Community Honoree: Faith Middleton

Affectionately referred to as the state’s “Culinary Goddess,” Faith Middleton is a two-time recipient of the Peabody Award for her public radio interviews. These awards, established in 1940, honor the most powerful, enlightening and invigorating stories in TV, radio and online media. Faith, a Hartford native, is a graduate of Eastern Connecticut State University, where she majored in English and Sociology. She was given Independent Study for her senior year when she was hired full-time as a writer and editor at The Willimantic Chronicle. She later worked at the Providence Journal, the Hartford Courant magazine, and Connecticut magazine, where she was appointed Editor-in-Chief.

Faith began doing a daily interview show for public radio in 1980, which eventually morphed into the popular Faith Middleton Food Schmooze (R).

Throughout her public broadcasting career she has produced, written or hosted national public radio and television shows, and was a frequent contributor on NPR, including serving as a guest host for a woman she loves, Terry Gross on Fresh Air.

Described as an “institution in her broadcast region,” Faith has been awarded two honorary doctorates and taught The Art of the Interview at Yale University. She was named Best Radio Talk Show Host by Connecticut magazine for 11 consecutive years. “The Goodness of Ordinary People,” her book about the true stories her listeners told her and co-host Bruce Clements onair, was published in 1996. She was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, received the renowned Ohio State Award, The Mark Twain Award, and the Distinguished Public Service Award of the Connecticut Bar Association.

Faith, who describes herself as a “proud Gay American dedicated to promoting all civil rights,” says her journey has been about a never-ending exploration of the richness of life. She’ll be announcing her next major project when her sabbatical ends in one year.