The Berkshire Eagle, bought back from a chain by locals in 2016, wins special journalism award in Massachusetts

"The Berkshire Eagle has received the 2019 John F. Kennedy Commonwealth Award for 'demonstrating the enduring civic value of community journalism' from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation," the Eagle reports. The Eagle, a daily, covers Berkshire County, the westernmost in Massachusetts.

In a recognition ceremony last week, MCC's executive director Anita Walker praised the Eagle for providing a balanced source of content, and praised the paper for doing so as a locally owned paper. "It's rare today to live in a community served by a newspaper that is locally owned and that gives as much coverage to arts and culture as, say, sports," Walker said. "No newspaper has devoted more resources and energy to stories that matter about our collective public trust than The Berkshire Eagle."

A group of local investors, led by retired District Court Judge Frederic Rutberg, bought the Eagle and several sister papers from Digital First Media in 2016.