Somewhere in between, something rather magical happened. The feeling of connection, between you and the people you’re watching on the screen, as well with as the rest of the audience, with whom you are sharing your experience. You got to see the new WLIW-FM taking shape in the Hamptons, and the recreation of Long Island’s daily newspaper into a state-of-the-art multimedia news operation in Melville. You Zoomed to Stony Brook, where WSHU Public Radio now enjoys a home inside Stony Brook University’s school of journalism, and over to News 12 in Bethpage. In the city, you hopped from FOX 5 to WCBS Newsradio. You even made a few housecalls into the homes of some of the most widely-recognized names and faces in New York media. As if that wasn’t enough, you did it all by saluting and celebrating strong journalism, the kind that keeps communities safe, vibrant and thriving, and by celebrating journalists who set the standard for local and regional news across the country. What you didn’t get to see, is the hard work of the Folio judges, which is done over several months and involves viewing, watching and reading news stories and social media campaigns for countless hours, in order for the best to rise to the top.

It takes a community, one not defined by geography but by technology and news, to enable the Folio Awards and the work of the Fair Media Council to succeed. This year’s program, different than an in-person event and not without the occasional glitch we’ve come to regard as par for the course, was especially rewarding in that we were able to celebrate good after so many months of bad. The results of the Folio Awards resonate in newsrooms, as concrete examples of what the public wants and needs in its news. The judging process helps create educated news consumers. That’s why we say it’s nothing less than a win for journalism, community and country.

Congratulations to all of the winners, and keep up the good work. Thank you to our sponsors and supporters who stood by us through the rescheduling due to the pandemic, yet never doubted Folio would indeed happen. And a huge thank you to our speakers and award presenters — Diane Masciale, Lew Leone, Tim Scheld, Pat Dolan, Natalie Pasquarella, Terry Sheridan, Ernie Anastos and Elizabeth Hashagen — for going all out and giving us a one-of-a-kind special event in the history of our collective stories, and so beautifully illustrating how the news connects us all. And to Carol Silva: Keep doing the impossible. You make it look easy.