Post news team members celebrate the statewide honor on Tuesday at Blue Window Bistro. Front row from left, Managing Editor Kirsten Laskey, Publisher Carol A. Clark, Graphic Designer Páya Pavlíková and Sports Schedule Coordinator Charlene McHale. Back row from left, Photographer John McHale, Reporter Mark MacInnes, Newspaper Distribution Coordinator Delbert Romero, Advertising Manager KayLinda Crawford and Photographer Tomás Redondo. Not pictured are Social Media Editor Chris Clark, Photographer/Videographer Nate Limback and Bookkeeper Chip Clark. Courtesy photo
Staff Report:
New Mexico Press Women (NMPW) has named Los Alamos Daily Post Publisher Carol A. Clark its 2026 Communicator of Achievement. This is the highest honor NMPW bestows on a journalist who has distinguished herself within and beyond her profession.
“Carol Clark is one of the most qualified candidates we’ve ever had,” said New Mexico News Services owner Sherry Robinson, who nominated Clark for this award.
Clark will be recognized at a ceremony on May 2 at the Isleta Resort in Albuquerque. As a result of this award, Clark will represent New Mexico at the National Federation of Press Women’s conference in September in Maryland.
“It is quite an honor to be chosen by the NMPW, which is an inspirational organization founded in 1949,” Clark said. “NMPW is comprised of professional journalists and communicators who promote the highest ethical standards and advocate for First Amendment rights and the public’s right to know.”
Clark’s professional career began working as a reporter from 2003-2006, senior reporter from 2006-2009 and managing editor from 2009-2012, for the Los Alamos Monitor. She started the Los Alamos Daily Post in 2012, which celebrated its 14th anniversary in February. Readership of the Post has grown to include every state in the nation and 129 countries around the world, and draws more than 1.2 million page views per month.
Los Alamos Daily Post Recognitions:
The Post was found to be the community’s “number one online news source” by respondents to an independent survey conducted by Los Alamos County in 2013.
The Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation named the Post its “Success Client of the Year” in 2013.
The Small Business Development Center named the Post the “Small Business of the Year” in 2014. The Post was recognized for that honor on the floor of the New Mexico Legislature and by the Los Alamos County Council for shining a positive statewide spotlight on the community.
The Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce named the Post the Media Outlet of the Year in 2017.
In April 2022, the Post received the first place award in the state from the New Mexico Press Women’s Association for “Public Service to Small Businesses during the Pandemic” for its extensive coverage and support of local small businesses. The Post received an award from the National Federation of Press Women that same year, for its Public Service to Small Businesses during the Pandemic.
In 2023 and again in 2025, the community named the Post the Best Woman Owned Business of the Year through a survey conducted by the Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce.
Clark’s community service includes serving as Chair of the Board of Directors of the New Mexico Press Association; Chair of the Board of Directors of the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation, a founding member and steering committee member of 100 Women Who Care – Los Alamos, and a member of the Los Alamos Public Schools Foundation and International Women’s Forum – New Mexico.
Clark summed it all up, saying, “To be recognized for doing what you love, with a news team and contributors you love, in a community you love … well, it just doesn’t get much better than that!”