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NY Times Staff Honored with Herbert Block Award
The men and women of The New York Times will receive one of journalism's highest honors this month, TNG-CWA's Herbert Block Freedom Award, for their commitment to news source confidentiality in the face of government intimidation and threats.
In the past year, the unnamed sources of four Times journalists - Judith Miller, Philip Shenon, Jeff Gerth and James Risen - have been sought through subpoenas, and three have been subject to court sanctions.
Miller, who is being held in contempt of court and could face jail time, was subpoenaed to testify about a conversation she had with a confidential source regarding Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA agent whose identity was reportedly leaked by senior White House officials.
Further, Miller and Shenon have had their phone records subpoenaed to identify their sources in a case involving leaks about governmental activities against two Islamic charities suspected of funding terrorism. A federal judge last week upheld the newspapers' right to withhold their records.
Gerth and Risen are also being held in contempt of court. They have refused to reveal their sources in the investigation of nuclear physicist Wen Ho Lee. Additionally, Times reporter Joseph Fried and freelance reporter George Packer were subpoenaed in 2004 to testify in the terrorism case against New York defense attorney Lynn Stewart. They refused, and the case was wrapped up in January without their testimony.
"What really stood out for us and helped us make our decision is the fact that the entire organization has supported these writers from the very beginning," said Linda Foley, president of TNG-CWA and chairman of the award committee. "That kind of commitment to a free and robust press is something Herbert Block would be proud to honor."
The annual award, which comes with a $5,000 prize, is given to an organization or individual who exemplifies the deeply held ideals of long-time Guild member and renowned Washington Post editorial cartoonist Herbert Block, who published under the name Herblock. A creative genius with a social conscience, Block had a profound compassion for the disadvantaged and a deep distrust of unbridled power.
"We are honored to be recognized by the Newspaper Guild with the Herbert Block Freedom Award," New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said. "When we consider the many complex issues that we face at home and abroad, it is hard to imagine a more inopportune moment to restrain the free flow of information. Given all that is at stake, the American public needs to know much more - not a lot less -about the major issues of the day. It is therefore imperative that all news media organizations become even more vigilant in our efforts to protect the First Amendment and the free flow of information in this nation."
Previous recipients of The Newspaper Guild Herbert Block Freedom Award are Vanessa Leggett, a freelance reporter who was jailed for 168 days for refusing to turn over notes to prosecutors about a homicide; the Medill Innocence Project, which helped free innocent men from death row, and TomPaine.com, honored for being "a consistent voice of reason and democratic discourse at a time of increased political attacks on civil liberties and a flattening of discourse in the mainstream media."
The award will be presented March 30 at The Newspaper Guild Freedom Award Fund Dinner in Washington, D.C. Veteran wire service reporter Helen Thomas will deliver the keynote address, with radio icon Bob Edwards as master of ceremonies.
The Heywood Broun Award and the David S. Barr Awards, which both honor exceptional journalistic achievement, will also be presented.
In the past year, the unnamed sources of four Times journalists - Judith Miller, Philip Shenon, Jeff Gerth and James Risen - have been sought through subpoenas, and three have been subject to court sanctions.
Miller, who is being held in contempt of court and could face jail time, was subpoenaed to testify about a conversation she had with a confidential source regarding Valerie Plame, an undercover CIA agent whose identity was reportedly leaked by senior White House officials.
Further, Miller and Shenon have had their phone records subpoenaed to identify their sources in a case involving leaks about governmental activities against two Islamic charities suspected of funding terrorism. A federal judge last week upheld the newspapers' right to withhold their records.
Gerth and Risen are also being held in contempt of court. They have refused to reveal their sources in the investigation of nuclear physicist Wen Ho Lee. Additionally, Times reporter Joseph Fried and freelance reporter George Packer were subpoenaed in 2004 to testify in the terrorism case against New York defense attorney Lynn Stewart. They refused, and the case was wrapped up in January without their testimony.
"What really stood out for us and helped us make our decision is the fact that the entire organization has supported these writers from the very beginning," said Linda Foley, president of TNG-CWA and chairman of the award committee. "That kind of commitment to a free and robust press is something Herbert Block would be proud to honor."
The annual award, which comes with a $5,000 prize, is given to an organization or individual who exemplifies the deeply held ideals of long-time Guild member and renowned Washington Post editorial cartoonist Herbert Block, who published under the name Herblock. A creative genius with a social conscience, Block had a profound compassion for the disadvantaged and a deep distrust of unbridled power.
"We are honored to be recognized by the Newspaper Guild with the Herbert Block Freedom Award," New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said. "When we consider the many complex issues that we face at home and abroad, it is hard to imagine a more inopportune moment to restrain the free flow of information. Given all that is at stake, the American public needs to know much more - not a lot less -about the major issues of the day. It is therefore imperative that all news media organizations become even more vigilant in our efforts to protect the First Amendment and the free flow of information in this nation."
Previous recipients of The Newspaper Guild Herbert Block Freedom Award are Vanessa Leggett, a freelance reporter who was jailed for 168 days for refusing to turn over notes to prosecutors about a homicide; the Medill Innocence Project, which helped free innocent men from death row, and TomPaine.com, honored for being "a consistent voice of reason and democratic discourse at a time of increased political attacks on civil liberties and a flattening of discourse in the mainstream media."
The award will be presented March 30 at The Newspaper Guild Freedom Award Fund Dinner in Washington, D.C. Veteran wire service reporter Helen Thomas will deliver the keynote address, with radio icon Bob Edwards as master of ceremonies.
The Heywood Broun Award and the David S. Barr Awards, which both honor exceptional journalistic achievement, will also be presented.