RTNDF to Honor Harvey Nagler, David Westin and Brian Williams at 20th Annual First Amendment Awards Dinner
Washington—The Radio and Television News Directors
Foundation will honor three news leaders for their commitment to the First
Amendment and excellence in journalism at the 20th Annual First
Amendment Awards Dinner on Thursday, March 4, 2010 in Washington. Honorees are:
Harvey
Nagler, vice president, CBS Radio News, First Amendment Service Award
David
Westin, president, ABC News, First Amendment Leadership Award
Brian
Williams, anchor and managing editor, NBC Nightly News, Leonard
Zeidenberg First Amendment Award
"The RTNDF First Amendment Award honorees represent the
best effort of individuals, companies and groups keeping alive one of our most
basic American freedoms,” said RTNDF Chairman
Ed
Esposito. ”The First Amendment stands as a beacon of light to
the world, where we continue to see the power of freedom of expression in
shaping communities across the globe. It is our honor to recognize these electronic
journalists for their personal and professional commitment, dedication and
passion to the First Amendment."
Harvey Nagler will be honored with the First
Amendment Service Award, which is presented to a person of distinction who
works in an off-air, management capacity. Nagler was named Vice President, CBS
News, Radio in January 1998. During his tenure the network won dozens of
national and international awards. He was chosen Radio News Executive of the
Year in 2006 and 2008 in a poll taken by Radio and Records magazine. Prior to
joining CBS Radio News, Nagler was Director, News and Programming for WCBS-AM
Newsradio 88, where he developed and implemented several practices that have
been adopted or imitated by hundreds of stations across the country, including
the slogan, “Traffic and Weather, Together on the ‘Eights.’” He joined WCBS-AM
from the United Stations Radio Networks, where he had been Vice President, News
and Sports (1985-87) and Director of News Operations (1979-84, then RKO Radio
Networks). The network grew from a small group of stations to a news
organization serving 500 affiliates.
David Westin will receive the First Amendment
Leadership Award, presented to a business or government leader who has made a
significant contribution to protecting Freedom of the Press. David Westin has
led ABC News since 1997. In that time ABC News has received top honors for
broadcast journalism including: 5 George Polk Awards, 10 George Foster Peabody
Awards, 12 Alfred I. duPont Awards, more than 35 News and Documentary Emmys and
more than 40 Edward R. Murrow Awards. During the 2004 Democratic convention in
Boston, Westin launched
ABC News NOW, a 24-hour news service available on cable, wireless and
broadband. In 2007, he announced the largest single expansion of foreign news
coverage in ABC News history by sending seven digital reporters to Mumbai,
New Delhi,
Jakarta,
Nairobi,
Seoul,
Dubai and
Rio de
Janeiro to report for all ABC News outlets and
broadcasts.
Brian Williams
will receive the Leonard Zeidenberg First Amendment Award, named for the late
senior
Washington
correspondent for Broadcasting & Cable magazine. Williams joined NBC News
in 1993 as a reporter and became NBC Chief White House correspondent. He was a
News Anchor on MSNBC and CNBC before becoming Anchor and Managing Editor at NBC
Nightly News in 2004. Williams has received the George Foster Peabody Award,
the
duPont-ColumbiaUniversity Award, 6
Edward R. Murrow Awards and 7 Emmy Awards. Many of these honors were given to recognize
his work covering Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in
New Orleans.
Kathleen Graham,
RTNDF executive director said, “We are delighted that this year’s First
Amendment Dinner will be a special evening to reflect on the past 20 years of
distinguished honorees as well as an opportunity to celebrate the outstanding
journalists receiving the First Amendment Awards this year.”
Previous First Amendment Awards Winners include Floyd
Abrams, Roger Ailes, Christiane Amanpour, Ed Bradley, Walter Cronkite, Sam
Donaldson, Katharine Graham, Don Hewitt, Gwen Ifill, Cokie Roberts, Diane
Sawyer, Bob Schieffer, Carole Simpson and Mike Wallace. For a complete list of
First Amendment Awards Winners visit www.RTNDF.org.
The awards will be presented and the honorees will speak at
the 20th annual First Amendment Awards Dinner on March 4, 2010, at
the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in
Washington,
DC. More than 500 people attend
the black-tie dinner each year.
For information about attending the First Amendment Awards
Dinner, click here
or contact Stacey Staniak at 202-467-5214.
Funds raised at the dinner help support RTNDF’s work to
promote excellence in electronic journalism through research, education and
training for news professionals and journalism students. The foundation’s work
also is supported by contributions from foundations, corporations, members of
the Radio-Television News Directors Association, and other individuals.
