BDN sportswriter Mahoney to be inducted into Maine Press Association Hall of Fame

By Michael J. Dowd, Bangor Daily News Staff

Larry Mahoney, who has been reporting on sports for the Bangor Daily News for more than 50 years, wll be inducted into the Maine Press Association Hall of Fame this fall.

Mahoney is one of three journalists selected by the MPA Hall of Fame Committee for the honor. Joining him during the induction ceremony in Bar Harbor in October will be Naomi Schalit and John Christie, who founded the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, which publishes The Maine Monitor today.

During his time at the BDN, Mahoney has covered sports at all levels and is a fixture on the

sidelines and in press boxes of high schools and colleges throughout the state.

He has been the beat writer for the University of Maine’s men hockey team since its

inception covering the program’s NCAA national championship teams in 1993 and 1999. He also covered the very first state championship high school field hockey games in 1976.

Mahoney wrote 598 bylined stories in 2023, a typical year for him in the BDN’s estimation. Do the math and he has written about 30,000 stories over the course of his career and he is still going strong at age 70.

The respect his peers hold for him is evidenced by Mahoney being recognized as Maine Sportswriter of the Year six times by national media associations.

Schalit and Christie worked in Maine journalism for decades before creating the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting in 2009. Its first story, researched and written by Christie, examined the role of money, influence and personal relationships in Gov. John Baldacci’s handling of tax reform legislation.

Christie and Schalit were pioneers of Maine’s non-profit media movement, believing that the

model would sustain the organization. The company has grown from two to

11 employees and delivers its content to more than 10,200 subscribers.

The MPA Hall of Fame, established in 1998, honors newspaper people with Maine connections

who have made outstanding contributions to the profession. Its members are on the MPA

website, at http://mainepressassociation.org/hall-of-fame/.

Tickets to the October 19 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, which takes place during the

luncheon, are available by contacting MPA Executive Director Diane Norton at

mainepressmail@gmail.com or 691-0131.