NEW YORK, Feb. 15, 2024 – Maria Ressa, co-founder and CEO of Rappler, and winner of the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, will be the keynote speaker at the OPC’s 85th Annual Awards Dinner on April 25 at Cipriani 25 Broadway.
David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker and winner of the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction for his book Lenin’s Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire, will receive the President’s Award for lifetime achievement.
Rappler is a digital-only news site that is leading the fight for press freedom in the Philippines. As Rappler’s CEO, Maria has endured constant political harassment and arrests by the Duterte government and has been forced to post bail ten times to stay free. In October 2021, Maria was one of two journalists awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”
“Maria’s courage in standing up for the principle of free expression, at great personal risk, has been an inspiration to all of us in international journalism. That freedom is under growing threat across the globe today, and Maria, by her example, has shown us the importance of fighting back against those threats wherever they occur,” said Scott Kraft, OPC President.
Remnick is one of the top editors in American journalism. Under his leadership The New Yorker has won more than fifty National Magazine Awards, including multiple citations for general excellence. In 2016, The New Yorker became the first magazine to receive a Pulitzer Prize for its writing, and now has won six Pulitzers, including the gold medal for public service. It has won five OPC awards and numerous citations. Remnick was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2016.
“David is, quite simply, one of the finest journalists of his generation. As editor of The New Yorker, and for three decades one of its most gifted writers, he has compellingly chronicled some of our era’s biggest global stories. In just the past year, his work on the Middle East conflict, and the work of the magazine writers he oversees, has been must-read journalism. We’re proud to honor him as this year’s President’s Award winner,” Kraft said.
Individual tickets for the awards dinner can be purchased here. Companies interested in buying a table can contact OPC Executive Director Patricia Kranz at patricia@opcofamerica.org.