Past First Amendment Award Winners

First Amendment Leadership Award

RTDNF presents this award annually to a business or government leader who has made a significant contribution to the protection of the First Amendment and freedom of the press.

• 1992 Allen Neuharth
• 1993 Frank Stanton
• 1994 James Quello
• 1995 Tom Johnson
• 1996 Howard Stringer
• 1997 Robert L. Johnson
• 1998 Roone Arledge
• 1999 Bob Wright
• 2000 R. E. "Ted" Turner
• 2001 Don Hewitt
• 2002 Katharine Graham
• 2003 Floyd Abrams
• 2004 Charles Grassley and Patrick Leahy
• 2005 Jim Keelor
• 2006 Hurricane Katrina Station Groups:
  Belo Corp. (WWL-TV)
  Clear Channel Broadcasting (WBUV-FM, WKNN-FM, WMJY-FM,WQYZ-FM, KHEV-FM, WNOE-FM, WODT-AM, WQUE-FM and WYLD-AM/FM)
  Emmis Communications (WVUE-TV)
  Entercom Communications (WWL-AM)
  Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. (WDSU-TV)
  Liberty Corporation (WLOX-TV) and Tribune Broadcasting (WGNO-TV)
• 2007 Roger Ailes
• 2008 Tom Curley
• 2009 Google, Inc.
• 2010 David Westin
• 2011 David Barrett
• 2012 Steve Capus
  

Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award

RTDNF presents this award annually to a radio or television journalist or news executive who has made a major contribution to the protection of First Amendment freedoms. It is named for the late Broadcasting & Cable senior correspondent, Leonard Zeidenberg.

• 1992 James Snyder
• 1993 John Chancellor
• 1994 David Brinkley
• 1995 Walter Cronkite
• 1996 Carole Simpson
• 1997 Jane Pauley
• 1998 Mike Wallace
• 1999 Christiane Amanpour
• 2000 Diane Sawyer
• 2001 Jim Lehrer
• 2002 Sam Donaldson
• 2003 Judy Woodruff
• 2004 Andrea Mitchell
• 2005 Ed Bradley
• 2006 Gwen Ifill
• 2007 Bob Woodruff and Kimberly Dozier
• 2008 Bob Schieffer
• 2009 Cokie Roberts
• 2010 Brian Williams
• 2011 Wolf Blitzer
• 2012 Martha Raddatz
  

First Amendment Service Award

This award honors professionals in local or network news who work in an off-air, management, largely behind-the-scenes capacity.

• 1998 Betty Cole Dukert
• 1999 Marty Haag
• 2000 Lee Giles
• 2001 Gary Wordlaw
• 2002 Fred Young
• 2003 Susan Zirinsky
• 2004 Walter Ulloa
• 2005 Wendy Walker Whitworth
• 2006 William Wheatley
• 2007 Philip Balboni
• 2008 Paula Madison
• 2009 Susan Grant
• 2010 Harvey Nagler
  
• 2011 Susana Schuler
• 2012 Marci Burdick
  
  

First Amendment Award

• 2008 Richard Wiley
• 2009 John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
• 2010 Barbara Cochran & Marcellus Alexander
• 2012 Jim Bohannon
  
  

RTDNF Lifetime Achievement Award