2024 First Amendment Awards

The RTDNA Foundation, the charitable arm of the Radio Television Digital News Association, honors those who practice, promote and defend journalism each year at the First Amendment Awards. We celebrate these honorees at our First Amendment Awards, a black-tie dinner held in March each year in Washington, D.C.

2024 Recipients

• Gio Benitez, ABC News
• Lauren Chooljian, New Hampshire Public Radio
• Ingrid Ciprián-Matthews, CBS News
• Evan Gershkovich, Wall Street Journal
• Dylan Lyons, Spectrum News 13
• Joan and Eric Meyer, Marion County Record
• ProPublica
• Rep. Jamie Raskin
• Jesse Walden, Spectrum News 13
• Clarissa Ward, CNN
• Kristen Welker, NBC News
• Phil Williams, WVTF-TV

Learn More About the 2024 Recipients

Master of Ceremonies

The RTDNA Foundation is thrilled to announce that MSNBC's Jen Psaki will be the Master of Ceremonies, helping the Foundation to honor 13 individuals and organizations for their efforts to promote, protect, and defend the First Amendment.

Past honorees include local reporters, network anchors, members of the U.S. House of Representatives and multiple U.S. Senators. The awards honor the First Amendment and the bold and brave efforts many take — whether in an instant or throughout their careers — to protect it.

The Foundation works for an America in which the press is able to hold the powerful to account, shine a light on corruption, and act as a catalyst for positive change in local communities without denial of access, undue restriction, or fear of attack. We train and equip local journalists and journalism students to know their rights and seek and report truth ethically — upholding your right to know.

The 2024 First Amendment Awards will be held March 9 at The Watergate Hotel. Tickets are now available for purchase. Award recipients will be announced in early 2024. 

Scandal Room Tour

With the 2024 First Amendment Awards heading to the Watergate Hotel, we have a special experience that will give visitors a front seat to one of the most historic nights in American history. 

There are a select few spots available for an intimate tour of the Scandal Room, originally Room 214, used in the 1972 Watergate break-in. Hear details, see photos of the evidence and learn about participants of the crime. Walk on the balcony of the room to see the proximity to the DNC, view artifacts that line the walls of the room and more.

Tickets for the Scandal Room Tour are $25 and are limited. All sales benefit the RTDNA Foundation. 

About The Watergate In Their Own Words

Our name is synonymous with the country's biggest political scandal. The Watergate Hotel, however, was controversial from the start. When it opened in 1965, celebrity Italian architect Luigi Moretti's curvy, sprawling design sent shock waves through conservative D.C. Despite criticism, the Washington D.C. luxury hotel quickly became a playground for the fabulous. Actors and models hobnobbed with the congressmen and Supreme Court justices who lived in the Watergate apartments. Its glamorous reputation was eclipsed with political scandal on June 17, 1972, when five intruders were caught in the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee, leading to Richard Nixon’s resignation from the presidency.

Since Nixon infamously declared "I am not a crook," The Watergate Hotel saw many renovations, but none that embraced its original design or posh patrons — until now. We have arrived at the hotel's newest chapter as a luxury hotel in Washington D.C. Moretti disciple Ron Arad has restored The Watergate Hotel with a dramatic copper lobby and lush, mid-century modern furniture. Our staff is poised to create a memorable experience for every guest. When it comes to hotels near Georgetown, Washington D.C., nothing tops the history of The Watergate Hotel.

Interested in covering the 2024 First Amendment Awards? Please fill out this media credential application.