Freedom of the Press Awards

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press recognizes journalism and media law leaders at its annual Freedom of the Press Awards. The event is a highlight of our year where friends, honorees, and partners gather with us to celebrate the free press.

2023

The 2023 Freedom of the Press Awards will be held October 11, 2023 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York.

The 2023 Freedom of the Press Award winners are:

Rachel Aston, Photographer, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Catalyst Award;
Glenn Cook, Executive Editor, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Catalyst Award;
Lizzie Johnson, Local Enterprise Reporter, The Washington Post, Catalyst Award;
Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Executive Director, Native American Journalists Association, Local Champion Award;
Ashton R. Lattimore, Editor-in-Chief, Prism, Rising Star Award;
Martha Minow, 300th Anniversary University Professor, Harvard University, Career Achievement Award; and
Pierre G. Thomas, Chief Justice Correspondent, ABC News, Career Achievement Award.

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Previous Honorees

2022

Kevin T. Baine, Senior Counsel, Williams & Connolly LLP, Career Achievement Award
Azmat Khan, Investigative Reporter, The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine, Catalyst Award
Wendi C. Thomas, Founding Editor and Publisher, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, Local Champion Award
Judy Woodruff, Anchor and Managing Editor, PBS NewsHour, Career Achievement Award
Sahan Journal, led by Founding Publisher and CEO Mukhtar M. Ibrahim, Rising Star Award

2021

J. Scott Applewhite, Photojournalist, The Associated Press
Theodore J. Boutrous, Jr., Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
Julie K. Brown, Investigative Reporter, Miami Herald
Amal Clooney, Co-Founder and President, Clooney Foundation for Justice
Jane Mayer, Staff Writer and Chief Washington Correspondent, The New Yorker
Laura Moscoso, Data Journalist, Centro de Periodismo Investigativo, Rising Star Award
Tony Mauro, Contributor at ALM Media Properties, LLC, Fred Graham Distinguished Service Award
Saundra Torry, Retired Member of USA TODAY’S Editorial Board, Fred Graham Distinguished Service Award

2019

David G. Bradley, Atlantic Media
John Carreyrou, The Wall Street Journal
Andrea Mitchell, NBC News
April Ryan, American Urban Radio Networks and CNN
City Bureau Founders Harry Backlund, Andrea Hart, Bettina Chang, and Darryl Holliday, Rising Star Award

2018

Dean Baquet, The New York Times
Robert Siegel, NPR
Lynn Novick, Florentine Films
Nabiha Syed, BuzzFeed News, Inaugural Rising Star Award

2017

Martin Baron, The Washington Post
Kathleen Carroll, The Associated Press
Paul Steiger, ProPublica
The Media & First Amendment practice of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

2016

Tom Brokaw, NBC News, presented with the Fred Graham Distinguished Service Award
Eve Burton and the Office of General Counsel, Hearst
Alberto Ibargüen and Eric Newton, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

The Freedom of the Press Awards were annualized in 2016.

2014

Sharon Percy Rockefeller, WETA
Carol Rosenberg, The Miami Herald
Bruce Sanford, BakerHostetler
Arthur O. Sulzberger, Jr., The New York Times

2012

Fred Graham, Reporters Committee Founding Member, honored with the first Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Distinguished Service Award
Josh Gerstein, Politico
Brian Lamb, C-SPAN Networks
Barbara Wall, Gannett Co. Inc.

2010

Carl Bernstein, author
Lesley Stahl, CBS News, “60 Minutes”
Kurt Wimmer, Covington & Burling LLP
Bob Woodward, The Washington Post

2007

Tom Curley, The Associated Press
Mark Goodman, Student Press Law Center
Colbert I. King, The Washington Post
Nina Totenberg, National Public Radio
Special Recognition: Charles Overby, The Freedom Forum/Newseum

2005

Floyd Abrams, Cahill, Gordon & Reindel
Molly Ivins, Syndicated Columnist
Mike Wallace, CBS News, “60 Minutes”
Special Recognition: Hodding Carter, The Knight Foundation

2001

Katharine Graham, The Washington Post

1997

Jack Nelson, Los Angeles Times

1995

Herb Block, The Washington Post
Ben Bradlee, The Washington Post
John Chancellor, NBC News
A.M. Rosenthal, The New York Times