Novaya Gazeta, the crusading Moscow newspaper that has paid a deadly price for its reporting has been named winner of the International Press Institute’s 2009 Free Media Pioneer Award.
Novaya Gazeta Wins IPI Pioneer Award
Author: OPC of America
Reply From Kazakhstan April 22, 2009
The Kazakhstan government has replied to the OPC with a letter regarding the arrest of Ramazan Esergepov, a journalist arrest in Kazakhstan.
Iran April 24, 2009
The OPC learned of Ahmadinejad’s letter to Tehran’s prosecutor upholding the legal right of Roxana Saberi to defend herself — days after Saberi’s secret trial on a charge of espionage for which she was given a sentence of eight years in jail.
A Message From U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
Just before the candle lighting ceremony at the start of the 2008 Awards program, the OPC received an e-mail from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who adds her support for press freedom and vows to continue voicing concerns to governments who jail journalists.
North Korea April 23, 2009
We write to protest again, in the strongest possible terms, the Korean government’s detention of two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee. They have now been held for a month and are reportedly to be tried on charges of illegally entering North Korea.
Fay Gillis Wells Award: Ruth Gruber
The Fay Gillis Wells Award was established in 2009 in honor of Wells, who was a founding member of the OPC in 1939. The winner of this year’s award is Ruth Gruber, foreign correspondent, author and photojournalist.
Letter From the President
Join us in celebrating The Overseas Press Club’s 70th year as we reinvigorate the defense of the integrity and ongoing importance of journalism. The recasting of the news business by technology and economic turmoil makes our promotion of excellence in international reporting and of freedom of the press more important than ever.
President’s Award: Jim Lehrer
The winner of this year’s Overseas Press Club President’s Award is Jim Lehrer, executive editor and anchor of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.
2008 OPC Award Winners
This year’s Overseas Press Club awards program shifts focus from the dwindling war in Iraq to conflict and political violence elsewhere, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Two of the photography awards document the stunning explosion of ethnic violence following Kenya’s disputed elections, while a team of investigative reporters capture the frightening reach of violence in Mexico’s burgeoning drug wars.
Richard Behar’s Acceptance Speech
Richard Behar won The Ed Cunningham Award for best magazine reporting from abroad for Fast Company for his report "China Storms Africa." The six-part article looked at China’s resource rush in Mozambique, Zambia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea and incorporated his experience with a parasitic illness as metaphor for the Chinese invasion.