John C. Peterson, a veteran Connecticut newspaper executive and newsman who resides in Oakdale, has received the Yankee Quill Award, considered New England’s highest journalistic honor.

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John C. Peterson

A former managing editor of the Norwich Bulletin and a former reporter for The Day, Peterson held various positions with a subsidiary of CapitalCities/ABC in Guilford before being named president of the New England Newspaper Group, which operated eight companies with 75 publications in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

In 1996, he started his own brokerage and consulting firm, working with newspaper companies and trade associations as a speaker and seminar leader throughout the country.

“John Peterson is honored for his 50-year career at New England newspapers and as a New England-based newspaper consultant,” the New England Academy of Journalists announced in a news release. “He resuscitated moribund papers into aggressive pursuers of both in-depth reporting and community news. He has won countless awards, both individually and for the excellence of the newspapers he led. As a consultant, John lent his vast experience and expertise to improving newspapers throughout the country. He was also very active in the community, serving on a variety of business and charitable boards and has been honored locally for his years of service to the community.”

Established in 1960, the Yankee Quill Award is presented annually by the Academy of New England Journalists through the auspices of the New England Society of News Editors. Peterson and four others received the award last week in Worcester, Mass., at the annual conferences of the New England Society of News Editors and the New England Newspaper and Press Association.