The former editor of the Park Record Nan Chalat-Noaker was honored with the Society of Professional Journalists Top Award Wednesday. KPCW’s Leslie Thatcher was there for the presentation of the award.
Nan Chalat-Noaker retired as editor of The Park Record 40 years after her byline first appeared in the local Park City publication.
The annual Lifetime Achievement Award honors a person for their exceptional lifetime dedication to journalism as well as the tenacious pursuit of the truth while maintaining high ethical standards and serving the community as a watchdog.
Noaker was supported by three of the former editors of the paper, David Hampshire, Teri Orr, and Sena Taylor Hauer as well as her successor, Bubba Brown and Publisher Andy Bernhard.
Presenting the award was George Severson, the Director of Local Programming and Creative Services for ABC 4 Utah. He noted that under Noaker’s tenure, the paper had earned numerous awards for its editorial content. She had also guided the staff through a series of major changes, from the huge technological and digital changes in the industry to the realities of declining newspaper subscriptions and revenues.
In accepting the honor, Noaker nodded to those who had come before her for the fierce and passionate legacy they established as the community’s vital source of news.
She also offered a bit of advice from the trenches telling young reporters to take off their headphones and listen…
“Listen to the hum of the newsroom, to veteran reporters nailing down a recalcitrant source, to the irreverent back shop banter, to the heated debates over fairness, justice, propriety and privacy. Someday you will look back on those moments the best time of your life.”
She also had advice for publishers of newspapers…
“Don’t be too quick to dismantle your presses. Citizens are becoming wary of the web, of social media, of bombardment from targeted advertising, of the proliferation of hackers. In the coming days, readers may to want to turn back to the most secure source of all — a slab of newsprint with headlines that don’t shape shift based on some crazy algorithm or ads that track your eyeballs and sell then that data to foreign nationals.”
She also encouraged editors to hire interns, noting that the mentoring of new, eager students, will help ensure the future of the profession.
Finally, she reminded the roomful of journalists to take care of themselves and each other. This work she said is hard, stressful and nonstop.
“During the workday stand up, step away from the computer and your phone, go for a walk or just take a deep breath of fresh air. Journalism may be under fire, but it is more important than ever.”
Noaker retired from the Park Record in October 2016 – having served as the second longest editor of the paper.
Publisher Andy Bernard commented that while Nan may downplay the significance of the honor, winning the SPJ Lifetime Achievement Award genuinely recognizes her commitment to community journalism. The trust she earned in our community, he added was a result of an enduring work ethic and a unique ability to build relationships on a broad range of issues. The Park City community and The Park Record both benefited from her prudent judgment and tenacity.
KPCW earned a second and third place award for its coverage of The Hope Alliance in Uganda and reporter Emily Means received several awards for her work last year with public radio station KCPW in Salt Lake City, including a first place award for her reporting on Black Lives Matter in Utah.
