By Daniella Iervolino
Bulletin Staff

The New England Newspaper and Press Association will induct six new members into its Hall of Fame at the association’s 2013 annual winter convention in February.

Every year, New England journalists are inducted into the NENPA Hall of Fame based on their continued involvement in journalism and their knowledgeable insight in bettering the journalism community in New England.

Being added this year to the current 86 Hall of Fame members since the year 2000 are Thomas E. Heslin, executive editor of The Providence (R.I.) Journal; the late Peter Watson, former editor of the Gloucester (Mass.) Daily Times; Mary Pat Rowland, managing editor of Foster’s Daily Democrat of Dover, N.H.; Morgan McGinley, former editorial page editor of The Day of New London, Conn., and a member of the Connecticut Judicial-Media Committee, the board of the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government, and The Connecticut News Project; Peter J. Caruso Sr., a media lawyer who is legal counsel to the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association; and Mary Dodge Brewer, former managing editor of the Boothbay Register of Boothbay Harbor and the Wiscasset Newspaper, both in Maine.

The new Hall of Fame members will be honored at a reception Friday, Feb. 8, at the 2013 New England News and Press Association convention in the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. The reception begins at 5:30 p.m. Registration information to attend the event is available here.

Following are brief profiles of the new Hall of Fame members:

Thomas E. Heslin

Thomas E. Heslin has been executive editor of The Providence (R.I.) Journal since 2008. He directed a news team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for investigative reporting. As the Journal’s first managing editor for new media, Heslin introduced to the Journal a new way of storytelling by including slideshows, video, audio and interactive graphics. Before he began at the Journal in 1981, he was employed at various newspapers in New England. He later put together a group of colleagues who founded the New England First Amendment Coalition.

Peter Watson

Peter Watson, who died in November, had been editor of the Gloucester (Mass.) Daily Times. He motivated a generation of journalists through newsroom leadership and personal friendships. He was editor of the Times from 1970 to 1983. Many members of his staff went on to become editors, publishers and authors, including one who won a Pulitzer Prize. Watson retired in 2002 as general manager of Essex County Newspapers, based in Beverly, Mass., and publishers of The Salem News, The Daily News of Newburyport, and the Gloucester Daily Times, all in Massachusetts.

Mary Pat Rowland

Mary Pat Rowland is managing editor of Foster’s Daily Democrat of Dover, N.H. She is credited with consistently producing well-trained journalists through her own successful career. As vice president and then president of the then-New England Press Association, Rowland was one of the leaders in the merger of NEPA and the New England Newspaper Association into the New England Newspaper and Press Association.

Morgan McGinley

Morgan McGinley was editorial page editor of The Day of New London, Conn., for 25 years. He was president of the National Conference of Editorial Writers, and he raised a majority of the money for the conference’s Minority Writers Projects. McGinley was a Pulitzer Prize juror in 2004 and 2005, and was president of the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information. During his time as president of the New England Society of Newspaper Editors, McGinley led an exchange of journalists with the Soviet Union. He is on the Connecticut Judicial-Media Committee and the board of the Connecticut Foundation for Open Government, and is involved with The Connecticut News Project.

Peter J. Caruso Sr.

Peter J. Caruso Sr. has developed a reputation as one of New England’s most prestigious media lawyers. He has represented newspapers in many investigative matters, some of which include the Willie Horton case, the Pamela Smart case, and the Alan Eagleson case. He was heavily involved in the North Andover, Mass.-based Eagle-Tribune’s winning the Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Willie Horton case. Caruso is legal counsel to the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association.

Mary Dodge Brewer

Mary Dodge Brewer was managing editor of the Boothbay Register of Boothbay Harbor and Wiscasset Newspaper, both in Maine, for more than 50 years. During her career, she observed newspapers moving from the old-fashioned flatbed press to today’s computerized production. Under Brewer’s watch, the Register won numerous awards. She was president of the Maine Press Association in 1982 and 1983 and was named Maine Journalist of the Year in 1984.

POSTED 1/17/13