh and Jackie Majerus on Table Mountain, South Africa in July 2025. (YJI photo)

Dorothy Quanteh, a student in Maryland, said, “Through YJI and Jackie’s collaboration, I’ve strengthened my journalism, public speaking and critical thinking skills. I’ve also got a better understanding of what a journalist is. Beyond reporting, a journalist is compassionate, understanding and resilient. Like Jackie.”

Annamika Konkola and Jackie Majerus at the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa in July 2025. (YJI photo)

“In a world that says it values unity and informed citizens, Jackie actually does the work to foster those values,” said student Annamika Konkola. “Through Youth Journalism International and experiences like the 2025 Global Conference in Cape Town, her mentorship has brought us together to learn from new places and each other’s stories. Jackie is remarkable because I know I am just one of hundreds of people who will say she’s been one of the single biggest positive influences in our lives. There are hundreds of writers around the world whose lives and writing have been changed because Jackie refused to give up on journalism’s future.”

In recent years, Majerus has been honored with a gold laureate from the Paris-based Global Youth and News Media and a “Friend of Scholastic Journalism” by the Journalism Education Association. She has also won many first-place writing awards from the Connecticut Society of Professional Journalists, the New York State Bar Association, the New York Newspaper Publisher’s Association, the New York State Associated Press and the Dean Milton Birnbaum Award from the Scholastic Press Forum.

Majerus was honored this year by the New England Newspaper & Press Association along with Steve Milone of the North of Boston Media Group and Lawrence ‘Poody’ Walsh of Claremont, New Hampshire’s Eagle Times.

“These three individuals have left fingerprints all over New England’s newsrooms – in the stories they’ve told, the audiences they’ve built and the young reporters they’ve mentored,” said Linda Conway, executive director of NENPA.